Audioslave frontman covers Michael Jackson on solo album

Audioslave singer Chris Cornell has told MTV that he's recorded a cover of Michael Jackson's classic, "Billie Jean," for his second solo album, which he has been working on for the past four weeks. He said about the track, "I didn't plan on it. It just sort of happened organically. I changed the music quite a bit, I didn't touch the lyrics. And it's not a joke. I took a completely different approach to it, musically." The vocalist has performed the song live during some solo European gigs.

Cornell plans to release his sophomore solo effort in March, and does plan to tour behind it. The former Soundgarden and Temple Of The Dog vocalist told us he'd like those concerts to be something special: "I'd love to be able to go out and do something solo and just...I have almost a 20-year recording history. I mean, by the beginning of next year, it'll be 20 years since I released my first thing. And there's a lot of songs in there with, you know, with three different bands, with the solo record, with a lot of other different solo projects, and it would be great to just go out and kind of cover all that stuff."

Other tracks slated to appear on Cornell's second solo album, which does not yet have a title, include "She'll Never Be Your Man," "Arms Around Your Love" and "Disappearing Act," which appears in acoustic form in the upcoming movie Bug.

Cornell told MTV that the album, his first solo outing since 1999's Euphoria Morning, has its "gospel and R&B moments."

Audioslave released its third album, Revelations, in September, but currently has no plans to tour in support of the CD. Cornell said that part of the reason for the band's inactivity is that he wants to "get back to making my own records and touring for a while."
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