Billbaord -- by CRAIG ROSEN

release at will By CRAIG ROSEN Billboard LOS ANGELES (BPI) - In assessing the prospects of Stone Temple Pilots spin-off Talk Show and solo artist Scott Weiland, a record label executive once compared the situation to a game of blackjack saying, "I got two aces, and I split (the cards)." Using that analogy, Talk Show didn't quite hit blackjack. The eponymously titled album from the band, featuring the instrumental core of STP, recieved some favorable critical notices, but failed to become a hit. Now the spotlight moves to Weiland, whose solo debut, "12 Bar Blues," due worldwide March 17, exceeds thee mostly straightforward rock of Talk Show in terms of musical ambition. And there's more good news for Stone Temple Pilots fans. Following the promotion of "12 Bar Blue," Weiland says, STP will regroup. "There will definatly be another Stone Temple Pilots record, and hopefully it will save rock 'n' roll at a time when it needs to be saved again." Listeners got their first taste of Weiland solo on "Lady, Your Roof Brings Me Down," a sublime Beatles-meets-Kurt Weill slab of pop featured on the "Great Expectations" sountrack and "12 Bar Blues." The song features an unlikely appearence by Sheryl Crow. "She flew in from New York out of her own pocket and played accordion on that track," says Weiland. "I took ecstasy that day, and we spent a lot of time hugging and touching. There was nothing sexual; it was just purely aesthetic, but that was before I got sober." While "Lady, Your Roof Brings Me Down" fits nicely on "Great Expectaions," "Barbarella" - which went to radio stations last month - is more indicative of the emotional tone of "12 Bar Blues." In that song and the album's opening track, "Desparation #5," Weiland addresses his much-chronicled battles with substance abuse. "I recorded 'Desparation #5' when I was one day out of detox," he says, "I was still kind of loaded on detox meds. That was about one year ago." He goes on to explain that the lyrics "Taking a swing in hitting" mean "going for a vein." " 'Barbarella' is more about the pain and sorrow that addiction brought me and the hope that I could eventually break away from that," he adds, "I'm pleading for a superhero to save me from my misery." On "12 Bar Blues," Weiland continues to explore the Beatles and glam rock influences heard on STP's last album, 1996's "Tiny Music... Songs From The Vatican Gift Shop." Says Weiland, "David Bowie and the Beatles are probably my two favorite artists. I wear them on my sleeve proudly. I'm not Oasis, who didn't acknowledge their influences and claim to be better then the band the rip off the most." "12 Bar Blues" is produced by Weiland and Blair Lamb, was completed with the aid of several guests, including Porno For Pyros bassist Martyn LeNoble, guitarist Peter DiStefano and former Samiam drummer Vistor Indrizzo, "and a couple of other friends. They're all people that I have used drugs with from time to time or met through rehab," Weiland says, "All of us are individuals that have been to hell and seen that side, and come back." Weiland plans to tour in April with the Action Girls, a band he has put together that includs noted producer/guitarist Daniel Lanois, who remixed five other trcks on the album. APEX-03-11-98 121BEST