Quick takes:
From https://www.songfacts.com/facts/chris-cornell
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- While recording his second solo album, Chris Cornell was involved in a motorcycle accident in Los Angeles, where he was rear-ended by a truck and flew 20 feet in the air. He suffered severe cuts and bruises but continued recording his album later that day.
- He covered Michael Jackson’s song “Billie Jean” on his second album, Carry On. American Idol contestant David Cook later performed Cornell’s version of the song on the popular reality show.
- Cornell wrote and recorded the song “You Know My Name” for the James Bond movie Casino Royale in 2006. The song played over the opening credits of the movie but did not appear on the soundtrack. Cornell released the song as a bonus track on his second album, Carry On, in 2007.
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I wrote all the (new) songs by myself except for ‘You Know My Name,’ which was written with David Arnold. I wrote the songs at home ‘ we have a house in Los Angeles and an apartment in Paris. My wife Vicky and I have two young kids, a boy and a girl.
I didn’t want to be isolated from my kids. So I put some recording equipment in each place and wrote the songs there.
From https://www.songwriteruniverse.com/chriscornell123.htm
CD Review: “Carry On, 2007”
During my research and in preparation for this review, I found out that Chris and his wife had set up a foundation for at-risk youth called the “Chris and Vicky Cornell Foundation.” I’ll drop the link here in case you would like to donate.
https://chrisandvickycornellfoundation.org/
This is my second track-by-track review and my second review of a Chris Cornell solo album. How can you go wrong with that? To me, the title of the CD, “Carry On,” refers to the fact that he has been in and out of so many bands, and he just wants to “Carry On” with life and with his solo album. Writing a track-by-track review is an arduous task, but at least in the case of some of my favorite artists, I believe it is worth the effort. I tried to arrange the tracks in the proper order by preference (below).
I like to consider what I call the “sing-along factor,” as I believe it is important when choosing your favorite tracks. The individual track reviews are not really reviews so much as breakdowns of what I perceive them to mean to me and how they make me feel when I listen to them.
I am not including three of the bonus tracks in my reviews since they were not on the CD I own, and frankly, I cannot locate a copy of the CD that includes all of the bonus tracks. It’s been over three years now since Chris Cornell’s untimely passing, which is hard to believe but feels like yesterday. This breakdown of his wonderful songs is my little tribute to his greatness.
My Track Preferences:
Rank |
Track # |
Title |
1. |
12 |
Silence the Voices |
2. |
04 |
Safe and Sound |
3. |
07 |
Killing Birds |
4. |
13 |
Disappearing Act |
5. |
08 |
Billie Jean |
6. |
06 |
Ghosts |
7. |
05 |
She’ll Never Be Your Man |
8. |
15 |
Today |
9. |
03 |
Arms Around Your Love |
10. |
09 |
Scar on the Sky |
11. |
10 |
Your Soul Today |
12. |
11 |
Finally Forever |
13. |
01 |
No Such Thing |
14. |
14 |
You Know My Name |
15. |
02 |
Poison Eye |
Each track below is linked to a page containing the full lyrics.
Track 1
| “No Such Thing“ | Chris Cornel | 3:44 |
The only certainty is that nothing is certain.
Pliny the Elder
Link to official Music Video
This song solidifies the start of this album as a rock album, starting out with a nice guitar arrangement. Although not one of my favorites, it does slow down at times and has its more tender moments. This song has a deep message. It starts out by saying, “He:
saw the world, it was beautiful
But the rain got in and made it a mess. This seems to be a metaphor describing life as not all butterflies and rainbows; that is to say, there is a darker side. The next few verses say he laughed at love, and that was a big mistake because he filled it with hate. These verses seem to imply, as does the title of the song, that there is “no such thing” as nothing; in other words, if there is no love in life, then there must be darkness and hate.
Sadly, the next few verses say he went deep into that darkness. He tried to make everything meaningless, but “the rain got in” and made it a mess, which seems to imply that dark sadness, perhaps suicidal thoughts, perhaps depression, have crept hence in the next verse in which he says his finger is on the trigger and he can turn off the world. The only thing stopping him is more or less the philosophical question of what gives you the right to take a life, even your own. In the following verse, he adds:
And what makes you believe,
That you could get away with getting old?
Overlapping me
To me, this implies he is aging and perhaps getting older than someone close he cared about who has passed away, such as his mother or father. What gives him the right to overlap someone in time? The song sadly ends by repeating, “His finger is on the trigger, and he’ll turn off the world.” It turns out this song is a deep dive into a man with some dark demons in his brain, so much so that he contemplates suicide.
It’s really sad knowing what happened in real life. Watching the music video does not really help explain this song. It really only shows a bunch of random acts of violence and chaos going on outside a house; perhaps the metaphor is that what’s going on outside is the rain, which he wants to prevent from creeping inside.
Link to official Music Video:
(647) Chris Cornell – No Such Thing – YouTube
Track 2
| “Poison Eye“ | Chris Cornel | 3:57 |
The second song on the CD, the one I like least, is called “Poison Eye.” It’s not a terrible song, and it does have a catchy hook; it’s just not one of the songs I prefer. Searching for the lyrics’ meaning is a difficult task for me. The title seems to imply someone who sees things negatively. They almost seem to indicate the writer is perhaps in heaven, looking down at someone he cares about from above, perhaps after death, and they cannot hide from his poison eye.
I see your pain,
I see my face on your fear
This implies the person he is watching fears him, perhaps mirroring how, in the Christian faith, people are considered god-fearing.
All you can do is sit here and wait for me,
And I’m coming
Perhaps the song is about death and father time, since death awaits all of us, given time. “I wrote the code to break in your heart” seems to imply he is watching a loved one through his poisoned eye. Having spoken about how I interpreted the lyrics, the music, and the way the song is sung, it is, at least at times, uplifting, has a nice beat, and is catchy. Not one that I would sing along with.
Track 3
| “Arms Around Your Love“ | Chris Cornel | 3:34 |
Link to official Music Video
It was a pleasure viewing these music videos for the first time. I wish I could find more of them. I can only surmise that they didn’t make very many of them. The video linked above pretty much tells the story of this song. Track 3 begins,
With his arms around your love Oh no,
here comes the pain that you can’t ignore,
With his arms around your girl.
This sounds like he is watching his ex-girlfriend from afar and seeing that she has moved on to a new man. This is then confirmed in the second verse with:
“He’ll do all of the things you didn’t do before, You had every chance, but you closed the door”.
This song is much more straightforward than some of his other songs and does not seem to harbor a deeper meaning. It is about an ex-lover who maybe was not given enough attention and did not “hang around for the ride.” It was written from the standpoint that this was a mistake; perhaps he is not over her yet.
This sentiment is backed up by the line, “She’s going to make you pay for it.” If he didn’t still have some regret or feelings for her, this wouldn’t matter. fondly remembering an old flame, the mistakes made, and moving on. The tone of the song is slightly sad, and it is a bit of a slower rock song. It has a nice chorus, but not one I sing along to.
Track 4
| “Safe and Sound“ | Chris Cornel | 4:16 |
This is my second favorite song on the CD. It starts off so slowly and delicately. It speaks to the idea, harkening back to Rodney King, of “Why can’t we all just get along?” He is imagining a world that’s much rosier than it is now, perhaps an alternate universe where:
No one was burning down the town,
While you were sleeping
And everyone is “Safe and Sound“.
It has been said that at one of his live concerts, he dedicated this song to all of the victims and families of the Virginia Tech shootings. The sentiment is pretty clear: Why can’t everyone just get along and be safe and sound? Chris Cornell himself described the song as gospely and bluesy. You can hear Chris’s voice dubbed over at parts of this song like he is also doing the background vocals. This is the first song on the CD that I really like to sing out loud, and when you do, only then, will you realize the depth and true meaning of the song. Simple, concise, and beautiful.
Track 5
| “She’ll Never Be Your Man“ | Chris Cornel | 3:24 |
Another straightforward song. This is a song covering the hypothetical situation of someone whose girlfriend has left him for another woman. It could also be interpreted in another hypothetical situation wherein, in a male homosexual relationship, one of the men leaves for another woman. Chris has said this did not happen to him, but he had seen it happen to friends of his.
It also implies that someone in that predicament could not possibly compete with the other woman. I love how when the first chorus plays, the tone changes when he says, “She’ll never be your man.” It is pointed out through the music, almost a “WTF” moment.
The music has slight rock tones and plays slowly as he repeats.
She can be your lover,she can be your friend, she can be your vision of a mother like the one you never had,
she can know your sorrows better than I can, but she’ll never be your man.
The line,
She’s got you thinking of a world where you might fit in
A whole lot better than the one you’ve been living in.
Could be interpreted in a few ways. It could be that the woman who left fits in better with another woman.
Or the man who left for another woman fits in better with a woman. I also interpreted the song title to mean, “Yeah, she can do all those things except this one thing that might be pretty important,” perhaps also implying, “I’ll be over here if you ever need that missing thing.”
I love to sing along with the chorus to this one, which automatically increases its value. Great lyrics, humorous, genius, and respectful in their own way.
Track 6
| “Ghosts“ | Chris Cornel | 3:51 |
With this song, at least musically, the beginning elevates over the previous song. Starting out slowly singing:
Searching for a mirror that will show not who you are but who you wanna be.
This seems to be about a person who has completely changed, and the person that he used to be “doesn’t live here anymore,” and “You can wait here if you want, but I don’t think he’s coming back.” The lyrics are again fairly straightforward, continuing with:
Somewhere is the memory of somebody I left behind, Well let’s take it all in stride, It’s that time to say goodbye.
That person he used to be is long gone, may as well be a “ghost,” and he is moving on. If you abstract this song to Chris’s personal life, then it could be about some of his addictions and demons being left in the past and him having “moved on” from that person to an “improved” one. The catchy music makes it a must to try to sing along with, but sadly, it’s not a great one to sing along with, but it is a great one to listen to.
Track 7
| “Killing Birds“ | Chris Cornel | 3:38 |
Shifting gears slightly, “Killing Birds” almost seems out of place as compared with the last track. This is sort of a sped-up ballad. Chris was really excited about this song when the CD was first released. It really does showcase his impressive vocals. This song is totally a metaphor—of what, I am not really sure. Using the lyrics as my guide, he said:
I’ve spent my youth,
Breaking down the walls my father built,
Just like he did to his father before him.
Given this statement, I believe “killing birds” is in reference to being a better father to his kids than his father was and not falling into the trap of making the same mistakes he made. Obviously, this song could be interpreted in many, many ways. I only know how it makes me feel when I sing along to it, which is awesome. I really don’t know its true deeper meaning, but the performance stands on its own as one of my favorites on the CD. It has a great melody. It’s an interesting song, but not one I would really sing along with.
Track 8
| “Billie Jean“ | Michael Jackson | 4:41 |
I was listening to him in an interview talk about the Billie Jean cover. He thought it would be neat to do the intro music with electric guitar, but said it ended up sounding funny. But when he laid down the vocals for the song, it was no longer funny.
I was doing a three- or four-song acoustic medley in the middle of Audioslave live shows to break up the set, so I started doing songs to make the guys in the band laugh. I figured they had to stand there and watch me every night, I thought I’d do some songs they’d never expect.
Then I thought, ‘I need to take this further, I should do something like “Like a Virgin” or “Billie Jean.”
So I started to play it, but the original bass riff didn’t really work, so I switched it to kind of a 6/8 gospel time signature. Suddenly it wasn’t funny but it was a great song. It’s a lament, really. Really great songwriting. I’d never heard it if the video wasn’t playing, so I was always distracted.
https://www.indystar.com/story/entertainment/music/2016/07/06/chris-cornell-preview/86243042/
Anyhow, it goes without saying that Billie Jean was one of Michael Jackson’s best chart-topping songs. This version, which could only be done properly by the legend himself, is amazing. As he said, it’s done slower in a sort of gospel format, and it really works. It might be more so because I am so familiar with the original. There are probably a few of the younger generation out there that first heard this version of the song, and my guess is they would not be disappointed in any way by it and will probably see it as the definitive version in their minds, not that there’s anything wrong with that.
I have a younger friend of the family who first heard the Alien Ant Farm version of the song “Annie, Are You OK?” and absolutely loved it, having never heard the Michael Jackson version. I laughed and let him know about it. So I know it can, and frequently does, happen. As far as its position on my track placement list, I thought it belonged somewhere near the middle. It’s another song that is enjoyable to sing along with. What can you say about this song? a completely different arrangement, sung by one of the world’s greatest rock stars that ever lived. Amazing!
Track 9
| “Scar on the Sky“ | Chris Cornell | 3:40 |
The transition to this song from the previous track is just perfect. This is another great slow ballad for this rock CD. I interpret the “scar on the sky” as the sun actually rising as the scar. It speaks to how, when you are having a great time with someone, you do not want the night to be over and would rather:
We will rip the night,
Out of the arms of the sun.
It’s a short song, with the main chorus repeating about five times. There is a really nice guitar riff playing through the song, which is mixed in with Chris’s angelic voice, and it works so well!
Track 10
| “Your Soul Today“ | Chris Cornell | 3:27 |
I really like this song. Trying to understand the lyrics, though, has me a bit perplexed. I can speak to the chorus, which makes more sense, but for the rest of the song, forgive me, I am lost. The chorus seems to imply the subject is in for some quick love with someone and is willing to “visit your arms… visit your legs.” There’s no need for insults or praise, and when it’s over, if you “don’t want a soul mate, I’m your soul today.”
In other words, love’em and leave’em; no harm, no foul; on to the next one. It’s a great song to sing along with, with a great chorus melody, tone, and feel.
Track 11
| “Finally Forever“ | Chris Cornell | 3:37 |
This one has a bit of a country twanginess with the tambourine playing and has a dark, depressing sort of tone, but it’s not at all dark or depressing; actually, it’s quite the opposite. This song is about finding that special someone you will be with, “Finally Forever.” All the way from the first glimpse through to winning her heart. It speaks to the relief of not having to keep looking for the perfect mate and is an ode to all the things he would do for her.
There’s no hill I would not climb for you
No bridge I wouldn’t cross
Not a moment passes in my life
That you’re not on my mind
Together or apart
And it took some patience to catch your eye
Patience to win your heart
There is no hidden message in this. It’s hard to read those verses without shedding a tear. It’s a straight love song, fair and simple, and now that he has her, he has no worries at all. Fairly easy to sing along with. Someone commented that Chris was at a concert in New York where he said, “This is a song I wrote for my wife and played at our wedding.” simple, amazing, and beautiful.
Track 12
| “Silence the Voices“ | Chris Cornell | 4:27 |
I love how this song starts; the background music is almost like the Star-Spangled Banner. Until I read the lyrics, I really had no idea what this song was about. I thought he was saying, “I can’t understand how to silence the voices.” Instead, what he is actually saying is, “I can’t understand how they silence the voices.” Also, if you pay attention to the lyrics in the first verse, he mentions “soldiers in the sunlight” and how they “kill the center of a man.”
Those minor differences completely changed the song’s meaning from what I was originally thinking. So as it goes, this is a song about the horrors of warfare. It’s a sad and sort of downer of a song, but it’s so darn good, that I have it at the top of my track preference list. In addition to its deeper meaning, what I like most about the song is that it’s great to sing along with, and when I do, I sort of feel like… well, a singer (a bad one, not a rock star), if only for a few moments.
In order to properly sing it and absorb all the proper feelings, you will run completely out of breath. I’m not sure if that makes sense; it’s more of a deeper belting, one of two songs like that on this album; the other one being track 4, “Safe and Sound.” This track is the best vocal on the CD, in my opinion. It’s a wonder how he made singing seem so darn easy, which is one of the reasons we call people like him “artists.”
Track 13
| “Disappearing Act“ | Chris Cornell | 4:33 |
This is another one of those songs that I really like, even though I do not fully understand what the song is really about. I can only go with the obvious storyline here. It appears to be about chasing time, with death approaching somewhere down the line. The lyrics are tough to decipher, but here:
Tomorrow stands before you Dressed and draped in a cold black cape Like a crow he ignores you
To me the crow represents death. The lyrics later state:
Put a million miles under your heels,
And you’re still behind him,
Cover your clocks with your chains and your locks
You cannot escape Father Time, no matter how fast or how many steps you take.
Stretch your faces and lie about your ages,
And still you’re going to get older,
As we’re chasing our tails,
And biting our nails,
So strong and frail
Here, I interpret the lyrics to mean you can do plastic surgery and lie about your age, but you are still going to get older, and at some point, we may be “biting our nails” and be frail.
The lyrics “Build and Teardown” in the chorus, to me, represent things that go on in our lifetime: building things and tearing them down; building relationships and dreams and tearing them down. It’s easy to miss if you’re not paying attention, but there is a dubbed background track covering the chorus. It’s a bit of a depressing song and outlook on life, no matter how true it may be. However, this still does not detract from how much I like it, as it is one of the top five songs on the CD.
Track 14
| “You Know My Name“ | Chris Cornell, David Arnold | 4:01 |
This transition from the previous track was just what this CD needed. It’s a more uplifting, “cinematic” type of song. Sort of like watching “Finding Nemo” right after watching a horror flick. This was the big hit that came out just before James Bond’s film “Casino Royale.” I really liked it at the time, and I still do. I heard it many years before actually listening to this CD. It doesn’t really fit well here, in my opinion, which is why I believe it is one of the last songs. I remember thinking it was interesting—a more rock version of a James Bond song—but it was still mysterious and catchy enough to work for that purpose.
Since the song was written for the Casino Royale movie, there are subtle gambling references in the lyrics:
The odds will betray you
Try to hide your handLife is gone with just a spin of the wheel (spin of the wheel)
Again, this was a nice song written for the movie. It’s a shame it didn’t make it on the soundtrack. However, it is not one of my favorites on the album, which is why I have it near the bottom of my track preference list.
Quote from Cornell:
Lia Vollack (President of Music for Sony Pictures) was heading the soundtrack and she called. She said they needed a song and singer that would reflect the dramatic new direction of James Bond, with Daniel Craig starring. They wanted a strong male singer ‘ they wanted a song that would be remembered. I was a James Bond fan ‘ as a kid I really liked the Bond films which starred Sean Connery. More importantly, I’m a big Daniel Craig fan.I had seen many of his films, and I knew he would be great as James Bond. And I also liked the idea of doing a James Bond theme song for another reason. I’m a Paul McCartney fan, and I remembered how he had written and sung the Bond theme ‘Live And Let Die.’ So it was a thrill that I could do a Bond theme, like my hero Paul McCartney had done earlier.
Track 15
| “Today“ | Chris Cornell | 3:03 |
Rounding out the CD is the final song, called “Today.” This is another difficult song to decipher. On its surface, it’s about a man who’s on the verge of losing his mind, perhaps hanging on by a thread. In the first few verses, he says:
I have an injury It’s there for all to see,
They pay to watch as the blood pours out
And it’s my privilege.
I’m not sure how to interpret that. I was thinking maybe he is looking through the eyes of Jesus, who was on the cross.
Later it says:
The fascination lives Inside the world that spins
Around the scene of the accident
And they’re most interested.
This is then followed up with:
I went to church today,
To pray it all away,
I watched the meek pass the hat around,
But I’d already paid.
So does that mean Jesus already paid for our sins on the cross? Or maybe he is just a dude who feels like things are spinning out of control, and he goes to church but doesn’t donate because he’s in “danger” of losing his mind. Moreover, this is the shortest song on the CD. Although I do enjoy the chorus. I find I like the slow parts better.
In conclusion, this is an amazing solo CD that was released some 8 years after his first solo debut, “Euphoria Mourning.” It sold over 300,000 copies worldwide, which is quite an accomplishment. In my opinion, although it is great, it does not eclipse his previous effort, “Euphoria Mourning,” but by the same token, its saving grace is that it is not nearly as dark or depressing either.
*****
Highly Recommended
DK: It sounds like making Carry On was a really good experience for you.
Cornell: I had a great time making this album, and when it was finished, I still felt completely fresh ‘ I was ready to write another one. I really enjoyed the whole creative process. […] that as a working musician, I always feel lucky to do what I do ‘ creating music for a living. Many musicians don’t make much money. But I’m in a very small, lucky group who can make a good living at it. I feel very fortunate to be able to travel around the world, making music and performing.
