"Jesus Christ Pose" as "elevator" music? The dread of recognition rushed in like a sure sign of the apocalypse. To puree one of Soundgarden's roughest mid- career cult favew into mellow background drone seems too impossible to fathom, but there it was- just waffling down the refrigerated aisle, sandwiched between Tori Amos' "Cornflake Girl" (OK, that one makes sense) and Neil Diamond's "Coming to America."

But the horrifying marriage of Seattle's two musical genre exports- grunge and Muzak- isn't far off from what really hardcore early- Soundgarden fans might feel abut the post- Garden solo release of lead singer Chris Cornell's bluesy "Euphoria Morning"- an album that pits '60s equipment against cutting- edge digital technology.

Truthfully, Cornell's transformation occurred before Seattle's sonic sons even went their separate ways, back when "Black Hole Sun" hit the pop stations (and supermarket loudspeakers- although in its original form), and the raucous singer snipped his Samson locks, graced the cover of Details and shed his trademark shriek.

It was around the time that he began experimenting with more soulful melodies on side- project work such as the soundtrack for "Singles." Cornell since has leaned a bit more towards "twangy," but Soundgarden even hinted at a bluesy core resting below its abrasive topcoat. (After all, Johnny Cash did cover their "Rusty Cage.")

And thankfully, Cornell isn't morphing into Sting yet. Always the raw songsmith, he still possesses plenty of crass hooks and some cool, raggedy song titles ("Pillow of Your Bones"), and will hopefully steer clear of striking any messianic poses of his own.

"If I'm influenced by something, I want to take it to another place rather than emulate exactly what they did," he elaborates. "It doesn't matter what style it is, what it reminds me of, what it doesn't remind me of. If it doesn't give me that feeling of inspiration, then it's not there yet. That's the beauty of being able to do this as my job. It's intangible. Nobody can tell me how to do it. I can't tell anyone else how to do it. You have to invent it as you go along. It's challenging, completely unpredictable and sometimes frightening, but that's what makes it all worthwhile."

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