Review Summary: Stone Temple Pilots' latest effort is just an average album by a not-so average band.
So, I'm actually a fan of the Alternative music that was around in the 1990's with bands such as Alice In Chains, Mother Love Bone, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, and even Live. But there's a band that actually really captured my attention that a lot of people place in the same vein potentially in the Grunge sub-genre, but more often than not, they're not labelled as Grunge; and that band is Stone Temple Pilots.
Stone Temple Pilots is of course well-known for their collective frontman Scott Weiland, who is able to sing over the guitar work and everything like that, and for their classic albums such as 'Core', such as 'Purple' and for me, I really enjoyed 'No.4'. These are three great albums that I really can't get enough of. In fact, 'Core' and 'No.4' are two albums that I still like to play at work to this day whenever I have the option.
So, Stone Temple Pilots coming back after a long hiatus was of course a really big deal. And whenever they did some reunion shows around 2 years ago before this release, it really got me a very great interest in them once again and I really listened to a lot of their older music again. Not to mention, it made me wonder if they were going to pull off another studio record.
This album has kind of a unique mix, and what I mean by that is they really didn't capture that 1990's sound and they really didn't do exactly what they did with the later albums such as 'Shangri-La Dee Da'. Instead, what they sort of did was evolve into a little bit more of a pop radio-friendly version of Stone Temple Pilots. There's still a little bit of an edge there you can definitely still tell. But, this is an album that I had a lot of high hopes for that really came crashing down once I heard the final product.
Now, there are some really good songs on this release. Some songs that you really may not figure would be something that I would like. Songs such as 'Maver' and 'Cinnamon' that do have a very poppy edge to it, but at the same time so eloquently crafted that it does kind of capture my attention. Songs such as 'Hickory Dichotomy' are kind of good little songs, but at the same time really are on the cheesy side. This is nice little affair, but at the same time it's not the Stone Temple Pilots that I definitely remember. This is certainly a band that if you want to have some stronger material, listen to albums such as 'Core' and 'Purple' where they still did have an edge while at the same time had the ability to master some amazing songs, especially on 'Core'. 'Core' is one of those classic records that whenever you put in, even if you're not a fan, this is something that could get yourself into. Not to mention, with songs such as 'Plush' on there, these are songs that you really know, not to mention of course, 'Creep'. A lot of people don't really realize that Stone Temple Pilots, or whenever people heard of 'Creep', they immediately think of the Radiohead song, but Stone Temple Pilots had a song entitled 'Creep' as well. And it was very good.
So, what's my take on this particular album? Well, I have to say; as a Stone Temple Pilots fan, I'm not completely keen on it. Maybe this is something that's gonna be a grower, something that after some time, I'm really gonna start to enjoy it. One thing that was really cool is that on the special edition of this particular release, they showcased a live version of the song 'Vaseline' which was off of the 'Purple'. This is a track that often times a lot of people ignore, but it's actually a really good song and the live version of it is pretty darn awesome. They have a couple of other live songs on there as well as a bonus track which kind of reminds me of maybe the idea that they were going for it in the breakdowns in some of the songs such as 'Plush' and 'Sin' which were both of 'Core'. It's a very unique little track that is only a bonus song and it is what it is. It's really nothing special, but at the same time, it's a good song.
As far as Alternative release of the year (2010), don't look for Stone Temple Pilots self-titled release, because it won't get that award. Like I said, this is a nice little album and it is what it is. But at the same time, this is also an album that is kind of confusing. It's something where if you listen to it all the way through, you can find a couple of tracks that you like, but at the same time, it just kind of seems run of the mill. Stone Temple Pilots and this particular release don't really seem to stand out as much as they did in the 1990's recordings. It's almost like they're de-evolving a little bit. Like Scott Weiland decided to get the band back together because Velvet Revolver was also nothing all that special, and the result was a Stone Temple Pilots album that really can really be kind of seen as forgettable. This is a record that I won't be spending all of that much on. I may give it another try here and there to see if I like it any better, but if you like little pop songs that you can hear on the radio or something that you can see a video of on television, this might be a record for you. if you kind of like this stuff, you will definitely like this. However, if you're an old school Stone Temple Pilots fan who really enjoys the material from the 1990's, all the way up until 'No.4', this album just may not be for you.
A lot of people say that 'No.4' is where Stone Temple Pilots really lost that edge and they really mutated their sound into something that was a little bit more commercial friendly, but this is taking it to the overkill degree. There is a lot of different experimentation but if you really notice, the experimentation is really not that far off from what they've done before.
So, as a whole, I have to say as a Stone Temple Pilots fan, I'm disappointed with this record. And it's something where I can easily get angry with it and easily flip out, like what I am going to do with records such as 'St. Anger'. But, let's face it. Compared to that wretched piece of ***, this album is godly; this album would definitely get 5 stars out of 5 when compared to that piece of garbage. But whenever you actually hold it with the rest of the Stone Temple Pilots discography, and whenever you look at it the unique things that are out there that some other bands are able to output, it doesn't hold it's weight in water much like you would think.
