Chris Cornell partnering with Timbaland was the most unlikely musical collaboration ever. If your experience of Cornell is through Soundgarden or Audioslave, you are about to hear the boldest move of his career.

Now, if you’ve been wondering where Cornell’s been since Audioslave broke up, the video reveals all: he’s been brooding in clubs in Puerto Rico, Texas and New York. Observing women flirting on the dancefloor while their menfolk look on in frustration. Oh yes, and hanging out with hordes of line-dancing women.

On first listen, I was skeptical. Cornell’s voice is exceptionally well suited to rock. History tells us this. But initially, the combination of Cornell’s voice and Timbaland’s beats is reminiscent of Sexbomb-era Tom Jones. You know, when he tried to appeal to the young folks?

The thing with Timbaland though is that sometimes his influence isn’t immediately likeable. Or appreciated. I find the best thing is to just accept it. I’m talking to you crusty ol’ Soundgarden fans!

To listen to Part Of Me, you have to approach this as a new era for Cornell. It’s a brave move, but the song is brilliant. My only issue is that the edited version removes the crucial ‘bitch’ word from the chorus, which ruins it slightly.

And the collaboration works brilliantly in my opinion. There’s a grinding beat to it, and rather than go all-out R&B, we get some distorted guitars in the mix as a hat-tip to Cornell’s roots. It’s totally different, but it really works.

As an added bonus, Classic Rock have an interview with Chris, which should interest those of you with questions about his musical direction.

Cornell avoids all the usual Bond theme cliches and delivers a hard-edged rock song.

I suppose it’s in keeping with the new hard-ass Bond, Daniel Craig. Apparently Casino Royale is a much grittier movie than some of the slick Brosnan versions of the last decade. I believe Chris Cornell co-wrote the song with the long time Bond composer, David Arnold.

On the subject of Chris Cornell, check out his version of Billie Jean, which I discovered this evening….

First Impressions
Euphoria Morning initially was hard work. One of those albums you really have to make yourself listen to. Once you break through the ‘pain’ barrier, the songs begin to get stuck inside your head. The standout tracks for me were Preaching The End Of The World, Can’t Change Me and Follow My Way. Can’t Change Me starts the album off, with a guitar riff reminiscent of early Killer-era Alice Cooper (don’t let that put you off). This is followed by the very poppy, upbeat Fluttergirl which I didn’t expect from the Soundgarden screamer, but definately grows on you. Preaching The End Of The World, for me is the best track on the album. Cornell sings this one with quiet resignation, building up over the chorus. I’m tempted to say it’s like a modern take on Bowie’s Five Years. Whatever, I can’t get the song out of my head. Even Mrs Levee knows the words now!

Songs To Skip Over
In general, the later parts of the album start to blur a bit, but it’s still enjoyable to listen to. The real hooks are mostly in the first half. When I’m Down is probably the only song I can’t stand. It’s Cornell’s take on the blues, but to me sounds unconvincing – a bit like some of the tracks on Jimmy Page’s Outrider album.

Overall?
Overall, the album is a hit with me. It’s fair to say that the album lacks continuity stylistically. However, there are some very strong tracks to listen to – Follow My Way deserves a mention here! I was listening to Euphoria Morning in the car with Mrs Levee the other day and she refused to call it a rock album. Euphoria Morning is a surprise in that way. It carries Cornell’s trademark vocals, but replaces the harder rock of Soundgarden with a more laid back, earthy feel in the instrumentation. Cornell’s voice croons more on this album, but still soars over the more emotional lyrics. It’s not an attempt to continue the Soundgarden legacy (thank God).

This review was kindly provided by The Levee Breaks blog