Hidden Treasures - Weiland

[Scott]

This week finds me reflecting on tragic events, not the ridiculousness of Islamic terrorists which I fully condemn and hope the world rids of soon. That’s a rant for a different forum. But this is a Classic Rock site and the tragic event I'm referring to is the passing of Scott Weiland. It’s no secret to anyone who's been on here for a while that I think his talent was immeasurable and that he was easily the best vocalist to come out of the 90's music scene. I thought Velvet Revolver was genius and his solo stuff very much a mix of STP and VR but very solid. He was a rebel with a stupid streak and habits that would define him and ultimately took him too soon. This is a much too common story in their world and I won’t pretend to understand why people embrace those kinds of demons. So lets just listen to the music he leaves us with...


In the early 90’s I rebelled against so-called grunge music, turned my back on that music scene fully from about 93 to 98. In 1998 I moved to Charlotte NC and met a guy at work who was into all sorts of music. We’d spend lunch at the local CD Warehouse, we affectionately called “The Used Store”. It was here that I first took “Core” up to the listening bar at his insistence and Scott Weiland and the Stone Temple Pilots changed my thinking. Dead and Bloated hit me pretty hard. Then I sampled Purple and Meat Plow had the same effect. I picked up both CD’s that day.


It was no doubt a frustrating thing to be a fan of his because so much more could have been realized. But alas, a tragic life leaves behind tragic life events. Recently I had hope for some reconciliation with STP after the announcement of that Chester Bennington dude leaving the band. But now that will never happen and yet another unfulfilled promise will never be realized. I don’t think the significance of his contributions to STP can be replaced, though the band has proven to be resilient – re: Talk Show, and Army of Anyone. So I will take a wait a see approach to them… In the meantime, here's why I like his work so much... Enjoy!


Mr. Weiland you leave behind a dire warning to those who need it, I hope some will clean up because of this.  For the rest of us we have some great music!


PLAYLIST --> http://www.podsnack.com/CA69EFD9E8C/a13fg385

	Stone Temple Pilots Tiny Music...Songs From the Vatican Gift Shop 1996 1 - Trippin' On A Hole In A Paper Heart Purple established that Stone Temple Pilots were not one-album wonders but Tiny Music...Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop illustrates that the band aren't content with resting on their laurels. Without abandoning their trademark hard rock, STP have added a new array of sounds that lend depth to their immediately accessible hooks. Dean DeLeo layers his guitar tracks to create distinctive, multi-textured sounds that make his riffs more powerful. Though there are hints of grunge scattered throughout the album, what makes Tiny Music impressive is how the band brings in elements of psychedelia, trancy shoegaze, jangle pop, and other forms of melodic alternative guitar pop. By accentuating their pop tendencies in both their riffs and melodies, they are able to slip in a number of creative arrangements which manage to expand their musical repertoire significantly. Although the lyrics are nearly as ambitious as the music, they simply don't have the same weight. But with a band like Stone Temple Pilots, the music is what matters and Tiny Music showcases the band at their most tuneful and creative.
	Stone Temple Pilots Stone Temple Pilots 2010 2 - Bagman Stone Temple Pilots’ 2010 reunion album isn’t a song deep before Scott Weiland alludes to his checkered chemical past by singing “even when we used to take drugs,” which may not be a confession -- the singer took great pains to claim he was writing in third person for this, the sixth STP album -- but it’s easy to read between the lines, particularly when the song title invites you to do so. Despite Weiland’s knack for a fractured phrase, the kind that jams a verse or chorus into the brain, words have never been the reason to listen to Stone Temple Pilots, it’s always been their candied crunch, the way the filter ‘70s sleaze through psychedelic swirls. The brothers DeLeo are responsible for the former, and Weiland for the latter and, like it or not -- the decade-long absence suggests that they surely don’t -- they need each other, neither team sounding quite as good in their solo projects as they do working together. So, Stone Temple Pilots finds STP picking up where they left off, retaining the harder, diamond edge of Shangri-La Dee Da, balancing swagger and melody with an expert professional touch, offering everything as expected, except for the key ingredient of Brendan O’Brien, who produced every one of STP’s albums before this.
	Velvet Revolver Livertad 2007 3 - Pills, Demons & Etc. Indulgence is the very reason the band exists: it's what made them stars, and without GNR or STP around, all the guys in this band need some outlet for their energies (which may only be partially musical). And in that regard, Velvet Revolver fulfill a need for the bandmembers, but also for an audience that is craving rock & roll that is proudly about good times -- an audience that is not insubstantial in 2007, but is poorly served. Libertad won't necessarily provide that audience with lasting sustenance, but it is a quick enough fix of old-fashioned rock & roll hedonism that does do its job reasonably well, as it has the riffs and melodies to please, even if they're not quite pulled together as full-fledged songs.
	Scott Weiland Happy In Galoshes 2008 4 - Tangle With Your Mind Scott Weiland is just a little too enamored of his tortured soul, titling his long-delayed second solo album Happy in Galoshes, a rather convoluted reconstruction of only being happy when it rains (he truly is a creature of the '90s). And the truth is, if anybody had reason to indulge in a little miserableness, it's Weiland, who once again suffered through a year that would have knocked out the knees of mere mortals, losing a brother, losing a wife, then trudging through the last days of his supergroup, Velvet Revolver. All this turmoil roils underneath the surface of Happy in Galoshes, which follows his underrated solo debut, 12 Bar Blues, by a full decade, but the perennial Weiland problem remains: all that angst seems to be an excuse for the songs, as the pain never fully inhabits the music.
	Art of Anarchy Art of Anarchy 2015 5 - Death Of It Disowned by Scott Weiland months prior to its release -- the vocalist dismissed it as a "side project" on a Facebook post and called it "a scam from the beginning" elsewhere -- Art of Anarchy don't seem to be a tossed-off busman's holiday on their eponymous 2015 debut. Certainly, the record is a heavier affair than Weiland's Blaster album of the same year -- that's only appropriate for a group built on the friendship of Guns N' Roses guitarist Bumblefoot and the Votta brothers, and features the bassist from Disturbed -- but he has a heavy presence on the record, responsible for the melodies and words and giving the grinding, heavy rockers a bit of a psychedelic lift. That fondness for turns of phrase from the Lennon and Bowie songbooks marks this album as the work of Weiland, but it's clear the rest of the band took this project seriously, buckling down to write muscular power ballads and dense post-metallic rockers, songs that seem part throwback to late-'90s post-grunge but have a millennial digital glint. Any listener attracted to Weiland at his heaviest -- a side he often eschews in solo projects, although he dabbled with it in Velvet Revolver -- will find this record a bit of a bracing surprise: perhaps it could've used some of the trashy glam swagger of Blaster, but its heavy swing works so well, all due to the charisma and hooks of its lead singer, it doesn't deserve to be disowned.

[Jon]

Sooooooo..........

I have none of these.

I do have "Core", listened to it maybe once. I also have "No. 4" which I've listened to more than once because I like it. Then there's "Thank You" because I can have all their "hits" on one disc. Listened to that maybe once as well.

Soooooooo.....

Was never a real fan of STP and the two songs here really don't change that. Could care less about Velvet Revolver and that song here really doesn't change that. The solo album and that last one doesn't change anything either.

Soooooo......

Why am I such a Debbie Downer? Well, the songs here really bore me, there's a sameness about them all. I liked "No. 4" because it different styles throughout, plus "Sour Girl" is a really cool song.

Feel like I'm peeing on your hard work here, but this just isn't for me.

Soooooooo.......

I'm sorry?

[Scott]

Soooooooo.....  no worries mate!  its a fine post to me and was kinda cool to put together.  I had fun remembering a few good times with an old friend.  I actually had Sour Girl on my short list and opted for something from the 2010 self titled...  dang it!

[Niels (Mod)]

I know, you think Weiland is the best singer "from" the 90's. I don't agree at all. Cornell and Wedder beats him soooo bad imo. Sad to hear about his death, but it's more a surprise he lived this long. I remember seeing him in a VR-video, and thinking: "That man is death within months". He was, but it was probably 120 months or something like that.

1. My first STP-album, and my favorite. Probably the only one, I REALLY like. I never was a fan, lile I was a Pearl Jam/Soundgarden-fan. Good track, haven't heard this in a loooong while. I haven't been that much "into" the 90's, since......the 90's.

2. Ah, this was actually a very good album. I remember hearing it in 2010/11. A good comeback, but alas, no more albums ever. Another good track. Some day, I'll have to listen to this album again.

3. I never liked VR. Maybe they "appeared" while I was busy listening to other styles of music, because this sounds KIND of okay, especially Weiland. I'm SO tired of Slash. He even annoys me on this track. I never ever though, that he was a great guitarist, and as I said, he starts to annoy the shit out of me. Not a bad track, but the worst so far.

4. Never heard this one before. Hmmmm..a little boring, I think. It kinds of "show" (imo), that Weiland was a weak singer (sorry, Scott). Not that bad a track, but a throwaway. If I never hear it again, who cares.

5. I tried to listen to this earlier this year, but I had no really interest, so I only listened to 1 or 2 songs. Not this one, though. I didn't miss much, I think. Another throwaway.

But nice thinking, Scott, doing this tribute to Weiland.

[Scott]

thank you, I think the reason I like his talent so much was because of the way I discovered him and they way he seemed to fit each situation.  Even the Art of Anarchy disc, he didn't want to do it, did it anyway, and still he sounds like he was the right fit for that effort. 

Sadly your 100% spot on when you say the only shocker is that this didn't happen sooner...

[RJhog (Admin)]

I (partially) agree with Niels.  I don't think Scott Weiland was the best vocalist of the 90's.  My pick would be Chris Cornell, but he is definitely better than Beddie Wedder.  And Cobain.  

The STP track stumped me at first, because I don't own this particular album.  But as soon as I heard it I remembered it. I think it's a very good song and a very good vocal, as all of these are.  I haven't listened to the comeback album since it was released, but I think I remember it being decent at least.  Maybe I'll cover a 90's band or two over on the FB side of things.  

Velvet Revolver is one band that I could never get into.  And that is surprising, because I like everybody involved. Unlike Niels, I think Slash is a terrific guitarist and songwriter.  I even have both albums, but again, I just was never able to get into them.  However, this song is pretty dang cool.  Maybe enough so that I need a reason to dig the cd's out and listen to them again.

Happy in Golashes is certainly a strange album title.  This song I can take or leave at this point.  

Art Of Anarchy was such an interesting story.  The way he totally disowned the band and the music was just really weird.  But it's really a good album.  The guitar playing is outstanding as is the vocals.  The only slight drawback to me was that at times, the production seemed to make certain songs to "loud".  It just didn't sound right.  But not enough of a problem for me to not like the album.  Just a sad story the way it all went down.  

My favorite two STP songs are Interstate Love Song and Plush.  And my favorite Scott Weiland lyric comes from the latter, and must have been exactly what those close to him saw when they looked at him:

"And I see, that these are the eyes of disarray"

[Scott]

I know I'm in the minority on VR, but I was never a GnR fan (still really not), so when VR came together it seemed to me to be a perfect fit.  They actually sound more like STP than GnR which is good thing (Check out She Builds Quick Machines - its a perfect STP tune!)!

And though the Art of Anarchy release wont make any appearances on my 2015 lists it is a very interesting disc to listen to...