The Review takes on recent CD releases

Chris Cornell
Euphoria Morning

Chris Cornell presents us with his first ever solo effort courtesy of the combined production work of Natasha Shneider and Alain Johannes of the Seattle rock band Eleven. Though both Shneider and Johannes take some of the songwriting and lyric credits, the vast majority of the work presented on Euphoria Morning comes from the heart of the former Soundgarden front man. This mind has graced us with quite an impressive solo record- one filled with beautiful imagery, unique songwriting and one hell of a voice.

There are still Soundgarden fans in this world, however much any Korn lover would like to dispute or ignore the fact. Soundgarden fans have waited a long time for the voice they love to hear, and all they've gotten so far is a little acoustic number from the Great Expectations movie soundtrack. This, though, was not any little number. "Sunshower" was a gorgeous acoustic tune worthy of the grand tale in which it was featured. Euphoria Morning continues in that same vein. Songs like "Preaching the End of the World" and "Sweet Euphoria" let the power of both Cornell's voice and his acoustic guitar touch your nerves as well as any track from Nirvana's MTV Unplugged in New York.

Cornell also puts the synthesizer and keyboard tendencies of Shneider and Johannes to almost perfect use. Where The Smashing Pumpkins' Adore, which was mainly a Billy Corgan solo project, relied too much on Corgan's production know-how and his new found affection for computer beeps and bops. Cornell's production duo usually seems to come up with just the right keyboard or guitar synth to fill the holes between Cornell's vocal excursions. This works to the best effect in songs like "Flutter Girl" and the gorgeous "Steel Rain" which, like no other song of the decade, lets one really see the aura of the Seattle climate. At times the less than perfect production allows the tunes to get muddled, but Cornell's Robert Plant-like voice always breaks its way through the noise.

Though the majority of the album is very introspective in the classic style of the singer-songwriter, there are times when Cornell really lets loose. He transforms into Otis Redding for the soulful "When I'm Down" and gets irresistibly funky for "Wave Goodbye."

Cornell's lyrics are also the best he's written yet. Though they consistently tend toward the intensely melancholy, they still are quite alluring. In "Moonchild," he tells us to "Open your arms to the lonely shine / Lonesome as gold in a poor man's smile" and how "The door is falling open and we're flying wild."

However much one would like to rid themselves of the coffee-stained flannel rockers of the early 90's music-scene, they still hang around to give great moments of inspiration. With their long hair covering their depressed eyes, rockers like Cornell defined a decade. Euphoria Morning is a startling and beautiful solo effort, one worthy of that generation. On "When I'm Down," Cornell croons that "I only love you when I'm down." Well, Chris, we only love you when you're down too.

-John Macdonald

Mary J. Blige
Mary

The music video for "All That I Can Say," a collage of ethereal shots of New York City, initially drew me to Mary J. Blige's music. I'm glad it did, because Mary, her latest release, is as genuine as it gets. Even for those who haven't heard Blige's previous albums, it is pretty obvious that on this album, she finds peace and reconciles whatever internal conflicts she may once have felt. It is basically Mary stripping herself down to the basics and putting everything she's got out for the world to see.

Mary is an album that boasts many collaborations. Featured on the album are K-Ci Hailey on "Not Lookin'" and Elton John performing "Deep Inside," a track on piano that is actually a spin-off of his own "Benny and the Jets." Another incredible collaboration is the duet Blige does with Aretha Franklin. This is an inspired combination of two soulful women whose sultry voices will send chills down your spine. This album also brings together great producers and songwriters, among them Babyface, Diane Warren and Chucky Thompson. And their efforts pay off. Indeed, there are not many albums that would qualify as being the perfect mood setters, but Mary is definitely worthy of that category.

"All That I Can Say" is a stylish collaboration that screams Lauryn Hill, but still boasts a sound that is definitely Blige's own. This is the song that first drew me in with its music video; so many songs today rely on music videos as vehicles to publicize their music, and few actually carry the same power without this visual aid. "All That I Can Say," however, does not suffer this shortcoming.

"Deep Inside," a declaration rather than a plea for understanding and sincerity, is strengthened by the piano played by Elton John, which reinforces Mary's own frustration. "Deep inside I wish that you could see / That I'm just plain old Mary" is the common refrain belted over and over again throughout the song. If that doesn't get her message across, nothing else could.

Mary is an album that will take us into the new millennium. Fusing sounds distinctly hers, Blige also draws from sounds of her predecessors and fellow artists. Although her ultimate goal is to produce something that would appeal to her soul/hip hop audience, she also appeals to anyone who likes soul, R&B, hip-hop or even pop.

-Kitiya LeHuu

The Beatles
Yellow Submarine Songtrack

Thirty years after the release of the original Yellow Submarine soundtrack, Capitol Records has thrust the Beatles back onto the charts with a "remastered and remixed" version of the album that omits an instrumental score by Beatles producer George Martin in favor of nine tracks featured in the 1968 animated film. The result is a radically different Submarine that features a wider range of Beatles classics and a crisper, clearer sound.

Unlike the original record, which was overstuffed with Martin's pleasant orchestral filler, the new Songtrack boasts 15 Beatles cuts, including all six original Submarine tracks ("Hey Bulldog," "All Together Now") and several new additions ("Nowhere Man," "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds"). To be sure, this revamped version features a pristine sound quality that brings the previously obscured intricacies of songs like "It's All Too Much" and "All You Need is Love" to the forefront. Meanwhile, it is interesting - though not particularly revealing - to hear remastered classics like "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" and "Eleanor Rigby" out of their familiar contexts.

The music is brilliant, of course, but that is a no-brainer. If anything, the Songtrack merely adds to the mystique surrounding the Beatles by illuminating the subtle rhythms and melodies that lie beneath the glossy surface of their finely crafted pieces. But fans of the Beatles most likely own these songs on other albums. For the uninitiated, though, this latest release provides a nice, albeit woefully incomplete, overview of the Fab Four's career work.

Thus, the Songtrack offers a few pleasant revelations and nearly 46 minutes of perfect pop music. (At that length, one wonders why the cynical profiteers at Capitol didn't bother to include a similarly enhanced version of Martin's score.) Otherwise, it is little more than a valuable collector's item, an alternative companion piece to the recently re-released Yellow Submarine movie.

-Rossiter Drake