By
Chad Taylor
soundcheck@dmcityview.com
 Scott
Weiland
‘The Most Wonderful Time of the Year’
Atlantic
Sample
Tracks
Scott Weiland is to heroin what Courtney Love
is to… well, heroin. He’s done a lot of heroin,
is what I’m trying to say. That’s a shame because,
when clean, Weiland is immensely talented. Consequently,
I kind of hope he’s back on Mr. Brownstone,
purely because I don’t want there to be a sober
reason for this album to exist. To begin with,
it doesn’t SOUND like Weiland. Halfway through
the first track, I popped over to Amazon to
listen to an online sample, just to make sure
I received the correct album. It’s a bossanova/jazz
fusion/steel drum nightmare, with Weiland crooning
along at the bottom of his vocal register, often
(see: “I’ll Be Home for Christmas”) with tragi-comic
results. This is Stone Temple Pilots sex-and-drugs
front man at his most inexplicably neutered
— a musical albatross, once flying high, now
dead and hanging from necks of any Ancient Mariner
unfortunate enough to hear. CV
 Michael
Bublé
‘Christmas’
Reprise
Sample
Tracks
Thank you, Michael Bublé, for showing everyone
how Christmas albums are done. It’s really not
that difficult: Don’t try to re-invent the wheel,
mix the pacing up a little bit and don’t include
“Baby It’s Cold Outside.” Bublé gets it, because
the tracks on “Christmas” manage to sound fresh
without taking any unnecessary risks. Bublé’s
vocal style is perfect for holiday songs, and
the album transitions nicely from reflective
to festive to just plain cool. Of course, no
album is ALL fun-bags, and “Christmas” does
have its misfires. It’s a little strange hearing
“Ava Maria” being sung by someone whose testicles
have descended, and the pacing on his “All I
Want for Christmas Is You” is considerably slower
than any version I’ve heard. But these are all
just nits to be picked. If you MUST have a Christmas
album this year, this should be the one. Merry
Christmas. CV
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