Euphoria Morning

Euphoria Mourning (originally titled Euphoria Morning) is the first solo studio album by American musician Chris Cornell. It was released through Interscope Records on September 21, 1999, and Cornell embarked on a tour in support of the album in 2000. Cornell's only album from between the dissolution of Soundgarden and the formation of Audioslave, it did not sell as well as much of his work with those groups, though it did sell over 75,000 copies in its first week of release and has gone on to sell over 393,000 copies in the U.S.[3] The album was well-received critically, and its lead single, "Can't Change Me", was nominated for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance at the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards.[4]

Euphoria Mourning
Studio album by
Chris Cornell
ReleasedSeptember 21, 1999[1]
Recorded1998–1999
Studio11 AD Studios in Los Angeles, California[2]
Genre
Length50:55
LabelInterscope
Producer
Chris Cornell chronology
Euphoria Mourning
(1999)		 Carry On
(2007)
Singles from Euphoria Mourning
  1. "Can't Change Me"
    Released: 1999
  2. "Preaching the End of the World"
    Released: 1999
Alternate Cover
Re-released in 2015 as Euphoria Mourning

On August 14, 2015, Euphoria Morning was re-released on CD and vinyl with the modified title Euphoria Mourning, which Cornell stated in a press release is what he had originally intended to call the album.[5]

Production

Recording

In 1998, Cornell began working on material for a solo album in collaboration with Alain Johannes and Natasha Shneider of the band Eleven,[6] and the album was recorded in Johannes and Schneider's Los Angeles home studio.[7]

Track information

Cornell said the album's lead single, "Can't Change Me", is "kind of a sad discovery that this singer is involved with this person that has amazing powers to help people and change things positively, and he's realizing that none of it is really rubbing off on him."[8] He told MTV News that the genesis of the song can be found in some of Soundgarden's hits, such as "Blow Up the Outside World" and "Fell on Black Days".[9] An alternate recording of the song featuring Cornell singing in French[10] can be found on various international editions of the album. The lyrics were translated into French by Alexis Lemoine.[11]

"Flutter Girl" was an outtake from Superunknown, the 1994 Soundgarden album.[12] The title was created by Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament as part of a joke tracklist for the character Poncier's demo tape in the 1992 Cameron Crowe film Singles,[13] but Cornell surprised Crowe by writing and recording songs with the joke names. The five-track Poncier EP, which includes the 1992 version of "Flutter Girl", was released as a promotional CD in 2015 for Record Store Day.[14]

A reworked version of "Mission", retitled "Mission 2000", was included on the soundtrack of the 2000 film Mission: Impossible 2.

Cornell stated that "Wave Goodbye" was written as a tribute to his friend Jeff Buckley, who died in 1997.[15][16]

"Moonchild" is about Cornell's then-wife Susan Silver. In the song, he affectionately describes how she "gets really freaked out during the full moon".[15]

Musical style

The album has been described as "psychedelic folk-rock"[17] that "delves back into '60s psychedelic melodies and acoustic ditties",[18] and "a shaded, textured rock album, lacking the grinding sludge and furious rock" of much of Soundgarden's music, yet "undeniably of a piece with Superunknown."[1]

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Alternative Press[19]
Robert Christgau(C+)[20]
Entertainment Weekly(B+)[18]
NME4/10[21]
Q[22]
Rolling Stone[23]

While the album was not a particularly big seller for Cornell, the single "Can't Change Me" was nominated for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance at the 42nd Grammy Awards.[4]

The song "Preaching the End of the World" inspired the title of Lorene Scafaria's 2012 film Seeking a Friend for the End of the World.[24][25]

Re-release and title change

The album was re-released on CD and vinyl on August 14, 2015, with the modified title Euphoria Mourning. Cornell said that is the title he had originally wanted for the album, but his manager at the time of the original release, Jim Guerinot, suggested that "Euphoria Morning" (without the "u") would be a better title:[5]

It was a pretty dark album lyrically and pretty depressing, and I was going through a really difficult time in my life – my band wasn’t together anymore, my marriage was falling apart and I was dealing with it by drinking way too much, and that has its own problems, particularly with depression. So I titled the album Euphoria Mourning, but right before the record came out and I was doing interviews over the radio for example, if you say “Euphoria Mourning”, the listener doesn’t know if it’s mourning with a “u” or morning without a “u”. And that started to bother me. So I had a conversation with my manager at the time, and said I really love the title but do you think it’s confusing? And he suggested that Euphoria Morning would probably be a better title. I thought, in contrast to the lyrics maybe that works. And it wasn’t my manager’s fault, I was a grown man and could say I don’t think that’s a good idea, and in the back of my mind I didn’t think it was a good idea. But mentally I wasn’t together enough to really know what was right. So I went with “Morning”, and it’s bothered me ever since. It even showed up in an early review where someone reviewing the record said that the title sounded like a potpourri scent, and when I read that I was just like [with disdain], “Fuck! Fuckin’ bullshit!” The title was so beautifully poetic to begin with, just the concept of euphoria in mourning; it was a moment I felt inspired and I let all the air out of it. So when we decided to do its first vinyl release I thought, I want to change the fuckin’ title! [Laughs] It’s time to change it.[5]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Chris Cornell, except as noted; all music is composed by Cornell, except as noted

No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
1."Can't Change Me"  3:23
2."Flutter Girl" 
4:25
3."Preaching the End of the World"  4:41
4."Follow My Way" 
  • Cornell
  • Shneider
  • Johannes
5:10
5."When I'm Down"  4:20
6."Mission" 
  • Cornell
  • Shneider
  • Johannes
4:05
7."Wave Goodbye"  3:43
8."Moonchild"  4:02
9."Sweet Euphoria"  3:08
10."Disappearing One" 
  • Shneider
  • Johannes
3:48
11."Pillow of Your Bones"
  • Cornell
  • Shneider
  • Johannes
Shneider4:29
12."Steel Rain" 
  • Cornell
  • Shneider
5:41
Japanese bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
13."Sunshower"5:52
14."Can't Change Me" (French version)3:47
  • "Sunshower" had previously been released on the soundtrack of the 1998 film Great Expectations.
  • "Can't Change Me" (French version) was also included on various other international editions of the album.

Personnel

Personnel adapted from Euphoria Morning liner notes.[2]

Main personnel
  • Chris Cornell - lead vocals (all tracks), guitar (tracks 1-3 and 5-13), harmonica (track 1)
  • Alain Johannes - guitar (tracks 1-6, 8, and 10-12), bass guitar (tracks 2-5, 10, and 11), backing vocals (tracks 1 and 13), theremin (track 4), mandolin (tracks 4 and 13), clarinet (track 10), tabla (track 12)
  • Natasha Shneider - keyboards (tracks 1-4, 6-8, and 10-13), bass guitar (tracks 6 and 13), backing vocals (tracks 4-7, and 13), tambourine (tracks 1-4, 11, and 12), piano (track 5), organ (track 5), timpani (track 11)
  • Ric Markmann - bass guitar (tracks 1, 7, 8, and 12)
  • Josh Freese - drums (tracks 1-4, 6, 8, and 11)
Additional musicians
Technical personnel
  • Chris Cornell - production, engineering, mixing
  • Alain Johannes - production, engineering, mixing
  • Natasha Shneider - production, engineering, mixing
  • Dave Collins - mastering

Charts
Chart (1999) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[26] 18
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[27] 14

References
  1. Stephen Thomas Erlewine (September 21, 1999). "Euphoria Morning - Chris Cornell | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved August 25, 2015.
  2. "Chris Cornell - Euphoria Morning (CD, Album) at Discogs". Discogs.com. 1999. Archived from the original on March 9, 2016. Retrieved August 25, 2015.
  3. "What Will Happen To Soundgarden After The Sudden Death Of Chris Cornell?". Forbes. Archived from the original on May 18, 2017. Retrieved June 4, 2017.
  4. "42nd Grammy Awards - 2000". Rockonthenet.com. Archived from the original on December 20, 2007. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
  5. Yates, Rod (September 17, 2015). "The Life & Times of Chris Cornell". Rolling Stone Australia. Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved September 22, 2015.
  6. "Chris Cornell AP Interview". Alternative Press. May 18, 2017. Archived from the original on December 29, 2018. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  7. Bambarger, Bradley (September 11, 1999). "'Euphoria Morning' Dawns For Soundgarden's Cornell On A&M". Billboard. p. 19. Archived from the original on April 4, 2022. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
  8. "Chris Cornell on the meaning behind the song "Can't Change Me"". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 11, 2021.
  9. Kaufman, Gil (September 7, 1999). "Ex-Soundgarden Singer Expands His Art On Euphoria Morning". MTV News. Archived from the original on December 30, 2018. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
  10. Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Chris Cornell - Can't Change Me (French)". YouTube.
  11. "Chris Cornell – Euphoria Morning (Europe)". Discogs. Archived from the original on September 9, 2018. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  12. Henry, Dusty (July 7, 2015). "Chris Cornell reissuing debut solo album with alternate title". Consequence of Sound. Archived from the original on August 18, 2015. Retrieved August 25, 2015.
  13. Sottile, Alexis (May 18, 2017). "Cameron Crowe on the 'Singles' Soundtrack, Chris Cornell". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on September 19, 2020. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  14. Shoup, Brad (May 19, 2017). "Chris Cornell's Rare, Re-Released Poncier EP Predicted Where Grunge Would Go Next". SPIN. Archived from the original on September 28, 2018. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  15. Matt, Diehl (May 18, 2017). "Chris Cornell Talks 'Euphoria Morning' in 1999 SPIN Interview". SPIN Magazine. Archived from the original on May 21, 2017. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  16. Liberty, John (December 13, 2011). "The details behind Chris Cornell, Jeff Buckley and the mysterious red phone". MLive. Archived from the original on January 27, 2018. Retrieved April 17, 2015.
  17. Wood, Mikael (May 4, 2007). "Cornell's Soundgarden tunes rock the Avalon crowd". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on November 21, 2015. Retrieved November 20, 2015.
  18. Farber, Jim (February 2, 2008). "Euphoria Morning". EW.com. Archived from the original on April 26, 2012. Retrieved August 25, 2015.
  19. 10/99, p.77
  20. "CG: chris cornell". Robert Christgau. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved August 25, 2015.
  21. Grogan, Siobhan (September 14, 1999). "Chris Cornell - Euphoria Morning". NME. Archived from the original on August 17, 2000. Retrieved August 25, 2015.
  22. 10/99, p.117
  23. "Rolling Stone : Chris Cornell: Euphoria Morning : Music Reviews". Rolling Stone. September 30, 1999. Archived from the original on June 29, 2007. Retrieved August 25, 2015.
  24. "Commentary: 'Norah' had screenwriter wanting to be 16 again". The Hollywood Reporter. October 2, 2008. Archived from the original on November 9, 2017. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
  25. "For 'End of the World' writer/director Lorene Scafaria, music is key". The Washington Post. June 21, 2012. Archived from the original on August 21, 2017. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
  26. "Chris Cornell Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 23, 2014.
  27. "Chris Cornell Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 23, 2014.
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