Look guys, the fact here is that none of us will agree upon a particular replacement. Admittedly I don't know all the names that have been thrown out here, but what I can say is this. The Deleos write their original music in a signature style that doesn't mesh well with just anyone. Ever notice that a lot of their tunes are difficult to play and sing at the same time? The melodies there aren't necessarily just natural, it takes some real talent to come up with some of the melodies in their tunes. This goes to show just how much chemistry these guys had with Scott. Musically Scott speaks their language and they speak his. It's a really unique complimentary situation where they really do need each other to be at the absolute pinnacle of their game. True magical chemistry.
Can the Deleos find another guy to just try and be Scott from years gone by on stage for their tours? Yes, fuck I could even do that and I bet a few of you reading this could too. But to find another partner to fill the shoes of coming up with the original melodies to dance around their instrumental parts is a very tall order. (Not discrediting Coutts' work with the guys. It was fantastic, but it wasn't STP.)
To back that up...After seeing Chester perform live with STP for myself I walked away changing my tune about him a little saying instead that he did fine and had energy on the old tunes, but I still wasn't a fan of Chester's originals with the band. That being the case the band could hire any good karaoke singer who could mimick Scott's stage persona. That doesn't mean they could move forward with new material that would be good though. That's where Scott is the magic man for these guys. Would I have been curious to see a non-rushed full length release from the guys with Chester? Given the situation, sure why not.... I would have been curious to see what they could do, but I wasn't getting my hopes up cause there's only 1 man who can truly fill those shoes in STP. No one person in this band is greater than the sum here. But without just 1 piece they don't have the puzzle completed. They need each other, all of them do, and they need to make records together, WITH Brendan O' Brien producing.
The 1 thing I feel we all can agree on is that as of this present moment Scott needs to be that man. It doesn't have to happen today, tommorrow, next week or even 3 months. But when it does, it really is Scott or bust now.
If they need to go the Metallica route and do the group therapy thing then so be it. Whatever it takes. Together they can all save the legacy if they can make just 1 more absolutely killer album TOGETHER.
