Scott Weiland
“Happy” In Galoshes
Release Date: November 25th, 2008
Label: Softdrive
Genre: Alternative rock

Scott Weiland has always been, in my opinion, one of rock’s most underrated front men. A voice all his own, and a lot of swagger to go with it, Scott led the Stone Temple Pilots, and to a lesser extend, the super group Velvet Revolver to high levels of success in the 1990s and 2000s.

He’s been at the front of a rock band since STP formed in 1986, but what most people don’t know is that the man has released two solo albums, 1998′s “12 Bar Blues” and finally, 2008′s “‘Happy’ In Galoshes,” which we’ll be looking at today.

Scott may have a distinctive voice, but without some good music to go behind it, he would be nothing.  Luckily, Scott pulled out all of the stops — featuring Paul Oakenfold, Doug Grean on guitar, and Adrian Young (of No Doubt) on drums and other percussion. The “group” recorded a series of 13 tracks (20 on the deluxe version), which were then produced by Doug Grean and Scott Weiland himself.

“‘Happy’ In Galoshes’” is an odd collection of musical genres. The majority of tracks are straight up alternative rock, but some delve into the world of psyche-pop, and a few even touch a bit of an electronic vibe. Through in a slightly bluegrass track and you have, as stated — an odd collection of music. Somehow however, Scott has managed to pull off a highly individual album that sounds like no one else.

Standout tracks include the slightly-electronic “Big Black Monster,” which at first, sounds slightly like a mixture of Nine Inch Nails and 90s near-one-hit-wonder group Fastball.  It’s hard to describe, but Scott’s vocals are the element that ties everything together. Just picture NIN with more electric keyboard than normal with a healthy dose of Scott Weiland thrown in.

Another highlight is “Paralysis,” which actually sounds a bit like an STP outtake.  Regardless of its origins, the track is a stellar mixture of slightly psyche-pop and normal alternative rock, something, that once again, I think Scott Weiland is fully capable of pulling off.

My favorite track on the album however, is “Killing Me Sweetly,” something so distinctly different for Scott Weiland that fans of his won’t be able to help but fall in love.  Perhaps easiest to describe as a bossa-nova STP song, “Killing Me Sweetly” is comprised of some simple acoustic guitar, a bossa-nova beat with a haunting orchestral piece mixed in for good luck. Definitely one of my favorite vocal performances by Scott as well.

It is worth noting that most of the “grunge” of Weiland’s voice is now gone. After cleaning up from drugs, it became clear that they had done some damage to his vocal chords. His voice is NOT worse than it was, it just helps give him a different sound, a bit softer than before, but still full of his distinctive tone. It takes a while to get used to for fans of early-STP stuff, but after you do you’ll realize why you liked him as a vocalist in the first place.

The album is not full of great tracks. I wouldn’t call any particularly bad — but one, a cover of David Bowie’s “Fame” performed with Paul Oakenfold is certainly odd enough to warrant a raise of the eyebrow.  I’m not exactly sure why the pair decided to cover a song that is uniquely David Bowie’s, but whatever their decision — it unfortunately does NOT work out so well in Weiland’s favor.

“Arch Angel” is another odd song. Scott’s voice sounds fine, but the backing track, comprised of some literal electro-beeps and acoustic guitar, is an odd mixture that doesn’t work out very well.  The music is simply too repetitive, and while I do not HATE the track, it does nothing to help drive the album.

Overall, the album is worth a listen for and fans of Scott Weiland’s previous bands.  While the music is different from the Stone Temple Pilots or Velvet Revolver, Scott’s voice still sounds great after all these years.  This album is a strange mixture of great tracks and “just” decent tracks, but there are enough good tracks to warrant a listen.

Rating: 6.0/10

Check Out: “Killing Me Sweetly,” “Paralysis,” “Big Black Monster,”
Huh?: “Fame (with Paul Oakenfold),” “Arch Angel”