Chris Cornell — Carry On

Much like Audioslave's three forgettable releases, Chris Cornell's second solo album starts off by completely misleading the listener. Its conceit is that the singer has finally heard a copy of Badmotorfinger after all these years and has gone back to writing the riffs and wails that made him famous. After "Arms Around," the third track and first of many, many ballads, you realize that this just isn't the case. The sad truth is that the Corn is in his forties now, and he's making the kind of mellowed-out music you'd expect a guy his age to make. It's still a few steps above the dreck that guys like Rob Thomas spew out, but each song follows the grandiose easy-listening style of last year's James Bond theme, "You Know My Name," which is also included here. After hearing the truly baffling cover of Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean," you'll realize Cornell's moved on from his past, and maybe you should too.

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