Search - Stone Temple Pilots :: Stone Temple Pilots

John E. (jenglis3) from COVENTRY, RI
Reviewed on 6/3/2010...

Probably their most focused album ever. The damn near decade they took off to do their side projects seems to have filtered out all the filler that could clutter some of their albums.They would spend to much time trying to gain respect from critics where now its quite obvious they dont give a f*ck about anything other than music.And theyre doing it a lot better.every song has a focused groove and weiland's voice sounds better than ever, with a slight jim morrisonesque sound on the bluesy "huckleberry crumble".Other stand outs include the slithering lead single "Between the Lines" and the poppy trip "Cinnamon"

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Now THIS Is More Like It

JLR | Staten Island, NY USA | 05/26/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"For many years, I have craved for a rock record that is good and enjoyable. This is one of them. I want to listen to an album that is bathed with strong, vibrant melodies, chugging, colorful rhythm sections and lyrics espousing love, life and yearning. I want to listen to an album that does not merely serve as a backdrop for a few enticing singles. More importantly, I want to listen to an album that sounds pure and fresh every time I hear it. The Stone Temple Pilots' self-titled album fits all these categories perfectly. If this album does anything good, hopefully two of those things will be being a commercial success and restoring the reputation of a great, unfairly undervalued rock band who have not worked together since 2001.



Any idea that a band reforms and decides to make a retro record opens themselves to ridicule. We have seen many artists look to the past for inspiration and they have been castigated by critics and fans for being "nostalgic" instead of "making something new". Indeed, throughout the entire album, there are references to the Animals, the Zombies, T. Rex, Mott the Hoople, Joy Division, Speedy West, the Raiders, Led Zeppelin, Tom Petty, and of course, the two rock icons that the band admires and loves: The Beatles and David Bowie. This album makes no apologies in admitting that it is merely a retro record: the lunk-headed, delightful "Huckleberry Crumble" makes no attempt to hide that it features the guitar riffs of Aerosmith's "Same Old Song and Dance"; and the charmingly weird country ditty "Hickory Dichotomy" has so many Jimmy Page-like chords that one would be hard pressed to wonder if it is a Zeppelin parody the same way "Back in the U.S.S.R" was a Chuck Berry parody and "Why Don't We Do It On the Road" was a Little Richard parody in The Beatles.



But the Stone Temple Pilots are too smart to just borrow other pieces of music for the sake of making songs, a talent that was unfortunately overlooked by many critics when the band was around by the time Nirvana and Pearl Jam dominated the pop charts. Long dismissed as knockoffs of their grunge contemporaries, the STP were able to change things a bit by incorporating elements of psychedelic rock, 60's hard rock, jangle pop and power pop in their later albums, particularly the underrated Tiny Music...Songs From the Vatican Shop. Unfortunately, band frictions and Weiland's drug addictions stopped the band dead in its track just as they were growing out of that critical rut, and by 2001, the group was no more, at least at that time.



When Scott Weiland left Stone Temple Pilots, he joined ex-Guns N' Roses members guitarist Slash, bassist Duff McKagan and drummer Matt Sorum and Wasted Youth guitarist Dave Kushner to former super group Velvet Revolver, which resulted in two uneven but fascinating rock records Contraband and Libertad. Yet for all their virtues, Weiland felt lost with the albums' classic-rock sound, as if his sonic adventurousness and pop sensibilities were muted, which was not the case in his solo album, Happy in Galoshes. Weiland left the group in 2008 and returned to the Stone Temple Pilots and by listening to this album, it's quite obvious where he feels more comfortable in.



It would have been tempting to make a simple comeback album that merely captures the sound of their previous records, as was the case in the Verve's disappointingly pedestrian Forth. But the Stone Temple Pilots have done something better: instead of re-threading their previous records, they go to music of the past (particularly the 60's-70's classic rock) and use them as platforms for, to quote Stephen Thomas Erlewine, "Weiland's insanely hooky neo-psychedelic melodies" and "DeLeo's knack for catchy, monstrous riffs", two factors that were the cores of many of the band's songs in the past. And indeed, this album is dominated with searing guitar solos, riffs as sweet as a honey pie and hooks so plentiful that you won't get many out of your head. Hookiest of these songs is "Between the Lines", a catchy and irresistible Zombies-Animals crossover in which Weiland declares that all he wants to do is talk about love, even when he used to take drugs, a not-so-subtle reference to the summer of love of 1960's.



The issue of love becomes a central theme in Stone Temple Pilots. That yearning and lamenting for that optimistic feeling over cynical intellect is demonstrated not only in "Between the Lines" but also in "Take a Load Off", in which Weiland howls at the media pundits as thinkers while praising the artists as figures with feelings; the sweet, sugary love letter "Cinnamon"; "Bagman", where its seemingly fun, hokey acoustic vibes hide Weiland's dark lyrics of dealing with certain people of his past; the spiteful "Fast As I Can"; "First Kiss of Mars", (arguably the strongest track on the album), a pretty, down-to-earth ballad that recalls David Bowie`s "Space Oddity" and "Changes"; and the terrific album closer, "Maver", which features Robert DeLeo playing piano and Weiland singing about the title character in the same sighing heartbreak that recalls that other beautiful song the Stone Temple Pilots made, "Sour Girl".



Some people may groan over the songs' perceived hackneyed messages about love and comfort and indeed, there have been negative comments all over the Internet that this sounds like a record that belonged in the past. But at a time when people seem to have lost hope in their dreams and when rock n' roll seems to the greatest escape from this murk that is reality, Stone Temple Pilots is the kind of record that many of us today desire for, an album that let us forget our problems and be proud of ourselves, an album filled with optimism to quell our frustrations and anger and make us believe. As the exquisite Beatlesque ballad "Dare If You Dare" illustrates, the band dares us to be strong, to believe and to be something.



Despite the critical hatred, the Stone Temple Pilots were responsible for some of the most successful and harmonious singles of the 1990`s. Each of these singles ("Plush", "Big Empty", "Down", "Big Bang Baby", "Creep", "Lady Picture Show", "Interstate Love Song", "Days in the Week", "Sour Girl") were so good that they made you forgive the wadding tracks that filtered many of their albums like Core and Purple. But Stone Temple Pilots has become a charitable achievement in the Stone Temple Pilots' library: not an album with some strong tracks and some filler but an album in which every song is good and sparkling with life. It's a grower, indeed (as were the Pilots' previous records), but compared to Hole's tedious Nobody's Daughter and the miserable post-grunge sludge of today like Nickelback and Puddle of Mudd, Stone Temple Pilots shimmers with warmth, exhilaration and melodies so strong that even after you dislike a certain song, you appreciate it further after repeated listening. And what a concept, to make an album that yearns for the days of love in this dark age of angst-ridden adolescent rock!



Like Pearl Jam's Backspacer and Green Day's American Idiot, Stone Temple Pilots is more than a throwback to the past; it is a heartfelt attempt to converge the musical styles of the past with the feel and sound of modern rock. In going "nostalgic", the Stone Temple Pilots have "made something new": they have created a tight, sophisticated hard rock album that merges the sensibilities of their influences with a strong keen of melody for a tasty concoction in a contemporary setting. They want to bring classic rock of the past to the masses of today. And they have succeeded. This is one of the best albums of the year.

























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Awesome !!!!!!!!!!!

Noize Agenda | FL | 05/25/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Nothing is sweeter then one of the greatest bands in rock history, returning and delivering a stellar album like there self-titled. On paper Nine years seemed like forever, but I have to say in the end it has been well worth the wait as the guys In STP have gave you there best album since Core and Purple hands down. Here is the track by track.



1. Between The lines- 5/5 could have heard this on Purple or Tiny music, also this track has a Nirvana vibe.

2. Take a load off - 4/5 Has an AOA vibe going on meets the sound of Purple.

3. Huckleberry Crumble - 5/5 Sounds just like 70's Aerosmith!! Should be released as a single.

4. Hickory Dichotomy - 5/5 Awesome Groovin song!!! Should be a single!!

5. Dare If You Dare - 5/5 One word EPIC!!

6. Cinnamon - 1/5 - Way to poppy for my taste. Most fans will skip this one. Especially if your a core era fan.

7. Hazy Daze- 4/5 Nice rocker!!!

8. Bagman - 5/5 One of the best on the whole album. Should be a single. BAGMAN HONEY!!!!!!!!!

9. Peacoat - 5/5 Best song on the album IMO.

10. Fast As I Can - 4/5 If you liked Vr's Libertad album you will dig this track.

11. First Kiss On Mars - 4/5 Weiland channels bowie on this impressive track.

12. Maver- 5/5 Great ending to a great album.



All in all This is the best album the guys have put out since Purple. For the STP fans of Purple and Vr's Libertad album you should love this. Good blend of rock and pop with a nice nod to the 60's and 70's."