The album opener, No Such Thing, bursts out of the gate with more energy than anything on , and seems to reveal Cornell as re-energized by his time in Audioslave. The song is done in by two things, however - an extremely awkward chorus and Cornell s voice, which is not nearly as powerful as in years past. The second track, Poison Eye , is -era Soundgarden with the instruments turned down.
It s got an almost funk feel to it and is it one of the few highlights on the album. From there, things get worse in a hurry. It s a safe song, but still catchy.
But after that, a run of four equally bland and forgettable songs ( Safe and Sound , She ll Never Be Your Man , Ghosts , and Killing Birds ) grinds the proceedings to a halt. Cornell s decision to include a cover of Michael Jackson s Billie Jean has gimmick written all over it. The whole idea of reworking a famous pop song as a more serious one is tired at this point.
At least Alanis Morissette had the good sense to put her cover of My Humps on her website for free. A trio of decent but still bland songs follows ( Scar on the Sky , Your Soul Today , Finally Forever ), and all hope seems lost. The album is redeemed partially by Silence the Voices, which includes a number of effective chord changes, and Disappearing Act, which would fare better if the rest of the album had more energy.
closes with the aforementioned You Know My Name, although with a slightly different arrangement than the 007 version. The songwriting and execution of this song is clearly a notch above most of the others on this album, which makes its inclusion seem a bit calculated.
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