Pipes and Woodwinds: Disappearing One

Chris Cornell: Disappearing One

[purchase]

When grunge/metal heroes Soundgarden parted ways in 1997 (they have since reunited) I coudn't wait to hear what frontman and main songwriter Chris Cornell would do next.

Over the years his debut as a solo artist, the song Seasons on the soundtrack for Cameron Crowe's Singles in 1992, had grown to be a big fan favorite and it was obvious that whatever he was cooking up would be worth waiting for. The first sign of things to come was the sublime Sunshower on the Great Expectations soundtrack in 1998. The full-length Euphoria Morning hit the shelves the following year and the moment I heard it I had a new favorite album.

Perhaps surprising to fans of Soundgarden, the album couldn't have sounded less like Soundgarden. No grinding, distorted heavy metal guitars to be found anywhere. This was more similar to his Temple Of The Dog side-project from 1991.

Dark and melancholy, but always melodic and enticing the album is absolutely brilliant from start to finish. Great stuff on here, like the gloomy Steel Rain, the Jeff Buckley tribute Wave Goodbye, the bluesy When I'm Down and of course Disappearing One, in my opinion one of the best songs he has ever written.

I'm glad he put some clarinets in the intro or I'd have no reason to post it this week.