For this week’s album of the week, I wanted to cover something from Scott Weiland, the late ex-singer of Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver as a tribute to him. The only problem was trying to decide which album I was going to choose to cover. I had already covered a Stone Temple Pilots before for the album of the week, so I decided to go with a solo album instead. I chose Blaster by Scott Weiland And The Wildabouts which would end up being the last record ever recorded by Scott Weiland. The Wildabouts were made up of Tommy Black (Bass), Danny Thompson (Drums), Jeremy Brown (Guitars), and Mike Avenaim on drums in some of the tracks. The album was released on March 31, 2015 via Softdrive Records and in an interview Scott expressed his excitement over the project saying, “If you take out the fact that we had to break up the recording process when touring, the album came very easily because of the vibe between the band members. The sound we were getting felt original and infectious and brought me back to the feelings I had when I made my first couple records. Just excitement, feeling invigorated. Youthful.”
1. Modzilla– The tracks starts with a beefy, sly and slick rock riff with a real 70’s esque rock bass line. Scott delivers his lyrics with gusto like a pure rock frontman. 5/5
2. Way She Moves– The track has a very slick bluesy rock feel to it that moves. You can definitely tell that Scott is able to movie out of the STP and Velvet mindframe when writing. 5/5
3. Hotel Rio– This track has that clap happy rock and roll beat that will have you clapping along. The way he is able the different octaves in one track is still amazing. 4.5/5
4. Amethyst– The track starts off sounding like something The Who would’ve written, but this is a pure, loud as hell rock track. 4/5
5. White Lightning– This was actually the first single released off the album and it has a beefed up bass line with a cool guitar riff. This is rock at it’s finest. 4.5/5
6. Blue Eyes– A very light rock track from Scott that is modern while having a classic feel to it and then out of nowhere that beefy rock sound comes in at the right moment. The track features James Iha of The Smashing Pumpkins playing guitar on the track. 5/5
7. Bleed Out– Another loud and bombastic rock track from the gang about love and being in control of it. 4/5
8. Youth Quake– A very mellow and gloomy track from the band that seems to be about looking back at the enjoyments of youth and what it was like to be young in search of purpose. 5/5
9. Beach Pop– This kind of different for the album as this is a real poppy radio track that will have you clapping. It sounds like something that could have come out in the 50’s or 60’s. 4/5
10. Parachute– This track returns the band to the 70’s glam-esque sound and Weiland’s vocals are the highlight of the track and I love the guitars on this track. 4/5
11. 20TH Century Boy– This is the band’s cover of one of my favorite T. Rex track and I love Weiland’s vocals as he takes the song and he morphs into it. 4.5/5
12. Circles– This is the last track on the album and I love the track because it’s a very bluesy acoustic track that reminds you of the brilliance of Scott Weiland. 4.5/5
My Final Thoughts- It’s sad to think that this is it as far as new music from Scott Weiland, but at least we have a whole catalog to sit back, relax, and enjoy listening to. Somebody told me that he was this generations David Bowie and while I can sort of agree with that, I like to think that he was more than that. I am going to give this album 4.2 stars out of five for a final grade.
Moshpits And Movies 