CHRIS CORNELL: NO ONE SINGS LIKE YOU ANYMORE

Fans of physical media rejoice! First issued last year as a digital-only release, this solo album by Chris Cornell is now available on vinyl.

It’s an album of covers chosen by Cornell “to celebrate artists and songs that inspired him," and there are some intriguing choices. It’s not a surprise to find him covering John Lennon (he’d previ­ously covered "Imagine”), and he turns in a wistful performance of “Watching the Wheels.' But tackling a number by Harry Nils­son is less expected, and Cornell ramps up the energy on the noted singer-songwriters “Jump Into the Fire," making it into even more of a turbo-charged rocker. Similarly, you probably wouldn't think of "Chris Cornell" and “Ja­nis Joplin” in the same sentence. But after hearing Cornell’s version of “Get It While You Can," you'll wonder what took you so long, because the song’s a perfect fit for his plaintive voice.

The Joplin song was co-written by Jerry Ragovoy, who also co-wrote the fraught “Stay With Me," which gives Cornell a real vocal workout (he also dips into soul on another Ragovoy-written number, “You Don't Know Noth­ing About Love"). It's one of the few previously released tracks on the album, along with “Nothing Compares 2 U," which Cornell previously posted the day after Prince's death. It's a powerful, heartfelt rendition that makes the song sound fresh again.

His cover of Guns Ν' Roses “Patience" was released last year on what would've been Cornell's 56th birthday, topping Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart. There’s a heavier take on ELO's “Show­down," the pensive folk of Terry Reid's “To Be Treated Rite," and a rock reworking of Ghostland Ob­servatory's electronically-inclined “Sad Sad City”.

Some listings of this album add a “Vol. 1” to the title, perhaps a sign that more releases featuring such rarities may follow. Cornell fans will surely have their fingers crossed.