Review Summary: 'Purple' is a step up from 'Core', with less of a grunge sound allowing for more musical experimentation.
Purple
Stone Temple Pilots
Atlantic Records, 1994
Stone Temple Pilots is...
Scott Weiland: Vocals
Eric Kretz: Drums
Dean DeLeo: Guitar
Robert DeLeo: Bass
After the release of their debut album 'Core', Stone Temple Pilots recieved plenty of harsh criticism from critics and were accused of simply following the grunge trend of the time. In an attempt to change their sound, STP hired Pearl Jam producer Brendan O'Brien to help them make their second album stand out from the flood of grunge that had exploded onto the charts at the time.
Fans of Core might be disappointed by this release, for much of the grunge sound found on such hits as 'Dead And Bloated' and 'Sex Type Thing' has gone, mostly to be replaced by more generic, radio friendly hard rock. This, however is not a bad thing in any sense. 'Interstate Love Song' and 'Big Empty', both massive radio hits at the time are two of the albums strongest tracks, the former possessing a sprawling, epic feel, while the latter is a dark ballad with a droning chorus. The five singles to be released from the album are all stand out tracks, from the short rocker 'Unglued' to the near psychadelic 'Pretty Penny.'
Other, lesser known songs, while not as powerful or catchy as the singles, can still hold out on their own. The album opener 'Meatplow' is a fine example of one of these songs, with an excellent bass line and some great singing from Scott Weiland. 'Lounge Fly' opens with an interesting guitar sound before Scott's almost rap-like vocals come in.
The instrumentation found on 'Purple', while being of no such quality to be excited about, is still quite good, with some good bass and drums complimented by some awesome guitar work. Dean DeLeo can use his guitar to create a wide variety of sounds, from the strange hissing that opens 'Lounge Fly' to the bluesy solo on 'Silvergun Superman'. While searching up this album to help with this review, I discovered that 'Purple' is ranked number 73 on Guitar World magazine's list of the 100 greatest guitar albums of all time. This is quite understandable, as the guitar work here is superior to many grunge albums of the time.
Scott Weiland's voice is another high point of the album, sometimes drawling along in traditional grunge fashion and sometimes pleasant and clear. His raspy voice goes along very well with the music, and is perfect on the album closer, 'Kitchenware and Candybars'.
Scott and Robert DeLeo collaborate to write most of the lyrics on 'Purple', and, though the lyrical content is not spectacular or deep, their songwriting is decent enough to keep the album interesting. The lyrical theme of the album is supposed to describe someone running away from the troubles in their life, but this is not really apparent when conveyed through some very cryptic lines.
'Purple', like most albums, is not perfect. 'Lounge Fly' and 'Silvergun Superman' both drag on for a bit too long, and 'Still Remains' and 'Army Ants' are not very noteworthy and are mostly boring after a listen or two. The chorus on 'Kitchenware And Candybars', while being very catchy, can start to wear thin after a while, which detracts from the overall quality of the song itself.
In conclusion, 'Purple' is a very good hard rock album that will keep the casual listener interested and the long time fan intrigued. The weak points are few, and all of the songs are worth listening to.
