Track Listing

1. Desperation #5
2. Barbarella
3. About Nothing
4. Where's the Man
5. Divider
6. Cool Kiss
7. Date
8. Son
9. Jimmy Was a Stimulator
10. Lady, Your Roof Brings Me Down
11. Mockingbird Girl
12. Opposite Octave Reaction

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #31181 in Music
• Brand: Scott
• Released on: 1998-03-31
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .22 pounds

Amazon.com
When an artist comes back from the kind of trauma that dogged Scott Weiland following the release of Stone Temple Pilots' Tine Music ... Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop, said artist often comes back a changed person--and that's exactly what this surprising, fascinating solo bow shows Weiland to be. Middle finger pointedly directed at his past and eyes firmly affixed to his navel, Weiland slithers through the dauntingly dense disc with little of the simplicity implied in the title. Shaky and slurred, songs like "Where's the Man" and "Barbarella" conjure up some mighty frightening images without resorting to the brute force that was once Weiland's weapon of choice. Wrapped in grandiose post-glam, drag-heavy on strings, sequencers, and special effects, 12 Bar Blues is a daring leap, and it's clearly been done without a safety net. --David Sprague

NME
[12 Bar Blues is] schizoid but it makes sense. There's a unifying atmosphere of sadness, expressed with the scarred honesty of a man who's made it back from the edge. Although none of this will appeal to fans of the terminally one-dimensional Stone Temple Pilots [Scott Weiland's former band], Scott's not ready to be given up for dead just yet. And from the sound of it, he doesn't deserve to be.

People
Now out on his own after a much-publicized drug detox, [Scott Weiland] eschews heavy guitar rock for a lighter but equally familiar pop psychedelia.... But with its predictably spaced-out song titles ("Desperation #5"), nonsensical lyrics ("All the tangerines/they taste like jelly beans") and thin, whiny vocals, 12 Bar Blues shouldn't prove a threat to any living legend....

Customer Reviews

Not STP
This isn't a Core or Purple album, but follows more in the vein of Tiny Music.... I really enjoyed the variety and experimentation of this album, though it took a few listens to decide I liked the album. The lyrics aren't the strongest I've heard, but I attribute that to the possibility that the lyrics are strongly personal and make more sense to Scott than to the rest of the world. A good listen and a good buy. There's only 1 track on the CD that I just really don't like.

A persal favorite of mine
While Scott Weiland's debut album "12 Bar Blues" (1998) may never get recognized as a great work of art, it's always been a favorite album of mine.

Imagine throwing Tom Watts, David Bowie and Trent Reznor in a blender...and you'd get something like this...

"12 Bar Blues" is far different from anything that Weiland released in either STP or Velvet Revolver. If you are a fan of Stone Temple Pilots or VR, this album may not appeal to you, because it's not really a "rock" album. Rather, "12 bar Blues" is a much more eclectic, diverse collection of songs. The album is rather electronic, with effects, etc. And Unlike STP or VR, this isn't really a guitar and riff driven album.

And while each song sounds unique and different, the album still manages to flow perfectly. Each song is well crafted, arranged, and well written with a good hook. Out of the 12 songs on this CD, I don't consider anything to be filler. I can't name a standout tune, because really, each song is terrific. To me, the songs read like a diary of a tortured soul, but without sounding whiny or full of self-pity.

Lyrics only Weiland can comprehend
And that's fine with him. Scott Weiland once admitted that this CD ranges from A to Z and back to G. He's right. But given the chance, these strange, distorted noises ultimately blend together in fulfilling harmony. If given the chance.

"Desperation #5," for example, should have been released as a single. With despairing, cryptic, mournful lyrics and a buzzsaw of a guitar riff that will knock you on [...], this was a great leadoff choice for the album. Oddly, the cumbersome and disjointed "Barbarella" was the misguided choice for a single. Other better tunes that would have worked as radio singles and sold Weiland more albums include "About Nothing," "Divider" (pleasant lounge sound) and the ultra-sheeny rocker "Opposite Octave Reaction."

As for Weiland's voice, it's produced in a purposely distorted mixture of glammy sheen and a tinge of grittiness that's likely to trip up Stone Temple Pilots Core listeners. But great musicians surrounded Weiland on "12 Bar Blues," no doubt learning to play what Weiland could only hum or lightly strum on a guitar; undoubtedly, his musician friends pulled through for him. Still, Weiland did a formidable job with this disc. Those not willing to grow with their favorite artists won't even hear this album half the way through. However, if you're up for experimentation -- plastic guitars stretched to the nines, spacey lounge, dated industrial, soft guitar and piano, stretched vocals, weird lyrics, Irish barroom odes, techno rock and glam -- check out "12 Bar Blues." I don't know what this guy was on when he wrote some of these unique tunes, nor what was going on in his life, but despite his condition it sounds like Weiland was having a great time in the studio, twiddling knobs and God knows what else.