Entertainment

Chris Cornell has a mellow new sound garden

Album of the week

CHRIS CORNELL “Songbook”
3 1/2 stars

While Chris Cornell is famous as the frontman for big, loud bands such as Temple of the Dog, Soundgarden and Audioslave, this year the singer has experimented with quiet-riot arrangements in a series of small-theater solo concerts.

“Songbook” is a live compilation featuring the best performances from his 2011 spring tour. In each of the record’s 16 tracks, Cornell is alone onstage, with just a guitar. Unplugged yet energized, the singer deconstructs originals and classic rock covers, letting the weight of each song rest on his gritty baritone.

Cornell is a unique vocalist in today’s pop; his bluesy, emotional delivery seems to draw its influences from Jim Morrison on “L.A. Woman,” his last recording with The Doors.

Among the many peaks on this record is the cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Thank You,” on which Cornell pays vocal homage to Robert Plant’s essential wailing vibrato. Cornell is thoughtful in recasting his Temple of the Dog tune “Call Me a Dog” as a strum ’n’ hum ballad, and he actually achieves a dreamy folk quality on the darkly dangerous original “Cleaning My Gun,” which he says “is a song I wrote a while ago,” but never recorded.

There is a pretty version of John Lennon’s “Imagine” that ranks among the best covers of the classic available, and the Audioslave hit “Doesn’t Remind Me” is also notable. The best of this very good record is “Black Hole Sun,” from Cornell’s Soundgarden tenure.

This rock classic about cleansing the Earth through total destruction is stripped down to voice and guitar. The laid-back, slow jam tempo suits the tune, allowing Cornell to sound as if he’s creating the lyrics off the top of his head. It’s an intimate and compelling piece on a very personal album.

Single of the week

HOT CHELLE RAE “I Like It Like That”
3 stars

Nashville pop quartet Hot Chelle Rae, who scored big-time this summer with the infectiously catchy hit “Tonight Tonight,” keeps the momentum going on new record “Whatever.” The music remains effervescent, especially the track “I Like It Like That.’’ The bubbly double-time beat is propulsive and dance-ready. What singer Ryan Follese lacks in vocal range he makes up for with enthusiasm, optimistically singing about living in the moment. The song also features a very hip rap interlude provided by California’s New Boyz, known for the viral hit “You’re a Jerk.” Hot Chelle Rae fans on Long Island should take note that the band will play a free concert tonight at 5:30 in the Sony Store at Roosevelt Field Mall in Garden City.