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Charmaine Chan

Chris Cornell

Carry On

(Interscope)

Chris Cornell may have sabotaged his chances of solo success with this  album.

The mishmash of tracks by the Prince of Grunge - whose skilful shrieking saw Soundgarden soar and made masters of rockers Audioslave - seems to remind fans of his past glories, but also alerts them to an attempt at relevance.

Where he's not reliving the past by hitting those career-making notes in guitar-murdering Seattle style, he's experimenting with all and sundry in the hopes of striking the right chord.

Which means certain  disappointment for fans of yore hoping for 16 tracks along the lines of scorchers Poison Eye and No  Such Thing (the album's first  and second tracks), but possibly delight for newer fans unaware of Cornell's legacy.

Thrown into the mix  are weak soft-rock numbers, such as Ghosts and Killing Birds. But there are also melodic ear-openers, including Arms Around Your Love, which on  a titular basis should slot into the sappy category, but, to its credit, doesn't. The same goes for She'll Never Be Your Man, a bluesy turn with  a distinctly Eric Clapton touch.

Along with the R&B offerings is the country-inspired Scar on the Sky, and the limp You Know My Name, recorded  for the James Bond  movie  Casino Royale. But even  more surprising is Cornell's cover  of Michael Jackson's Billie Jean.

His balladic, vaguely sentimental rendition will surely divide listeners into 'love it' and 'hate it' camps. Taking such a recognisable song  and removing almost everything familiar about it (including the  beat) is a gamble. But it's one that Cornell largely wins, although his efforts will inevitably attract clicks  of condemnation.

That neither-here-nor-there estimation applies to Carry On  as a whole. It blights itself with its double-dealing and a title that underscores indifference.



Chris Cornell