[New Release] Chris Cornell

Chris Cornell

“No One Sings Like You Anymore”

Label: Ume

Genre: Alternative/Indie

No disrespect to Sinead O’Connor, but there’s another version of “Nothing Compares 2 U” that might be even better than the one the Irish singer delivered. That would be the cover by Chris Cornell, which is ragged with heartbreak.

It’s the highlight of “No One Sings Like You Anymore,” a batch of 10 covers that the leader of Soundgarden and Audioslave recorded in 2016, a year before his death. Included are tunes originally made famous by giants like Janis Joplin and John Lennon.

Cynics might say this new album is just a money grab from those who watched Cornell’s cover of Guns N’ Roses’ “Patience” go to No. 1 on Billboard’s mainstream rock songs chart earlier this year.

But there’s nothing here that Cornell touches which isn’t fascinating, excellent or lighters-in-the-air cool. Many are simply better than the originals. What he does with Ghostland Observatory’s “Sad Sad City” is remarkable, taking a synth-heavy, New Wave-ish tune into a momentous foot-stomping rock classic.

He does the same with Electric Light Orchestra’s “Showdown,” stripping the original of its bed of strings and adding a driving funkiness.

AP