In 1994, Stone Temple Pilots were standing on the edge of
\ngreatness. Having made a name for themselves with their debut
\neffort
\nCore<\/i> in 1992 and their alternative hit “Plush,” lead singer
\nScott Weiland and crew had carved out a nice niche for themselves
\non both the alternative and rock worlds.<\/p>\n
Some people wondered how STP would follow up their original
\nsuccess. The answer was simple:
\nPurple<\/i>, their sophomore effort, could be the best album of
\nthis band’s brief career – and with the drug problem that sidelined
\nWeiland, left a question of what could have been had he not screwed
\nup his life.<\/p>\n
The first taste anyone got of
\nPurple<\/i> was “Big Empty,” a song included in the movie
\nThe Crow<\/i> and on its soundtrack. From the slide guitar of
\nDean DeLeo to the thundering drums of Eric Kretz, this song
\ncaptured the power that the band had wanted to express all along,
\nand was one of the better songs on the soundtrack. It also was a
\ntasty carrot to dangle in front of the fans waiting for
\nPurple<\/i> to come out.<\/p>\n
But as good as “Big Empty” was, it was not the best song on
\nPurple<\/i>, a fact that was obvious once it finally hit the
\nstands. From the opening chord crunches of “Meat Plow,” Stone
\nTemple Pilots are on a creative roll. Weiland is in fine form, and
\nshows his musical wisdom by knowing when to be more subdued with
\nhis vocals (“Lounge Fly,” recorded at Paisley Park Studios) and
\nwhen to go all out (“Unglued”).<\/p>\n
Surprisingly, all the radio-friendly songs have not lost any of
\ntheir edge four years since the album was released. “Interstate
\nLove Song” quickly builds from a light acoustic sound to the power
\nchords that make this song special, and Weiland again shows his
\npower in his vocal restraint. The five-star
\ntour de force<\/i>, “Vasoline,” rolls out the funk and roll, and
\ngives each musician (including bassist Robert DeLeo) a chance to
\nstrut their stuff. (The video for this song is also a high-water
\nmark – almost makes MTV worth watching.)<\/p>\n
But the best song on the album is one you probably won’t hear on
\nthe radio – “Pretty Penny,” a song which allows STP to go unplugged
\nand introspective. Funny thing is, after all the powerful guitars
\nand vocals, it
\nworks<\/i>, and works well. The vocal harmonies and the guitar
\nbridges are especially worth checking out. Likewise, “Still
\nRemains” is one song which could have fit on the radio, but for
\nsome reason didn’t make the cut to be a single.<\/p>\n
But once you get to the end of track 11, “Kitchenware &
\nCandybars,” don’t hit the “stop” button yet – the uncredited
\ntwelfth track is a lounge-act number featuring a singer that can’t
\nbe Weiland. For that matter, one wonders if the other members of
\nthe band play on this track – still, it’s worth checking out at
\nleast once for the kitsch factor.<\/p>\n
\nPurple<\/i> rightfully became Stone Temple Pilots’ first
\nchart-topping album, and is worth adding to your collection. Even
\nif you’re not a fan of alternative music, this album might just
\nchange your mind.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":26705,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[6457],"rating":[5613],"class_list":["post-38814","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-stone-temple-pilots","rating-rating-a-minus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/38814","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38814"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/38814\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26705"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38814"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=38814"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=38814"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}