Scott Weiland
The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
Softdrive Records
Commercialism and consumerism can easily bring out the Grinch in even the most ardent Christmas enthusiast. It seems as though nobodyβs immune to picking the pockets of their fans with some sappy yuletide wishes. Bono once informed everyone that βThere wonβt be snow in Africa this Christmas,β Bob Dylan had a disaster of a Christmas album in 2009 (Christmas in the Heart), and Michael Buble is currently robbing your parents of their hard-earned money with his cleverly titled album, Christmas. So itβs easy to be skeptical of a recovered junky releasing seasonal wishes through song. But like a diamond in a pile of coal comes former-Stone Temple Pilots frontman, Scott Weiland. Here we have nine freshly minted renditions of classic Christmas cuts (and for good measure a Weiland original, βMerry Christmas and Many Moreβ).
The album kicks off inconspicuously enough with some simple lounge versions of βThe Christmas Songβ and βIβll Be Home For Christmas.β These tracks are the equivalent of getting into your stocking before being allowed to attack the real presents under the tree β which is Weiland harnessing his inner Bing Crosby with βWhite Christmas.β It hits smooth and eggnog-soaked, conjuring images of the singer sitting at his desk writing Christmas cards. From there we get a little Spanish spice added to βSilent Night.β And if youβre the kind of person who wonders why Hawaii (βMele Kalikmakaβ) and the Caribbean (βFeliz Navidadβ) are amongst the few Worldly Christmas tunes, then youβll be glad to hear that βO Holy Nightβ also gets some special treatment with the addition of a Reggae beat. These tracks are exactly the album needs β theyβre fun and just a little silly, full of kitsch, but leave all sense of pretention at the door.
Musically, this is classic Christmas β festive and joyous. And then Weiland steps in doing his best impersonation of a drunken-Sinatra. This may sound out of place for the rocker, but letβs not forget that this isnβt the first time that Weiland has unleashed the croon. When not impersonating Layne Staley for S.T.P.βs debut, Core (1992), Weiland swaggers and drawls like Mel Torme with Grunge guitars at his back. And then of course thereβs the infamous βhidden trackβ from β94βs Purple, which turns out to be nothing more than an audition for this release.
The Most Wonderful Time of the Year likely wonβt reach classic Christmas album status. But once youβve run out of Sinatra and Bing records, and before Phil Spectorβs Christmas Album (1963) begins to lose a little lustre, give Scott Weiland a spin. And donβt forget to have yourself a very merry Christmas.
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SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: SCOTT WEILAND – THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR
Joe Veroni