Stone Temple Pilots

Core by Stone Temple Pilots was the debut album from these talented grunge/alternative rock band. Lead singer Scott Weiland had some mad vocals, this guy can sing anything, amazing! Songs like S#x Type Thing, Plush, and Creep were some of the radio hits and they still sound good to this day. This album is not the band's best, Purple gets that honor. Great album for its time, good memories.

Although it's been said many times, many ways... this album is fantastic. At the height of the grunge movement came a band that followed, created, and stepped away from the trend that was music at that time. The DeLeo brothers brought a gritty edge to the table, while Scott Weiland crooned and crowed his way into all of our hearts.

I am always loathe to place the classic label on anything, but I am going to pull it out here. For whatever reason, this is the only album from '90 to about 2003 that is in my play rotation. Most of my listening has evolved into 60's and 70's classics that predate myself. This is the one exception. An album full of great, rocking songs. "Sex Type Thing" is right up there with "Whole Lotta Love", "War Pigs", "Shoot to Thrill" and "Enter Sandman" as far as I am concerned for absolutely ROCKING songs. The rest of the album is filled with great, memorable tunes that have aged very well. Along with Led Zeppelin II, and Back In Black, my favorite hard albums!!!

Despite the fall of an era as Stone Temple Pilots split (prior to 2008) a generation of hard rock enthusiasts/ circa grunge sound of the early 90's came to an end. Albeit STP never wanted to or really liked the title of being "a grunge band" they were closely associated with the sound and as a major factor in contributing to its evolving scope. That is, they were boxed into a genre they didn't see as fit, and as the band grew with albums beyond "Core" the sub genre dwindled, to the gratification of many musical intellects and band members... the undercut was the worst haircut of all time.

However, this album review is about their debut collective, named "core" hard, distorted and in general loud, this album provided power chord riff's with melodic vocals reminiscent of past blues rock-come-country singers that broke out into their own sound. Tracks listed in a particular manner that helped compliment each song, one after the other.

Needless to say, this album is what made stone temple pilots who they were destined to become. It provided a niche fan base that would follow the band right through to Shangri-La Dee Da and Thank Youdespite their experimental and evolving sound post- Purple( now listed on amazon.com as self titled???)

Tracks making the honour list are : Wicked garden, Sex type thing, plush, dead and bloated and creep all making my personal list for some of the greatest music to come out of 1992.

Nostalgic, heart warming for a guy who was on the verge of growing up, skateboarding and liking girls for the very first time, this album has a place with me always, a good listen for background tunes, driving, and just having a good time. Raw and uneven, I love that the imperfections that people might see in this album are anything but that to the devote STP community.

This is a must have for any fan of rock music. Songs like "Crackerman", "Creep", "Sex Type Thing", "Wicked Garden", "Plush", and "Dead and Bloated" are classics.

Get this album!

STP continued their high songwritting/playing standards in this 1994 album, their second effort following their big hit album CORE.
Actually all their albums preceding the departure of vocalist/lyricist Scott Weiland (to be a member of Velvet Revolver for a couple of albums)are consistently very good R'n'R albums with the occasional ballad.You won't be disappointed.

When Stone Temple Pilots hit it big in 1993 with their debut "Core", the band's rather obvious attempt to align its image with the then-popular grunge scene earned them derision. However, once you looked beyond frontman Scott Weiland's dyed hair, goatee, and somewhat Eddie Vedder-esqe vocals (although it was more due to their mutual appreciation of the Doors), songs like "Plush", "Sex-Type Thing", and the almost joyous grinding pop-metal of "Wicked Garden" all indicated that the band had a canny understanding of hard arena rock. Indeed, the slick production values and unwillingness to indulge in aimless alt-rock/grunge noise jams belied an ultra-professional approach that just required some stronger material to fit between their singles (notwithstanding a couple of quality deep cuts such as "Where the River Goes"). The question was whether Stone Temple Pilots would, as one of the first bands to so obviously jump on the grunge bandwagon, simply be another one hit wonder to join the scrapheap of forgotten bands trying to cash in on a trend.

It was with their self-titled second album, also known as "Purple" to most, that Stone Temple Pilots showed that they could transcend the cheap image gimmick they used to get their foot in the door. While it's not that likely that you'll find a lot of demand for grunge copycat bands such as Bush, Silverchair, the Kennedys or others of the age to mount a comeback, the fact that the Stone Temple Pilots 2008 reunion generated excitement is in no small part due to this album, and the eclectic blueprint it laid out for their subsequent releases. While both Scott Weiland and the rest of the band attempted to find success independent of each other, it's the combination of Weiland's unpredictable charisma (part David Bowie, part Jim Morrison, and part chemical ingestion) and the hyper-professional musicianship of the DeLeo brothers and Eric Kretz that brings forth their best. Even someone like me, who's more likely to be listening to German heavy metal or Eighties pop than grunge, can't help but salute STP for delivering the goods better than even original grunge bands such as Soundgarden and Pearl Jam, which both ended up exhausting their inspiration within a few years, and released albums laden with self-indulgent yet poorly performed filler tracks that managed to not even be experimental in a good way. Compare the plinking and pointless droning all-too prevalent in Soundgarden's "Down on the Upside" with the professional, multi-faceted sounds found on later STP albums such as "Number 4" and "Shangri-La-Dee-Da".

On "Purple", STP dropped the uniform, single-minded production found in "Core", and roughened things up a bit, while still keeping things quite listenable and appealing to a broad audience. It was this album that pretty much confirmed that the band actually understood what made Led Zeppelin tick. Larger than life anthems such as "Still Remains", "Big Empty" and the megahit "Interstate Love Song" mingled with the acoustic, exotic "Pretty Penny" (a song that would've fit in well on Led Zeppelin III), and the psychadelic "Lounge Fly". Faster, aggressive songs such as "Vasoline" and "Unglued" also helped propel this album's popularity, while slower, heavy numbers such as "Meatplow" and "Silvergun Superman" channeled a Sabbath vibe. Throughout all these songs, a melodic, catchy sensibility is the common element linking them together, with a subtle, contradictory love of prog-rock lying just below the surface. The band would continue to mine their devotion to the concept of maximizing the effectiveness of the album medium on subsequent albums.

While Stone Temple Pilots are far from original, they never claimed to be world-changing. Nonetheless, they're far from the mere bar-band with freakish success that some critics think they are. In the end, it's perhaps their devotion to being entertainers first and foremost that keeps people like me intrigued....when they're not busy going on hiatus or breaking up that is. Let's hope that the reunion lasts, and that the new STP album carries on the tradition they started with "Purple".

I'm willing to bet this is STP's overall best album. Here they expand their sound ("Pretty Penny" is mostly acoustic; "Lounge Fly" is, in order, 1/3 Guns n' Roses, 1/3 Crosby, Stills & Nash, and another third Guns n' Roses; "Interstate Love Song" is southern rock) sharpen their songwriting, and come up with something pretty damn good. Okay, so not "Silvergun Superman" or "Meat Plow", flat reworkings of the Core sound. Neither have much personality. I don't really like the slash-and-burn punk song "Unglued" either. It just sounds out of place. But man, "Interstate Love Song" makes up for all of that. The riffs, the vocals, the chorus and the opening are all absolutely perfect. Actually, the entire song is absolutely perfect. I don't think Soundgarden ever made a song as good as that. Or The White Stripes, while I'm at it. "Big Empty" does, too. It goes from slide-driven delta blues to hard-rock in the verses and choruses. You not only get a dynamic shift (which everyone was doing back then), but a stylistic shift, too! And "Army Ants" is a psychedelic hard southern rocker. They even go for a winding, four-minute epic (with hidden track attached, of course) on "Candybars and Kitchenware". A lot of bands would screw this up, but STP gets it perfectly! It's not as good as "Where the River Goes" from the last album, but I don't care, because it's a good song. The lounge-jazz hidden track, an ironic crooned "thank-you-for-listening", is pretty funny, too. I'd hesitate to call anything by the Pilots brilliant, but I enjoy this.

We don't hear anything from the STP anymore. It's our loss. Overshadowed by the bitterly cerebral Kurt Cobain and Pearl Jam Eddie Vedder's bombastic, sonorous voice--and being emotionally more akin to Radiohead--the STP spent several albums trying to claw their way out of the flannelled scene of the times, all the while being accused of mimicking other bands.

With Purple, they got it right. The DeLeo brothers' incredible songwriting paired with Weiland's lyrics to form an accreted image of a self-punishing naif flailing--but not quite drowning--in the wicked world. Life's aches and pains permeated all these tunes, the best of which--Interstate Love Song, Big Empty, Lounge Fly, Vaseline, the ridiculously named and shockingly good "Meatplow" --plead for understanding in the face of complete relational impasse.

Too, Weiland's voice was an unsung hero, as it were: a flexible, reedy tenor bouncing between raw and warm vibratto--far prettier than he was ever given credit for. The DeLeos filled their songwriting with quirky, Byzantine chord progressions and hooks pounded out of guitars in a violent sludge that never, ever overwhelmed the searching tunes. And Eric Krentz' drumming drove these songs over a cliff into free-fall. These men have done other work since (most notably 4's "Sour Girl, the best thing of their career) but Purple was the STP perfect storm--not one word or note rang false, and most of it was ravishing. Years later, it still is.

Another perfect record, just like "Core" was. It is full of hits: "Meatplow", "Vasoline", "Interstate Love Song", and "Big Empty". But again, every song is great and there is a good variety of song types. Some that rock hard, some that are mellow, but they all have great hooks.

After this album, STP sort of mellowed out a bit and started incorporating more of a pop influence in their records. While I still enjoyed every moment, many fans were undoubtedly disappointed with the musical direction. I recommend the first two albums (this one and "Core") before you buy the rest. Just expect the last three albums to be different. They don't rock as hard.

This is a good CD to get if you've heard a couple STP songs you like but aren't ready to commit to a studio album yet. It has virtually every song you'll hear in various music games or on the radio (minus "Dead & Bloated").

Will do till I can get all the albums sent over from home. Doesn't replace the first 3 albums.

For the price this is a great album, I highly recommend it. I also recommend the albums "Core" and "Purple" there are yet other great songs not listed on this album that can be found on them such as "Meat Plow", "Unglued" "Pretty Penny"

Best "Greatest Hits" CD ever put out. This compilation is a strong representation of STP's best. CD jacket is fab as well.

Stone Temple Pilots are an excellant band, with many great songs to contribute to and I was impressed with the selection made for this compilation, however it was a little short for me...I mean 12 tracks? Come on they could have doen better and added more songs to the mix. I was really hoping for "Dancing Days" and other good songs by STP and was dissappointed that they were not there. Other than that the album is pretty good with many good songs on it.

No. 4 by Stone Temple Pilots almost never happened but singer Scott Weiland finally cleaned up his act and got sober for this ambitious album. Songs like Sour Girl, Down, S*x and Violence, and my personal fave Atlanta are excellent tracks but the rest of the album is pretty much filler. Weiland's voice is in fine tune but the rest of the band seems tired and uninspired. This is a mixed bag for me.

Amazingly, this album was released in 1999, after grunge had come and gone and was replaced by boybands, rap and hip-hop. But it is Grungy, with a capital "G". Most of the tracks are good and dark. The exceptions only make these more apparent. "Sour Girl" and "I Got You" are definitely more in the pop area, with Beatle-inspired lines. "Glide" soars a little into the psychedelic. The last track, "Atlanta", could have been a Doors song, lyrically and musically. The rest are all needle-in-the-arm, glorious grunge. And it's all good. Actually, the album is worth the price for just the first and last tracks. "Down" is STP at their grungiest, and "Atlanta" is one of the most real and touching rock ballads I have ever heard.

Too often STP has been dismissed as a "pop" band, undeserving of the respect given to Nirvana and Pearl Jam. But let's face it. Any band that achieves commercial success is a pop band. As Scott Weiland once said (I'm paraphrasing something I read), "The Beatles were a pop band, so what's wrong with that?" I agree, Scott. I totally agree.

This is my least favorite CD by STP, but that's ok, because they more then made up for it with "Shangri-La Dee Da." This is a good CD, and "Sour Girl" is a great song.

It's just plain cool the way Scott pronounces "Waiting" as "Way-TAN!" It just kills me. Makes me want to jump around the living room and pound on stuff.

Notice how, on the opening track 'Down,' he takes only 4 couplets for verses, 1 line for a chorus, and one line for a bridge. It's the same lyrical economy he used on 'Dead & Bloated.' He's not writing an extensive lyrical masterpiece here. The words simply function as a vehicle for his a$$-kicking DELIVERY.

Now that's' what I've been Way-TAN for!

Nice vocal nod to Ozzy Osbourne on the bridge, too.

Quite simply put, 'No. 4' suffers from the fact that it just isn't quite as good as the earlier albums. If it had come first, many of it's flaws could be overlooked.

But it didn't, so you really can't. 'Sour Girl' and 'Down' are the highlights (and also the singles) of this probably underrated, yet flawed, work. 'No Way Out' and 'Church on Tuesday' are also solid songs. If you have a jones for STP, go with 'Purple' or 'Tiny Music' instead.

Stone Temple Pilots-Tiny Music ****

Tiny Music has quite a few things going for it. For one the title is by far the best album title from the 1990's, at least for an alternative rock band. Also Scott Weiland is at his lyrical peak as far as STP is concerned. DeLeo also plays the best guitar of his career. The tone is actually good here, Brendon O' Brien didn't screw up the production for once. Also his all around soloing and riffing is much better than any other STP album. This is also the groups most diverse selection of music in one place.

Tiny Music also has a few bad things going for it. For example this is the groups most diverse selection of music in one place. 'And So I Know' could do with out, it is really hit or miss depending on the mood. The albums intro 'Push Play' is incredibly annoying. 'Daisy' is decent but lets face it, DeLeo can't write an instrumental so maybe he should have stopped with 'Wet The Bed' from the bands debut Core. Other than that the album is solid.

'Tripping On A Hole In A Paper Heart' is poetry at its finest and easily DeLeos greatest guitar solo. 'Pops Love Suicide' 'Tumble In The Rough' and 'Big Band Baby' are just shy of classics and 'Art School Girl' is pure pleasure, and sounds like it would have fit in well on Purple.

No it isn't Core or Purple. It is much better than 4, and Shangra La De Da though. It is worth the price for 'Tripping On A Hole In A Paper Heart' alone but it is the unexpected turns that makes Tiny Music...Songs From The Vatican Gift Shop most memorable.

Trippin' On A Hole In A Paper Heart is one of the best songs by STP, the rest of the Cd is great. I waited a long time to purchase this one but kept remembering hearing some of it tripping songs. It is different but a must have!!!!

This is an EXCELLENT CD! It's not quite as good a Shangri-La Dee Da" or "Purple" but it has pushed "Core" a little to the back and I really like "Core." Unlike many bands STP actually did get better with each CD.

So this album showed STP departing from their "grunge-come-alternative rock sound" and yet for some reason enough so called purists think its just a bad album? Since when did experimenting have such a bad connotation with it? Actually, I'm glad most people didn't appreciate it, I think it's an album that truly showed the bands potential and scope of their sound, and most of the people listening in prior to this album were in it purely for the sound it provided in the early 90's. Get over it, grunge died in bum a long time ago, and thank god for it, STP needed to shed that terrible sub-genre label, as did many class bands from seattle at the time.

Amongst the controversy this album bought with it (scott weilands noticeable cocaine addiction and a sign that grunge was dying) this so called dark horse of an album is a gem in the STP discography.

Seemingly a lot more pop grunge then their previous albums, it takes two or three listens to really find the underlay and pure brilliance of this album. Scott Weiland sings as well (albeit differently) as in Core, with experimental distortion on vocals only now being mimicked by bands in the alternative rock genre.

Erractic, eccentric, and an invigorating album that is a fusion of different styles and a big step in experimenting for the band and yet does not lose what is now an STP sound. Without a doubt a gem in alternative rock music and greatly, greatly misunderstood.

A quick peak at this album's Wikipedia page reveals that this album wasn't received too warmly on release. Entertainment Weekly scored it a C and Pitchfork spit line after line of profanity laced insults. Which strikes me as odd - this is a thoroughly enjoyable album, one that takes chances and breaks STP out of the mold. Whereas 'Purple' was characterized by a "smash your head into pulp" heaviness, "Tiny Music..." seemed light and airy.

I remember buying the album right when it came out. I was probably 14. This was when CD buying was a rare endeavor for me so I had to pick and choose carefully. I'd only heard "Big Bang Baby", which with it's video was extremely weird, and looking at the album art, I really started to wonder if I'd just wasted $20 bucks. After getting it home, giving it a few spins and letting it sink in, though, I have to say I was thoroughly satisfied with my purchase.

I won't try to describe the songs - plenty of people have already done that. This is an album that takes some time to get into and it's definitely a strong shift in style and dynamics for the band - and it pays off in spades. Now over a decade old, I still come back to this album quite frequently. A quick look at the play list reveals no duds. To me, this is a near perfect album - it plays and flows beautifully. Hopefully, 5 to 10 years from now, people will see this for what it is - STP growing and expanding as a band and making beautiful music while doing it.

If you buy this album expecting 'Purple', you're probably going to hate it. If you come in with an open mind and a love of pop, you'll find something to love in this album.

And just as an aside - yeah, Weiland is by no means a gifted poet. But when did we really start docking rock albums for that? I can think of plenty of Zeppelin songs that have near abysmal lyrics. As far as I'm concerned, it's not what the lead singer is singing but how they're singing it.

I didn't really like this album or #4 at first. But they require repeat listens. The first time I heard core or purple all the way through I thoroughly enjoyed them. These albums require a bit more effort, but after you realize that they are not going to sound like their older stuff you can really appreciate these albums for what they are. STP has never made a bad album in my opinion. These albums are really amazing that everyone seemed to ignore and it's too bad.

The Deleo's are so underrated. Army of Anyone was awesome and they just make amazing music and Scott is one of the best singers in Rock n Roll. He can be angry, aggressive and in your face, or sing beautifully without being sappy (which is hard to do). And Kretz drums always sound awesome, with a ton of weight and heaviness. This band is so versatile and original it's insane. Hopefully now they are back together they can make a new album.

I'm a huge STP fan and have been since 1992. I firmly believe they are the best band to come out of the 1990s and I also believe if they play their cards right with this new reunion they could save rock 'n roll. All that said, it's no secret their first album "Core" was extremely derivative. They since branched out and created some wonderfully inspiring rock music, basically defining an era. Their first four albums were all extremely consistent and all had a unique sound of their own. With "Shangri-La Dee Da," STP's 5th record, they continued the trend of trying new things, new ideas, new sounds. The result, however, is their most inconsistent record to date.

Long time fans of the band were undoubtedly shocked at the inconsistency on their first listen of SLDD. I disliked the album for many years, it took many many listens for me to appreciate what is going on here. With SLDD, STP ventures into territory you'd never dream the same band that released "Core" would ever explore. One of SLDD's merits would have to be Dean DeLeo's spectacular guitar playing. Dean always proved to be a competent player on their past efforts, but his performance here really stands out to me. His style has matured like wine since the days of "Core."

DUMB LOVE- Hardest song on the album, sounds like it could've come straight from "Core." Great, great song.
DAYS OF THE WEEK- Big turned around from track 1, DOTW is a poppy radio friendly number. I hated this one initially but it grew on me. Sounds like a Tiny Music track.
COMA- Back to the harder rocking sound, this song fuses classic STP with an ever-so-slight hip-hop vibe. It works. One of the best on the album.
HOLLYWOOD BITCH- Very catchy tune, a little too gritty to be "pop", but a great song nontheless. Wouldn't have sounded out of place on Tiny Music.
WONDERFUL- The album slows way down for this one that starts off acoustically. A slower number, but classic STP nonetheless.
BLACK AGAIN- The experimentation prevalent on much of the rest of the album really starts here. BA is catchy, yet unlike anything the band has ever done. You'll either love it or hate it. I'm not a fan of Weiland's falsetto that is present here and on much of the second half of the record.
HELLO IT'S LATE- A slow, quiet song reminiscent of the Doors. This track could compete with some of STP's finest work. One of my favorites.
TOO COOL QUEENIE- Arguably the best song on SLDD, TCQ really packs a punch but not in a heavy way. Think "Art School Girlfriend" meets "Interstate Love Song". Some of Weiland's finest lyrics-- simple, to the point, yet poetic.
REGENERATION- Should have been called Degeneration, the album kind of degenerates from here on out. Catchy riff and guitar work, yet Weiland's falsetto is back and the lyrics are just kind of.... dumb. More of the hip-hop influence grazed on Coma, but laid on a little thicker here. It doesn't work IMO.
BIPOLAR BEAR- Great, great lyrics, some of Weiland's finest. Starts off as an acoustic number and then gets manic, much like the story the lyrics convey. I really, really want to like Bi-Polar bear because of the subject matter but something about the song construction isn't right. Plus there's that falsetto again...
TRANSMISSIONS FROM A LONELY ROOM- Another "different" song, but I kind of like this one. Interesting lyrics and the music sounds cohesive as well. Weiland's voice during the verses is distorted, but it's kind of a cool effect. Ultimately though not as good as some of the album's best.
A SONG FOR SLEEPING- Ugh, hard to believe the same guy that wrote "Sex Type Thing" penned this sappy mess. I can tolerate this one once in a while but the subject matter sounds more like something you'd hear from Elton John than STP. The falsetto strikes again, and is at it's worst here.
LONG WAY HOME- Returning to form, SLDD goes out with a hard-hitting STP-classic rocker. Long Way Home is one of the best tracks here, right up there with the ones I mentioned liking earlier. Dean takes the spotlight for a long outro guitar solo at the end. Great stuff.

It's always good when bands experiment and try new things. You inevitably learn a lot about yourselves as musicians and what kinds of things work in your songs. And what things don't. SLDD's biggest problem is its aforementioned inconsistency. Some of the tracks here rank with the band's best work, and others are utter misses. If STP had released SLDD as an 8-song EP consisting of Dumb Love, Days of the Week, Coma, Hollywood Bitch, Wonderful, Hello It's Late, Too Cool Queenie and Long Way Home it would stand up with the rest of their catalogue as a very good, even great record. The remaining 5 songs are too obtuse and laborious to be considered mere "filler"; it's obvious the band crafted everything here meticulously with much thought and intent. The problem is that they just don't work and are too alien for long time STP fans (myself included) to appreciate.

I didn't care to much for their music after "Core" and "Purple"... or so I thought. I just knew what I heard on the radio. I bought "Thank you" just to see and then I bought this one. "Shangri-La Dee Da" was so good that I had to go back and get "Tiny Music From The Vatican Gift Shop," which is also excellent by the way.

This album is by no means extraordinary and it is not STP's best. Yet it still beats most of the trash heap that is contemporary rock.

If you remove a couple songs it might get a fifth star. "Wonderful" and "A Song for Sleeping" are mysteriously un-STP-like tracks and are also really awful.

That being said, the album is another interesting evolution of the terrific quartet. It draws on previous albums but remains distinct. If you love "Core" and use it as a measuring stick, you are not doing Shangri-La justice. Great bands evolve (the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, etc.) and change.

Admittedly, the album gets better as it goes notwithstanding the two hiccups mentioned before. Overall, there is a poppy feel but its all done very well and is original. There are some essential STP songs here.

Maybe it is just me, but the sound quality of this album is off. I don't know if its the mixing or what. Maybe it's intentional. All I know is that the music doesn't crank well and that is too bad becuase there are some interesting riffs and basslines on the album. It takes a few listenings to take it all in.

Overall, four stars. Not an incredible sign-off for the band but when is it ever incredible?

This albumn is a far distant relative from the Core albumn. I am not as impressed whith where STP has gone but more where they started. I will always rate Core as #1.

This CD is absolutely fantastic. The Stone Temple Pilots have been churning out tons of hits since their first CD in the early '90s, and even though their sound has changed they are still an awesome band. I guarantee everybody's heard most of the songs on this album, seeing as they were all major radio hits. From "Sex Type Thing" to "Vasoline" to "Big Bang Baby" to "Days of the Week", every song on here is a rock classic, and any fan of STP or '90s rock in general should own this. The bonus DVD was equally awesome, with all the band's music videos and a ton of live videos as well. (As a side note, the CD case unfolds to reveal a topless woman holding a sunflower, which is also cool.)

The first of which is on the CD - I was hoping the band would put the single version if "Creep" on this compilation (you know, the version of the song from the video.) Second, the video for "No Way Out" which was created by fans at a concert in Los Angeles should is missing from the DVD. Otherwise, a great buy.

forget the regular cd and get the one with the dvd its almost worth getting especially if you're an STP fan like myself, first of all the greatest hits are missing some of my favorite songs like Crackerman, Meatplow and Silvergun superman not to mention that its missing a couple of song from Shagri-la-dee-da it only has one song from it which was Days of the week which I thought was a weak song but this cd manages to have their awesome hit songs which I'm not complaining about and also has the unreleased song All in the suit that you wear and an unplugged version of Plush which was a bit boring, STP were one of the best and most influential rock groups to come out of the 90's while critics thought that they were a Pearl Jam clone or rippoff group it didn't seem to affect thier success, the Deleo brothers managed to make some of the best sounding melodic riffs ever and also did alot of great catchy songs whether it was a slow acoustic ballad like Creep and Sour girl or a hard driving rock song like Vasoline,Sex type thing ect not to mention Scott Weiland who was a great frontman and singer who was very mysterious and had a great personality and wrote some good lyrics despite his drug problems.

Anyway if you're a casual fan of STP and heard some of thier songs on the radio then you might wanna check this out, I think that the first half of the cd from tracks 1-8 had the best track listing and the songs flow together very well songs like Wicked garden, Plush, Creep and Sex type thing are from the debut album Core and this album is a classic grunge hard rock/metal album from the 90's each song from that album in my opinion gets a 5/5 star rating no questions asked. Vasoline, Big empty and Interstate love song are from the second album Purple which is one of my personal favorite albums from STP and it continues the heavy sound from the previous album only it has become more hard rock and alternative this album would definetely get a high score 5/5 stars. The big bang baby, Lady picture show and Trippin' on a hole are from the third album Tiny Music...Songs From The Vatican Gift Shop you could tell that the group experimented alot on this album and it was a bit slower and softer than the previous two but still good, to me it sounded like they had a 60's psychedelic rock influence on this particular album with some boring songs and some that were good it was a mix of the same STP style of music which is very good 4/5. Down and Sour girl are both from NO. 4 which is my least favorite album from them cause it seems to be missing the same energy and creativity from the other albums it gets 3/5 they should have included Heaven and hot rods its like a mix of all the styles from the previous album into one. Days of the week is from Shangri-la-di-da, in my honest opinion this album was very underrated and should have been more successful but it wasn't its still great though and is a fantastic final album from these guys who were still rocking out loud 5/5.

The bonus dvd was great I mean what can I say its the type of dvd that you'll end up watching over and over again without being bored. It has some edited together clips of live shows from STP throughout the years then you also have some bootleg footage shot by fans so the quality wasn't so good and just barely watchable maybe once or twice but then thats it. You also have all of STP's music videos which was the best part of this dvd, they are absolutely phenomenal and there is a photo gallery with some amusing pictures of the band. I highly recommend this greatest hits cd/dvd.

Stone Temple Pilots has long been one of my favorite bands. Vocalist Scott Weiland, guitarist Dean DeLeo, bassist Robert DeLeo, and drummer Eric Kretz all combined their musical abilities which resulted in 5 full-length albums. Despite the fact that when they released their first CD "Core" they were written off as just another grunge band, a Pearl Jam/Nirvana wannabe, they proved their merit and have written some of my favorite songs. Despite being a fan of STP, my preferences differ from a lot of STP fans. I love 4 of their albums, I like 1 album, and I hate none. My favorite album is "No. 4" an album that usually ranks near the bottom of a STP fans list. My least favorite is "Tiny Music...Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop." There is so much talent in this band. Vocalist/Lyricist Scott Weiland has such great range and a lot of his lyrics rank right up there with Jim Morrison, one of his heroes. Not all of his lyrics are great, but the great ones are some of the best. Lines like "I wanna drink from your naked fountain" and "You're the wonder in everything that's wonderful" still make me laugh and wish that I were that talented. The DeLeo Brothers (now in Army of Anyone, a band with a lot of potential if they last) were and are great at writing and playing music. They have a knack for writing catchy harmonies and hooks, some of them the most recognizable in rock. As for drummer Eric Kretz, the guy is nothing special compared to the likes of Neil Peart or John Bonham or David Grohl but he works great in this band. Now here's the bands Greatest Hits, entitled "Thank You." Rating a "Greatest Hits" CD is hard to do. Even the most casual fan of a band complains about the hits, because most Greatest Hits CD feature songs you've grown sick of and rarely feature the fan favorites. This CD is great as a compilation. Are there songs that should've been put on here? Yes...Some of my favorite STP songs are the most underrated ones. I would've liked to see songs like I Got You, Wonderful, Pretty Penny, and Dead & Bloated on here but you can't judge a CD by what you want but what it has. This has great songs on it, my favorites being "Big Bang Baby" and "Wicked Garden." All the songs are good, but the thing that really makes "Thank You" special is the DVD. STP never put out a DVD, so this is the only chance you're going to have to get Live Performances, Music Videos, and Bootleg Concert Footage. The DVD is superb and gives you a taste of how great Stone Temple Pilots were. This should be the deciding factor of buying the CD. Before I list the songs and what I think of them, I also want to note the cover of the CD. What appears to be just a hand holding a flower over a field of flowers (which makes a great cover by itself) opens up to be one of my favorite covers of all time:

1. Vasoline-5/5-I love this song. It's just a great, catchy tune. The lyrics aren't spectacular, but it's still great.
2. Down-4/5-This is a popular song and I like it, but it's overrated.
3. Wicked Garden-5/5-Some of their best lyrics, just great (sort of) quotable lines. It's one of their best.
4. Big Empty-5/5-Starts off slow, leading to a memorable chorus. The music to the song is superb and Weiland's whisper-singing is perfect.
5. Plush-5/5-This song is catchy and has some unique lyrics ("And I feel so much depends on the weather/so is it raining in your bedroom?)
6. Big Bang Baby-5/5-One of my favorite STP songs. It's annoying and catchy and I absolutely love it.
7. Creep-5/5-This song is much slower than the songs that come before it, but it's one of my favorite STP songs. It's got spectacular lyrics, that clearly came from Scott Weiland's heart which is made even more obvious by how he sings it.
8. Lady Picture Show-4/5-This song is off the bands worst album "Tiny Music...Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop." It's a good song, but not great. The chorus is the best and the lyrics are interesting, even though they don't make a whole lot of sense.
9. Trippin' on a Hole in a Paper Heart-5/5-Also off "Tiny Music" this song is great. I know some people find it annoying, but it's catchy and got stuck in my head. If a song gets stuck in my head and I don't care, I consider it a good song. This one, however, is great.
10. Interstate Love Song-5/5-One of the most recognizable guitar hooks in rock music. This song is on the radio all the time but has never got old for me.
11. All in the Suit That You Wear-5/5-This song is previously unreleased. If they recorded it for this CD alone, it's a nice addition. If it was just dropped from an album, that's too bad...It would've made a great track.
12. Sex Type Thing-5/5-Perspectives differ about what this song is about. I don't really care. It's very catchy and certain samples of the lyrics are so great.
13. Days of the Week-5/5-I've heard this song a lot, so I've warn it out. I don't like it as much as I used too, but the first 100 times I heard it I loved it. It's poppy, but it's still got the STP mark on it.
14. Sour Girl-5/5-I can relate to these lyrics, which might make me like it more than I would. But I think this is a great song through-and-through, expertly crafted in every way.
15. Plush (Accoustic)-5/5-A wonderful accoustic version of the song.
GRADE: A

This is not a flawed HIT collection, cause these are the biggest songs STP had, all the classics are here + some lesser knows (Days of The Week) and a new song 'All In The Suit That You Wear' and as a "bonus" the perfect acoustic live take of 'Plush', what more could you want/expect?
Sure a few fan-favourites (that also made radio..) like 'Dead & Bloated' & the Led Zeppelin cover 'Dancing Days' could've been here, but oh well, when I think about STP 90% of their songs coul've been here!!! they were so great! If I think about the albums 'Core' & 'Purple' NONE of the songs are below great!
So, the cd alone is good, but a bit pointless to buy if you have all their other albums, but, since there's a DVD included, this package is just awesome! All their videos, about 15 live performances, bootlegs and a picture gallery..smashing!!

STP continued their high songwritting/playing standards in this 1994 album, their second effort following their big hit album CORE.
Actually all their albums preceding the departure of vocalist/lyricist Scott Weiland (to be a member of Velvet Revolver for a couple of albums)are consistently very good R'n'R albums with the occasional ballad.You won't be disappointed.

When Stone Temple Pilots hit it big in 1993 with their debut "Core", the band's rather obvious attempt to align its image with the then-popular grunge scene earned them derision. However, once you looked beyond frontman Scott Weiland's dyed hair, goatee, and somewhat Eddie Vedder-esqe vocals (although it was more due to their mutual appreciation of the Doors), songs like "Plush", "Sex-Type Thing", and the almost joyous grinding pop-metal of "Wicked Garden" all indicated that the band had a canny understanding of hard arena rock. Indeed, the slick production values and unwillingness to indulge in aimless alt-rock/grunge noise jams belied an ultra-professional approach that just required some stronger material to fit between their singles (notwithstanding a couple of quality deep cuts such as "Where the River Goes"). The question was whether Stone Temple Pilots would, as one of the first bands to so obviously jump on the grunge bandwagon, simply be another one hit wonder to join the scrapheap of forgotten bands trying to cash in on a trend.

It was with their self-titled second album, also known as "Purple" to most, that Stone Temple Pilots showed that they could transcend the cheap image gimmick they used to get their foot in the door. While it's not that likely that you'll find a lot of demand for grunge copycat bands such as Bush, Silverchair, the Kennedys or others of the age to mount a comeback, the fact that the Stone Temple Pilots 2008 reunion generated excitement is in no small part due to this album, and the eclectic blueprint it laid out for their subsequent releases. While both Scott Weiland and the rest of the band attempted to find success independent of each other, it's the combination of Weiland's unpredictable charisma (part David Bowie, part Jim Morrison, and part chemical ingestion) and the hyper-professional musicianship of the DeLeo brothers and Eric Kretz that brings forth their best. Even someone like me, who's more likely to be listening to German heavy metal or Eighties pop than grunge, can't help but salute STP for delivering the goods better than even original grunge bands such as Soundgarden and Pearl Jam, which both ended up exhausting their inspiration within a few years, and released albums laden with self-indulgent yet poorly performed filler tracks that managed to not even be experimental in a good way. Compare the plinking and pointless droning all-too prevalent in Soundgarden's "Down on the Upside" with the professional, multi-faceted sounds found on later STP albums such as "Number 4" and "Shangri-La-Dee-Da".

On "Purple", STP dropped the uniform, single-minded production found in "Core", and roughened things up a bit, while still keeping things quite listenable and appealing to a broad audience. It was this album that pretty much confirmed that the band actually understood what made Led Zeppelin tick. Larger than life anthems such as "Still Remains", "Big Empty" and the megahit "Interstate Love Song" mingled with the acoustic, exotic "Pretty Penny" (a song that would've fit in well on Led Zeppelin III), and the psychadelic "Lounge Fly". Faster, aggressive songs such as "Vasoline" and "Unglued" also helped propel this album's popularity, while slower, heavy numbers such as "Meatplow" and "Silvergun Superman" channeled a Sabbath vibe. Throughout all these songs, a melodic, catchy sensibility is the common element linking them together, with a subtle, contradictory love of prog-rock lying just below the surface. The band would continue to mine their devotion to the concept of maximizing the effectiveness of the album medium on subsequent albums.

While Stone Temple Pilots are far from original, they never claimed to be world-changing. Nonetheless, they're far from the mere bar-band with freakish success that some critics think they are. In the end, it's perhaps their devotion to being entertainers first and foremost that keeps people like me intrigued....when they're not busy going on hiatus or breaking up that is. Let's hope that the reunion lasts, and that the new STP album carries on the tradition they started with "Purple".

I'm willing to bet this is STP's overall best album. Here they expand their sound ("Pretty Penny" is mostly acoustic; "Lounge Fly" is, in order, 1/3 Guns n' Roses, 1/3 Crosby, Stills & Nash, and another third Guns n' Roses; "Interstate Love Song" is southern rock) sharpen their songwriting, and come up with something pretty damn good. Okay, so not "Silvergun Superman" or "Meat Plow", flat reworkings of the Core sound. Neither have much personality. I don't really like the slash-and-burn punk song "Unglued" either. It just sounds out of place. But man, "Interstate Love Song" makes up for all of that. The riffs, the vocals, the chorus and the opening are all absolutely perfect. Actually, the entire song is absolutely perfect. I don't think Soundgarden ever made a song as good as that. Or The White Stripes, while I'm at it. "Big Empty" does, too. It goes from slide-driven delta blues to hard-rock in the verses and choruses. You not only get a dynamic shift (which everyone was doing back then), but a stylistic shift, too! And "Army Ants" is a psychedelic hard southern rocker. They even go for a winding, four-minute epic (with hidden track attached, of course) on "Candybars and Kitchenware". A lot of bands would screw this up, but STP gets it perfectly! It's not as good as "Where the River Goes" from the last album, but I don't care, because it's a good song. The lounge-jazz hidden track, an ironic crooned "thank-you-for-listening", is pretty funny, too. I'd hesitate to call anything by the Pilots brilliant, but I enjoy this.

We don't hear anything from the STP anymore. It's our loss. Overshadowed by the bitterly cerebral Kurt Cobain and Pearl Jam Eddie Vedder's bombastic, sonorous voice--and being emotionally more akin to Radiohead--the STP spent several albums trying to claw their way out of the flannelled scene of the times, all the while being accused of mimicking other bands.

With Purple, they got it right. The DeLeo brothers' incredible songwriting paired with Weiland's lyrics to form an accreted image of a self-punishing naif flailing--but not quite drowning--in the wicked world. Life's aches and pains permeated all these tunes, the best of which--Interstate Love Song, Big Empty, Lounge Fly, Vaseline, the ridiculously named and shockingly good "Meatplow" --plead for understanding in the face of complete relational impasse.

Too, Weiland's voice was an unsung hero, as it were: a flexible, reedy tenor bouncing between raw and warm vibratto--far prettier than he was ever given credit for. The DeLeos filled their songwriting with quirky, Byzantine chord progressions and hooks pounded out of guitars in a violent sludge that never, ever overwhelmed the searching tunes. And Eric Krentz' drumming drove these songs over a cliff into free-fall. These men have done other work since (most notably 4's "Sour Girl, the best thing of their career) but Purple was the STP perfect storm--not one word or note rang false, and most of it was ravishing. Years later, it still is.

Another perfect record, just like "Core" was. It is full of hits: "Meatplow", "Vasoline", "Interstate Love Song", and "Big Empty". But again, every song is great and there is a good variety of song types. Some that rock hard, some that are mellow, but they all have great hooks.

After this album, STP sort of mellowed out a bit and started incorporating more of a pop influence in their records. While I still enjoyed every moment, many fans were undoubtedly disappointed with the musical direction. I recommend the first two albums (this one and "Core") before you buy the rest. Just expect the last three albums to be different. They don't rock as hard.

Core by Stone Temple Pilots was the debut album from these talented grunge/alternative rock band. Lead singer Scott Weiland had some mad vocals, this guy can sing anything, amazing! Songs like S#x Type Thing, Plush, and Creep were some of the radio hits and they still sound good to this day. This album is not the band's best, Purple gets that honor. Great album for its time, good memories.

Although it's been said many times, many ways... this album is fantastic. At the height of the grunge movement came a band that followed, created, and stepped away from the trend that was music at that time. The DeLeo brothers brought a gritty edge to the table, while Scott Weiland crooned and crowed his way into all of our hearts.

I am always loathe to place the classic label on anything, but I am going to pull it out here. For whatever reason, this is the only album from '90 to about 2003 that is in my play rotation. Most of my listening has evolved into 60's and 70's classics that predate myself. This is the one exception. An album full of great, rocking songs. "Sex Type Thing" is right up there with "Whole Lotta Love", "War Pigs", "Shoot to Thrill" and "Enter Sandman" as far as I am concerned for absolutely ROCKING songs. The rest of the album is filled with great, memorable tunes that have aged very well. Along with Led Zeppelin II, and Back In Black, my favorite hard albums!!!

Despite the fall of an era as Stone Temple Pilots split (prior to 2008) a generation of hard rock enthusiasts/ circa grunge sound of the early 90's came to an end. Albeit STP never wanted to or really liked the title of being "a grunge band" they were closely associated with the sound and as a major factor in contributing to its evolving scope. That is, they were boxed into a genre they didn't see as fit, and as the band grew with albums beyond "Core" the sub genre dwindled, to the gratification of many musical intellects and band members... the undercut was the worst haircut of all time.

However, this album review is about their debut collective, named "core" hard, distorted and in general loud, this album provided power chord riff's with melodic vocals reminiscent of past blues rock-come-country singers that broke out into their own sound. Tracks listed in a particular manner that helped compliment each song, one after the other.

Needless to say, this album is what made stone temple pilots who they were destined to become. It provided a niche fan base that would follow the band right through to Shangri-La Dee Da and Thank Youdespite their experimental and evolving sound post- Purple( now listed on amazon.com as self titled???)

Tracks making the honour list are : Wicked garden, Sex type thing, plush, dead and bloated and creep all making my personal list for some of the greatest music to come out of 1992.

Nostalgic, heart warming for a guy who was on the verge of growing up, skateboarding and liking girls for the very first time, this album has a place with me always, a good listen for background tunes, driving, and just having a good time. Raw and uneven, I love that the imperfections that people might see in this album are anything but that to the devote STP community.

This is a must have for any fan of rock music. Songs like "Crackerman", "Creep", "Sex Type Thing", "Wicked Garden", "Plush", and "Dead and Bloated" are classics.

Get this album!

Acoustic CD released by radio station 99X - 99.7FM Atlanta

This CD was only available in Atlanta at select stores and is LONG out of print!

Features 12 acoustic tracks...

1) R.E.M. - Walk Unafraid
2) Vertical Horizon - Everything You Want
3) Our Lady Peace - Is Anybody Home?
4) Angie Aparo - Spaceship
5) Foo Fighters - My Hero
6) Tonic - If You Could Only See
7) Chris Cornell - Can't Change Me
8) Train - Meet Virginia
9) Billy Corgan - Age of Innocence
10) Splender - Yeah, Whatever
11) Collective Soul - Heavy
12) Stone Temple Pilots - Atlanta