Scream
by Chris Cornell
User Score
4.2

Mixed or average reviews- based on 151 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 63 out of 151
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 151
  3. Negative: 82 out of 151

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  1. SimG
    Mar 13, 2009
    5
    As a pop album, I have heard worst. As a Chris Cornell... it is the worst. It's hard to believe that the guy once was the lead of legend bands such as Temple of the Dog, Soundgarden and Audioslave. I understand that any artist that has been doing music for so long, might want to try something new. This might be new for him, but we've heard this type of pop music so many times As a pop album, I have heard worst. As a Chris Cornell... it is the worst. It's hard to believe that the guy once was the lead of legend bands such as Temple of the Dog, Soundgarden and Audioslave. I understand that any artist that has been doing music for so long, might want to try something new. This might be new for him, but we've heard this type of pop music so many times before. Timbaland was obviously not inspired on this. He might have done it simply to get more visibility, and of course more money, but I taught his success with You Know My Name would've been enough. On the cover, you see him breaking his guitar, which says all about the album because you won't hear any of it. I sure hope he buys himself a new one, so that we can forget this mess. Still, I gave this album a 5. Simply because it let itself listen easily, there some interesting moments... mostly the hidden track which is an acoustic song.… Expand
  2. VaughnA
    May 27, 2009
    4
    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.
  3. MR.Kickboxer
    Mar 18, 2009
    4
    I think the main problem people are having with this album is the blending of 2 worlds. On one side of the board we have Timberland representing the most commercial aspects of hip hop supplying the sounds and on the other side of the spectrum we have the wild, hypnotic vocals of Chris Cornell representing the grunge/rock side. Before even listening to the album those 2 worlds blending I think the main problem people are having with this album is the blending of 2 worlds. On one side of the board we have Timberland representing the most commercial aspects of hip hop supplying the sounds and on the other side of the spectrum we have the wild, hypnotic vocals of Chris Cornell representing the grunge/rock side. Before even listening to the album those 2 worlds blending together automatically creates a sort of bias attitude toward the album. Typically if you are a fan of AudioSlave and Soundgarden you really aren't spending much time listening to Timberland and Magoo records and vice versa bringing back the old Rock vs Hip Hop war. Typically and unfortunately in most cases when these 2 sides combine it fails miserably like when Metallica tried to work with Swizz beats of Ruff Ryder fame. But we can't forget of course the times it worked. And when it worked, it really worked like when Aerosmith made their legendary connection with Run DMC or even the underlooked collaboration of Public Enemy and Anthrax. Those artists found a happy medium and made it work. I doubt if Aerosmith and Run DMC decided to do a full album together each track on there would have created the same magic each time around. What you would end up with is a mediocre album with 2 or 3 memorable tracks and a lot of filler. And sadly enough that is what happened here. Oneof the biggest problems I have had with this album is that it is laid out primarily as a hip hop album rather than a rap/rock collaboration. The song structures are laid out entirely like a typical hip hop track from intro to outro, even the repetive chorus/hook layout used on rap albums. This effort gives it a feeling that timberland made a ton of beats, put Chris in the booth and said sing. No meeting of the minds and joint effort. Ladies in gentlemen what we have is Timberland Presents SCREAM...ft. Chris Cornell. No rock Rock/Rap infusion. Do I hate this album? No, I actually enjoy it being that I am a fan of both Timberland and Chris Cornell. Chris Cornell is one of my favorite singers and Timberland is a producer that I respect and enjoy thanks to his a lot of his original efforts that helped him stand apart from other producers like the neptunes. But going back to the negative...unfortunately the production on this album sounds as if he created 2-3 decent efforts that shows sides of his genius and the rest were beats other artists rejected and were sitting in a crate waiting for the right time to pop up. I honestly would have been happier with Timberland giving Chris some of his best worked used by other artists and letting Chris put his spin over them. Imagine Chris Cornells vocal format from Like a Stone over Timberlands Cry Me a River beat. But i'd rather hear Chris over a Timberland throwaway any day than over a Neptunes track or Lil' John bs. If Chris really wanted to blend the best of both worlds he should have searched for a difference producer than Timberland who's realm is Commericial pop hop and RnB. If Chris decides to do this again...please seek out Rick Rubin. At least he married the two genres together well in the past with his work with the beastie boys and in most recent efforts "99 Problems" by Jay Z. At least his productions is very rock influenced to begin with. If you enjoy Timberland and Chris Cornell then you'll get some enjoyment out of the album. It has some entertaining moments. Listen to it, then once its played to the end put it aside. Trust me...this is an album that you won't have any trouble forgetting.… Expand
  4. TyroneP
    Oct 25, 2010
    4
    Whereas his previous solo album is still getting better with every listen, this one has the opposite effect. After two or three spins of Scream I liked most of the cuts. But after a few more spins there were only a couple that really stayed with me. Cornell's biggest mistake was trying to go for big ballads ("Long Gone," "Scream") on what should essentially be a light-hearted dance recordWhereas his previous solo album is still getting better with every listen, this one has the opposite effect. After two or three spins of Scream I liked most of the cuts. But after a few more spins there were only a couple that really stayed with me. Cornell's biggest mistake was trying to go for big ballads ("Long Gone," "Scream") on what should essentially be a light-hearted dance record filled with more straight-up catchy pop tunes like "Ground Zero." Not a bad concept for an album, the songwriting just didn't have the right stuff.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

13
#13 Most Discussed Album of 2009
87
#87 Most Shared Album of 2009

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
42

Mixed or average reviews - based on 19 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 19
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 19
  3. Negative: 6 out of 19
  1. Billboard
    50
    Sometimes it's good bizarre. Other times it's bad bizarre.
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  2. Entertainment Weekly
    83
    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
  3. Hot Press
    80
    Though this hook-up frequently pushes at the boundaries of plausibility, there's lots about Scream that makes perfect sense.
    Read full review
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