Scott Weiland

Memories of a Rock Star

By: Greg Prato

Narrated by: Greg Prato

From late 1992 and throughout the remainder of the decade, if you spent any amount of time watching MTV or listening to rock radio, you were bound to come in contact with a tune by Stone Temple Pilots. With such classic releases as Core, Purple, and Tiny Music....

Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop selling millions and spawning countless hits (Sex Type Thing, Plush, Creep, Vasoline, Interstate Love Song, Big Empty, Big Bang Baby, etc.), STP is now widely considered one of rock's all-time great acts. And during this time, there were few rock frontmen who commanded an audience and generated as many headlines as Scott Weiland. Despite fronting another successful band, Velvet Revolver, and issuing his own critically acclaimed solo albums, Weiland could not overcome his demons - passing away in 2015 (at the age of 48).

Scott Weiland: Memories of a Rock Star features nearly 30 all-new interviews conducted exclusively for this book, including members of bands that toured with STP (Megadeth, Meat Puppets, Blind Melon, etc.), worked with Scott (Scott's autobiography co-author David Ritz, video directors Kevin Kerslake and Josh Taft, producer/engineer Chris Goss, etc.), or were friends and/or admirers of Scott's music (Richard Patrick, Bob Forrest, Matt Pinfield, Eddie Trunk, etc.). Get ready for an honest and accurate portrayal of Scott Weiland!

©2016 Greg Prato Writer, Corp. (P)2021 Greg Prato Writer, Corp.

Not much to be excited about

From the get-go, the narrator's voice and cadence made this a tough one to get through. Almost as if a robot were reading the story.

The details shared about Scott are all second-hand accounts and read in a very boring, nerdy tone. There was nothing in this audiobook that I couldn't have gotten doing a Google search. it's a handful of interviews read outloud.

The idea is there, to document what others have said about a great frontman, but it'd be less painful for me to read these interview exchanges about Scott Weiland than to have somebody state the person's name, and follow with their answers. A painful listen. Should have been left alone as a soft cover printed book.

Disappointing

Regret this purchase for sure. There’s not a lot of good material out there about STP, and this “book” sadly doesn’t add much to the picture. No narrative to speak of, just 2nd (and often 3rd-hand) pull-quotes loosely gathered by topic. Much less satisfying than Prado’s grunge book… this feels like leftover scraps. The wooden narration only compounds the problem.

Examining the life of a great leadman

Rock journalist Greg Prato puts the life and career of Scott Weiland, the complicated lead singer for the rock band Stone Temple Pilots, under a microscope. Who was this talented but troubled rock star with superb vocal melodies and diverse lyrics? The book chronicles Weiland's many battles with anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, drugs, and alcohol, which caused his untimely death in 2015.

Prato includes highlights from his interviews with Weiland and his STP band mates and takes a close look at the many aspects of his personality, relationships, passion for music, and being an avid fan of Notre Dame football. Members of the rock community discuss Weiland's many influences, such as David Bowie, Axl Rotten, Jim Morrison, and Mick Jagger. Prato questions if Weiland was one of the last great frontmen in rock.

I enjoyed the stories behind the music videos created by the Stone Temple Pilots, which aided in STP becoming one of the top rock bands of the 90s. The author ponders the question, did STP fill the void left by Nirvana following the tragic death of Kurt Cobain? Weinland's autobiography is discussed, here the fallen rock star revealed he was raped at age 12. The book critiques Weiland's association with Velvet Revolver, and his solo recordings.

Lots of stories about one of the greats.

If you're a Weiland fan it's a must listen. There's a lot of good stories from people that knew him.

Great

Another great one from Greg Prato. Tons of behind the scenes info. Keep them coming.

Don’t Bother

Another wasted credit on this piece of crap. I couldn’t finish it. Terrible. And the author should not read his own book. Just awful. I gave it one star because i couldn’t give it less.