ALBUM OF THE WEEK # 368 STONE TEMPLE PILOTS - NO. 4 (1999)

[RJhog (Admin)]

Disclaimer: All info that does not reside in my brain is gathered from wikipedia.com (mostly because Jon can't stand it) unless otherwise noted.

This week we close out the 1900's with the fourth release by the Stone Temple Pilots, appropriately titled No. 4. It was released in 1999 and rose to number 6 in the US while being certified Platinum by the RIAA.  An astonishing fact for me was that out of all of the singles the band released, only Sour Girl appeared on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.  That is amazing to me.  

Anyway, this is a cool album.  I  totally dig Down, Heaven & Hot Rods, Church On Tuesday and Sour Girl.  It's a shame that Scott Weiland is no longer with us.  As a matter of fact, I just realized that Chester Bennington spent a little time in the band recently, and he's also no longer with us.  May they both rest in peace.

Did You Know?  The album and it's entire tracklisting is displayed in Season 1, Episode 7 of True Detective (HBO).

Tracks:

1. Down

2. Heaven & Hot Rods

3. Pruno

4. Church On Tuesday

5. Sour Girl

6. No Way Out

7. Sex & Violence

8. Glide

9. I Got You

10. MC5

11. Atlanta 

[Scott]

The album is heavier than the previous 3, IMO.  And I liked it!  Still do, and for Mr Chapleens benefit, 'll restate my often repeated position of Weiland being the best singer to come out of the 90's.  Shame he's gone, his voice is/was perfect for heavy rock.

Ill also repeat my delayed intro to 90's rock and roll due to my resistance for change.  But in 1998 I was introduced to MeatPlow at the soundbar of a used CD store in Uptown Charlotte by a co-worker of mine and I'm grateful for that fateful moment as it opened up a whole new work do music to me.  I'm still very very picky about 90's music though.  Only a select few bands got s still hold my attention.  STP being one of them - obviously.  I was totally disinterested in the version of the band without Weiland and I didn't like the selection Pennington because I wasn't a fan.  But I am watching to see what happens to them now.  The DeLeo brothers are great songwriters/players and should continue in some capacity or STP incarnation.

I'm off the topic of this album though.  For me the first 4 STP albums are must haves - yes even Tiny Music is cool in my book.

Cool post boss!!

[Jon]

I only bought this album for Sour Girl because it's wicked cool. Found out that I actually liked the whole album but it really didn't turn me into a fan. Probably have another album by 'em, but this is the one I go to if I want some STP while playing with my SSP's which actually don't need to run. 

While the "raging rockers" are quite good, I like the mellow stuff as well, Sour Girl as mentioned above and Atlanta which has a 40's vibe to it. Something from one of those dandy musicals.