Lena Hall - Obsessed: Chris Cornell (2018) [Official Digital Download]

Lena Hall, a singular artist who authentically and explosively brings the worlds of Rock and Broadway together, is releasing a series of EPs over the course of 2018. The Obsessed series features stripped-down vocal-intensive covers of one artist/band with whom Lena is “obsessed."

The twelfth and final release in the Obsessed series is a four-track EP of songs by Chris Cornell.

Lena Hall is a Tony Award winner and Grammy nominee, recently portraying the dual starring roles of Hedwig and Yitzhak in Hedwig and the Angry Inch in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Following her Tony-winning Broadway run, she toured North America with Josh Groban on his Stages tour. She originated the role of Nicola in the Tony-winning musical Kinky Boots, and can be seen on HBO’s Girls, Amazon Prime’s Good Girls Revolt, and heard voicing the fan-favorite role of “Countess Coloratura” on My Little Pony. In 2018, Lena will be appearing opposite Jennifer Connelly in TNT’s science fiction epic Snowpiercer.

Obsessed: Chris Cornell opens with an engrossing and deceptively delicate take on “Black Hole Sun,” Soundgarden’s signature hit, originally from their 1994 album Superunknown. A ruminative version of “Fell on Black Days,” also from Superunknown, deftly balances the song’s lyricism and darkness. “Like a Stone,” featuring Hall’s typically robust singing, is from the eponymous 2003 debut album of Cornell’s later band Audioslave. The EP concludes with a reflective interpretation of “Sunshower,” a Cornell solo penned for the soundtrack to Alfonso Cuarón’s 1998 film adaptation of Great Expectations.

The Obsessed series has been called “stirring” by Rolling Stone, “amazing and intimate” by Billboard, “fabulous” by Stereophile, “chilling” by The Huffington Post, “soaring and moving” by All Music Guide, and “superb” by Time Out New York. Previous EPs this year have celebrated Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Peter Gabriel, Elton John, The Cranberries, P!nk, Radiohead, Jack White, David Bowie, Beck, Muse, and Nirvana.

In February, Lena received widespread critical acclaim for her performance of the title role in the feature film Becks, which won the U.S. Fiction Award at the LA Film Festival, and is currently available on iTunes and VOD. The New York Times called her the “charismatic, tone-perfect lead,” with the Los Angeles Times adding, “Sexy and sexually frank, Becks works thanks to the musical talent and offbeat charms of its lead. Hall feels authentic at each moment.”

Tracklist:
1. Black Hole Sun 04:19
2. Fell on Black Days 04:42
3. Like a Stone 03:36
4. Sunshower 04:58

Personnel:
Lena Hall, vocals
Justin Craig, guitar, keyboards
Matt Duncan, bass, keyboards, saxophone
Brian Fishler, drums, percussion