Chris Cornell

"Success is really only a measure of what has happened before," says Chris Cornell, who as singer for Seattle's recently disbanded Soundgarden, reintroduced integrity and reckless passion back into the tired genre of hard rock. Though Soundgarden split in 1997 at the height of their 12-year-career, Cornell continues on in the tradition of breaking boundaries and challenging traditions with his daringly eclectic debut Euphoria Morning. "I don't think you ever really reach a plateau where you're good enough at your craft to just stop and rest on past achievements. You always have to create something new rather than borrow or lean on what you've done in the past. It's like being a baby. You've just been born and have totally new parameters. The world is wide open." Euphoria Morning is Cornell's rebirth into a new realm of more experimental and emotional terrain.

Using Soundgarden's sonic diversity as a jumping off point, the singer/songwriter explores more surreal musical textures, esoteric studio techniques, emotional lyricism and varied singing styles. "Suddenly I could do anything I wanted, and that's kind of scary," says Cornell of working solo. I became really inspired by the Beatles, not so much their songwriting or sound, but the fact that they were really diverse. They would discover different styles and feelings, incorporate that into whatthey did, and create an incredible landscape of sounds. With Euphoria Morning, I felt like 'Let's not just do it the normal way. Let's have an environment that you put your hand into, your head into."