Chris Cornell

The crooner lurking inside Chris Cornell through countless screamfests with Seattle grunge-metal pioneers Soundgarden finally comes out to play on the singer's solo debut. Euphoria Morning preempts comparisons to his former band by turning down the volume and upping the variety, with straight blues, acoustic folk, and Beatles-like psychedelic pop. In contrast to Soundgarden, Cornell's voice is way up front in the mix, and he swoops, swoons, and sweats through these ballads with enough conviction to make explicit his debt to the late Jeff Buckley. But it's an influence that he never quite transcends. (GREG KOT)

From 2004's The New Rolling Stone Album Guide