Scott Weiland's 12 Bar Blues Review

I finally received my Weiland solo album CD. No error this time! So, while I'm studying and looking back at a few things for yet another round of job interviews, here is a short review of the album...

First song that hit me, Barbarella, summarizes pretty much the talent of Weiland. No wonder this became one of the lead single of this album. A deep, melodic tune, with hooks reminiscent of some Purple songs. Good production (Lanois, of course) on there, with sparse acoustic guitars and a "wall of sound" hitting hard during the chorus, with several layers of guitar.

The third song, About Nothing, couldn't be more experimental. Loops everywhere. Weird after a first listen, but good chorus with plenty of guitars again.

Where's The Man is an excellent ballad, with a chorus full of layers like in the first few songs.

Fifth song, Divider, has a jazzy/bossa feel. Excellent piano, throughout the song, from Brad Mehldau. But damn... that layed-back track is followed by hard, distorted guitars! Great, as I like albums with dynamics. Quite original, trashy but also spacey at times. Next is The Date with a slow groove and a good amount of delay on vocals. Simple yet efficient, with an ending reminiscent of Nirvana.

I could go on and on about each and every song, but just half-way through, it is easy to figure out that it is a great album. You can hear, at times, some influences of Beck, of the Beatles and of Tom Waits (Lady, Your Roof Brings Me own, with Sheryl Crow on accordion), which are great comparisons.

The liner notes indicate that Daniel Lanois mixed 5 songs on the album, and I'd say that it shows, as these songs all sound heavy and full.

So, the verdict... just don't expect an album that sounds like STP. However, I would say that it definitely ranks up there with the first 3 STP albums. It is quite successful at departing from STP's "signature" sound while retaining originality and quality. Good mix of guitars and loops and nice vocal melodies. All in all, a great album, that I hope you will enjoy as much as I do after just one hearing!