Sing It Like You Mean It

I've been listening to Chris Cornell's Euphoria Morning a bit lately, and outside of the weird synchronicity of hearing "Can't Change Me" on a jukebox in a bar yesterday, I'm struck by the difference in the former Soundgarden frontman's singing on that record compared to last year's self-titled debut from Audioslave.

Basically, Cornell sounds stunningly disinterested on the Audioslave record, where his solo album brims with intense emotion. Some of this may be tempered by the live show I saw from the former, where the singer just didn't seem terribly into it, but I'm starting to think it's more than that. Yeah, the voice is there on Audioslave, but it's more athletic than emotional, which may explain why the album is so reminscent of early Soundgarden in a lot of ways.

The easy explanation is that, if I remember correctly, Cornell was either immediately pre- or post-rehab at the time the album was made, and that certainly could have had a profound effect on his contribution. I'm not sure on that account, though.