12 Bar Blues (album)

12 Bar Blues
Studio album by Scott Weiland
Released	March 31, 1998
Recorded	Scott's house, Foxy Dead Girl, Royaltone, Oceanway, The Village, and Master Control
Genre	Alternative rock, neo-psychedelia
Length	58:51
Label	Atlantic
Producer	Blair Lamb, Tracy Chisholm, Scott Weiland, Daniel Lanois
Scott Weiland chronology
12 Bar Blues' (1998) "Happy" in Galoshes (2008)

12 Bar Blues is the debut solo album from Stone Temple Pilots singer Scott Weiland. Its sound and style differ greatly from STP's previous releases. The design concept of the cover is a homage to the cover design of John Coltrane's Blue Train album. The title name comes from the simple chord progression known as "twelve-bar blues."

Development

In a 1998 interview on MTV's 120 Minutes, Weiland states that his then brother-in-law introduced him to Blair Lamb, who co-produced 12 Bar Blues with Weiland.^[1]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[2]
Rolling Stone	[3]
Pitchfork Media	(7.8/10)[4]
Entertainment Weekly	B[5]
Spin	[6]

Released in 1998 on Atlantic Records, the album was not a commercial success, but achieved some critical acclaim. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic gave the album 4 out of 5 stars, declaring "12 Bar Blues is an unpredictable, carnivalesque record confirming that Weiland was the visionary behind STP's sound. He's fascinated by sound, piling on layers of shredded guitars, drum loops, and keyboards, making sure that each song sounds drastically different from its predecessor."^[7] David Fricke of Rolling Stone awarded the album 3.5 out of 5 stars and declared that "12 Bar Blues isn't really a rock album, or even a pop album. Weiland, out on his own, has simply made an honest album – honest in its confusion, ambition and indulgence. It was worth the risk." but also remarked that "Maybe it's a little early for Scott Weiland to be going the solo way."^[8] Pitchfork Media stated upon its release that "12 Bar Blues is easily the most innovative album Weiland has ever produced for public consumption,"^[9] while Entertainment Weekly wrote that "the LP's sheer invention and hooks will make your indulgence worthwhile."^[10]

Track listing

• All Songs Written By Scott Weiland (Foxy Dead Girl Music). Co-Writers in parenthesis.

1. "Desperation #5" – 4:05
2. "Barbarella" – 6:36 (Tony Castaneda)
3. "About Nothing" – 4:48 (Castaneda)
4. "Where's the Man" – 4:55
5. "Divider" – 4:23 (Victor Indrizzo; Famous Music Corp.)
6. "Cool Kiss" – 4:55
7. "The Date" – 5:21
8. "Son" – 5:04 (Indrizzo; Famous Music Corp.) (dedicated to "Zack")
9. "Jimmy Was a Stimulator" – 3:58
10. "Lady, Your Roof Brings Me Down" – 5:26 (Indrizzo; Famous Music Corp.)
11. "Mockingbird Girl" – 5:02 (Jeff Nolan, Zander Schloss; UA Music Inc., Floated Music, EMI Virgin Music; "Its The Mega", United Lion Music, Sho Me Mo)
12. "Opposite Octave Reaction" – 4:18

Track information

• An additional track entitled "Lazy Divey" was recorded for the album, and was included on some early promotional copies of the album.
• "Mockingbird Girl" was a re-recording of a song Weiland had originally recorded with The Magnificent Bastards for the 1995 Tank Girl soundtrack three years prior.

Personnel

• Scott Weiland – lead vocals, beatbox, guitar, keyboards, piano, bass, synthesized bass, drum loops
• Tracy Chisolm – theremin
• Blair Lamb – beatbox
• Holly Reiger – guitars
• Jeff Nolan, Zander Schloss – guitars
• Sheryl Crow – accordion
• Brad Mehldau – piano
• Peter DiStefano – guitars, bass
• Victor Indrizzo – vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards, bass, drums
• Daniel Lanois – synthesizers
• Tony Castaneda – guitars, bass
• Martyn LeNoble – bass, cello
• Michael Weiland – drums, percussion, drum loops
• Suzie Katayama – cello
• Novi Novog – viola
• Joel Derouin, Robin Lorentz – violin

Production

• Produced By Blair Lamb, Tracy Chisholm, Scott Weiland & Daniel Lanois
• Recording & Engineers: Chad Banford, Chris Goss, Tracy Chisolm
• Additional Engineers: Daniel Lanois, Jason Gladden, Tracy Chisolm, David Nottingham, Eric Greedy, Jeff Robinson, John Sorensen, Rafa Sardina, Reid Miller
• Mixing: Mark Howard, Daniel Lanois, Tracy Chisolm
• Mastering: Daniel Lanois, Mark Chalecki

Chart performance

Album

Chart	Peak
Billboard 200	42	[11]
New Zealand Chart	47	[12]

Singles

Year	Title	US Alt.	UK [13]
1998	"Lady, Your Roof Brings Me Down"	39	—
	"Barbarella"	36	194

References

1. YouTube.com: Scott Weiland - interview 1998
2. Allmusic review
3. Rolling Stone review
4. Schreiber, Ryan. "12 Bar Blues". pitchfork.com. Retrieved on April 29, 2010.
5. Entertainment Weekly review
6. Spin 4/98, pp.124-125
7. Allmusic review, cited September 20, 2008
8. Rolling Stone Rolling Stone Magazine review, cited September 20, 2008
11. "Scott Weiland – 12 Bar Blues [albums]". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on 3 August 2009. Retrieved 2009-08-04.
12. Steffen Hung. "Scott Weiland – 12 Bar Blues". NorwegianCharts.com. Archived from the original on 2009-08-06. Retrieved 2009-08-04.