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Scream
Mixed or average reviews
Based on 19 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 129 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album >
Album Info
Label: Interscope
Release Date: 10 March 2009
Discs: 1 disc
Genre(s): Rock, Alternative
Summary
The latest solo album for the singer/guitarist was produced by Timberland and Jerome "J-Roc" Harmon.
Also By This Artist: Carry On
Also On The Web: Official Artist Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Entertainment Weekly
What's more surprising than Scream's R&B bells and whistles (provided by überproducer Timbaland) is that Cornell almost succeeds at that goal without tarnishing his hard-rawkin' legacy.
Read Full Review >Hot Press
Though this hook-up frequently pushes at the boundaries of plausibility, there's lots about Scream that makes perfect sense.
Read Full Review >musicOMH.com
This is a startling new direction, and while not entirely successful, it confirms Cornell as a vocalist of versatility and strength.
Read Full Review >Mojo
Scream has balls, Cornell vacating his comfort zone with admirable readiness. [Apr 2009, p.98]
The New York Times
The new environment rejuvenates Mr. Cornell for good and bad: he sounds shallower than he was before but pithier too.
Read Full Review >Boston Globe
The resulting dynamic is two distinct flowers from the sound garden that produce an only occasionally sweet-smelling bouquet.
Read Full Review >Spin
Produced with a heavy hand by Timbaland, the third solo album from ex-Soundgarden and Audioslave singer Chris Cornell is strangely appealing in its elaborately empty efficiency.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club)
The problem with Scream isn’t that Cornell is too much of an artist to go pop, it’s that the fit is so unbecoming.
Read Full Review >Blender
Their collaboration suggests a nice philosophical dissonance, but only in theory. In practice, Scream is nearly awful.
Read Full Review >New Musical Express (NME)
There are flickers of funky light on the lush old school soul of ‘Ground Zero’ and the Motown-esque ‘Other Side Of Town’, but for the most part it’s all depressingly castrated.
Read Full Review >The Guardian
Timbaland, who has sprinkled his hip-hop fairy dust on weaker voices, rinses away Cornell's inherent dirt and power, and compresses the godfather of grunge until he squawks.
Read Full Review >All Music Guide
It never seems like a collaboration, it seems like it was assembled by committee, discussed in boardrooms, farmed out to contract players and stitched together on computer.
Read Full Review >PopMatters
What we get when we put the pieces together: an album where every single song is approximately the same length; an album where you could take apart any one track, combine those segments with other stray bits of the album, and still have the same basic entity you started with; an album whose choruses consist of phrases like “No, that bitch ain’t a part of me” repeated eight times; an album that, above all else, does not want you to think about it too hard.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times
The idea of Cornell's sex-god wail over Timbaland's mechanized funk is appealing. But Scream draws out the worst tendencies in both of them.
Read Full Review >Prefix Magazine
Timbaland rose to the challenge of making Chris Cornell a solo star by producing arguably the worst album he’s ever had a hand in.
Read Full Review >No Ripcord
The record sounds phoned in, plain and simple, and its awkward concessions to cliche, its trash heap lyrical conceits, and its dopey production have a cumulative effect that would be insulting if it weren’t so transparently uninspired and uninteresting.
Read Full Review >Rolling Stone
Scream veers between drab–sleek and rock–dude soulful; Cornell's yowl never sounds at home.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this album is 3.7 (out of 10) based on 129 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Marty M gave it a10:
This is a enjoyable album worth listening to. Chris Cornell is showing off his ability to diversify and his tremendous vocal ability. No wonder many people consider him to stand amongst the greatest vocalists of all time. This album also could be used as a case against the process of modern critics to determine the merits of music against modern consumers insatiable desire for a consistent flow of predictable instantly enjoyable music. No longer do we have the brave critics we had 10 or 20 years ago pushing consumers boundaries. What a shameful thing modern music journalism has become.
Kev H gave it an8:
Like everyone else, I agree that this album is quite a departure from his previous offerings, but you have to admire his boldness in trying something THIS different. Personally, i love the way each song leads into the other, it gives the album a flow that im surprised nobody else has commented on. This is novel in a time where so many albums just seem like a bunch of songs slapped together. When i first listened to it, I was disappointed to not find a sound i was used to, but it has slowly grown on me, with killer tracks like Climbing Up The Walls and Enemy.Give it time and it may grow on you too.
Stu F gave it a9:
This is a great album with catchy beats, varied lyrics and a good range of songs. Highlights include Ground Zero, Scream and Part of Me. This isn't Soundgarden or whatever so don't expect it to be, it's something different and definitely worth repeated listens. Cornell is a great singer and Timberland definitely makes him display that talent here.
Tim W gave it a0:
The album sounds like a series of bad mash-ups by an amateur home-studio DJ. Seriously, this music is not creative nor cutting age. It is simply unbearable and laughable.
Jam W gave it an8:
I have to admit this made me want to puke on 1st listen, i was expecting the familiar cornell sound, quite heavy with some decent melodies and a folky singer/songwriter element... this aint that...but....but.... give it a few listens with an open mind and you realise this is pretty daring and actually really good with some outstanding catchy tunes... its pop music but that doesn't mean it automatically sucks, some of the freshest ideas seem to be happening in commercial music, while indie music is pushing a tired template these days.
Vaughn A gave it a4:
Not since Rod Stewart has a vocalist of this talent betrayed his audience and himself so. Please Chris leave this crap to Justin Timberlake and make a decent Rock album like Badmotorfinger again.
Jim M gave it a2:
Might not have been as bad if he have of called Trent Reznor, but this is just weird. What you imagine a dickish Hollywood friend of Paris Hilton would come up with if they made a record.
