Scott Weiland: The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
Stone Temple Pilots leader goes for Sinatra on holiday effort
It’s an eyebrow raiser to hear Stone Temple Pilots’ frontman Scott Weiland, with his not-so-squeaky clean reputation and grunge-rock resume, offer up a Starbucks stocking stuffer. It’s even more surprising to hear him, dressed in Harry Connick cool, attempting warm mood music for Christmas gatherings. He’s out to prove he can croon, but it isn’t the high caliber of crooning that will make Grandma throw away her Sinatra records. He turns a Nat King Cole classic into Old King Cole with his rushed phrasing; “I’ll Be Home For Christmas” eerily encounters lackadaisical impression of Bing Crosby and the endless string serenades on the opening cuts start to overshadow Weiland’s every move. One original from Weiland surfaces with “Happy Christmas and Many More” but fails to stand out amongst its company of familiar carols. Some actually glow with better performances, such as “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas,” the Bob Marley-influenced “O Holy Night” or the playful “Silent Night.” Surely the Sinatra decorum is a bit of a reducer for Weiland’s fans, but he does try to have a little fun on the mix. Unfortunately he doesn’t bring enough fun or enough inventive a-ha moments to make the disc all that believable or essential. But you have to give him major props. What bad-ass rocker you know would attempt a holiday album? Don’t expect Mick Jagger to crank out a “Jingle Bells.”
J MATTHEW COBB
