DISCLAIMER: The following article is strictly the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect
the consensus of Factory Records, LLC
For RSD 2023, there will be a first time pressing of Scott Weiland’s debut solo album, 12 Bar Blues.
There is truly, a lot to say about this album, as while we’ve seen over the years many solo or side projects
fall flat, many have reached a level of majesticness that would be on par with the studio work of that
particular artist. A classic example of this would be ‘All Things Must Pass’ by George Harrison or for a
more modern example, ‘Flamingo’ by Brandon Flowers.
12 Bar Blues isn’t an album for everyone as it’s NSFW lyricism on some of its tracks like ‘Barbarella’ or
‘Jimmy Was A Stimulator’ could put some listeners off. However, for everyone else, there is no doubt that
Weiland’s first attempt was truly his most ambitious. For example, the aforementioned single ‘Barbarella’
is Weiland, clearly, giving off his best homage to David Bowie as it’s both a song that is both dark and
mysterious but also a track that sounds like a fresh B-side off of Bowie’s ‘Space Oddity’. This point can
be further amplified during Weiland’s 2007 performance of this song with fellow rock icon, Cyndi Lauper.
However, that is simply the theme of 12 Bar Blues. avant-garde, weird yet at the same time, addictively
catchy.
Still, Weiland shows that his songwriting skills are still nothing short of impeccable. Take ‘The Date’ for instance. For Weiland, this would truly be the most personal song on the album, but for savvy and well-listened fans, this is without question one of the most personal songs that Scott would write in his career. Back in 1998 the frontman would tell Request Magazine that he wrote the song the day he and his wife separated. This track accounts how she would wait for ‘somebody that never showed up’.
Weiland’s story is indeed, one of the saddest in recent rock history as we lost the Stone Temple Pilots
co-founder due to an accidental drug overdose at the age of 48. For background, I got to cover two solo
shows of Scott’s in the mid-2010s, one of which would ultimately and tragically be Weiland’s last show in
the United States at the Wellmont Theatre in Montclair, NJ – mere days before his death. Weiland was,
even in the days leading up to his tragic passing, one of the greatest frontmen and showmen that I’ve
personally, ever seen live. It should go without saying that his memory will never be forgotten.
Which is why it is very important to see his solo works materialize on vinyl. It offers the listener, who might
only be used to legacy works from Stone Temple Pilots like ‘Core’ or “Purple’, a completely different side
to Weiland. Hopefully in the future Scott’s other studio works such as his 2008 solo album, ‘Happy In
Galoshes’ will get the RSD treatment. It will only further the legacy and expose more people to a man
who was truly one of the most phenomenal frontmen of the last thirty years in rock.
