AS one of the biggest non-Seattle grunge bands of the '90s, Stone Temple Pilots have been surprisingly enduring.
The surprise comes from the fact that in spite of serious drug problems, infighting, and critical drubbing, the band are back together to release their sixth album in the hopes of adding to their sales tally of almost 40 million records worldwide (according to singer Scott Weiland).
With the self-titled record now in stores and the band announcing it will makes it first trip Down Under later this year, it seems a good time to look back on the ups and downs of Stone Temple Pilots' on-and-off 20-year career.
Core (1992)
RELEASED in the wake of Pearl Jam's Ten and Nirvana's Nevermind and on the same day as Alice In Chain's Dirt, Core was dismissed by critics as a rip-off or cynical cash-in of those three bands. The fans didn't care and set the album to number 3 on the US charts. In fact the disparity between the fans and critics was best summed up by a 1993 Rolling Stone poll - readers voted STP best new band, while the mag's critics voted them the worst new band (one rock critic even said he hoped they'd catch AIDS and die). Core features four classic of-the-era singles - the hard-edged misogynist commentary Sex Type Thing, down-tempo ballad Creep, the neatly constructed Plush and the sexed-up Wicked Garden, while fan favourites include the grinding opener Dead And Bloated and the motoring rocker Crackerman. Weiland's 'ramanah' vocals are a cross between Eddie Vedder and Jim Morrison, and are near-indecipherable in places, but the band is driving, led by Dean DeLeo's big dirty guitar sound.
Purple (1994)
EVEN more successful than their debut, Purple went number one in the US and Australia and top 10 in the UK. It's their best album - the grunge/metal sounds were still there, notably on opener Meatplow and Silvergun Superman, but tracks like Vasoline and Pretty Penny saw Weiland coming into his own as a vocalist. The band was also growing stylistically - slide guitar added a country tinge to awesome singles Interstate Love Song and the quiet-loud rocker Big Empty, there's a hint of psychedelic to Lounge Fly and Pretty Penny, while Still Remains was their poppiest track to date. The critics still weren't very kind, although hindsight has seen the album viewed in a better light and regarded as one of the more diverse grunge albums of the era. In an online Guitar World poll, it was voted number 73 in the best 100 guitar albums of all time.
Tiny Music... Songs From The Vatican Gift Shop (1996)
IN the wake of Purple, Weiland's drug problems started to come to light when he was busted trying to buy crack cocaine. Rather than clean himself up, he did the worst thing possible - moved in with Courtney Love for a couple of months for a non-stop-heroin-athon. As a result, his vocals on Tiny Music... are shabby at worst, such as on the messy Pop's Love Suicide, and raspy at best, such as on Trippin' On A Hole In A Paper Heart. But musically it's another bold step in a different direction, from uncharacteristic keyboard opener Press Play through to the croony lounge of And So I Know, while the '60s informs the best moments - the two supreme singles Big Bang Baby and Lady Picture Show. The album was a comparatively failure as Weiland's drug problems kept the band from touring it properly.
No. 4 (1999)
AFTER stints in rehab and jail, Weiland rejoined STP for their surprising fourth album, which stunned those who'd written the band off as the album supplied the alt-rockers with the biggest hit single of their career - the dreamy, bent ballad Sour Girl. No. 4 found Weiland in the best voice of his career, notably on heavy opener Down and in the falsetto-laden Sour Girl. Much of the record harked back to the sound of Core and Purple, with Weiland writing alongside guitarist Dean DeLeo and bassist Robert DeLeo to craft some of their heaviest songs to date (including Down and No Way Out) with a few lighter diversions (Sour Girl, I Got You). Heaven & Hot Rods also boasted psych elements, Sex & Violence was pacy clanging punk, and Glide was pop-grunge, but overall the emphasis was on bringing together the big power chords and floating melodies of their previous best work.
Shangri-La Dee Da (2001)
DESPITE featuring one of their coolest pop songs - Days Of The Week - Shangri-La Dee Da was a commercial failure despite charting well initially. Originally planned as a double album ('til their label said 'no'), the album is better than its sales suggest, boasting not only the Beatlesy Days Of The Week, but the driving Coma, the slow-and-heavy Long Way Home, lush ballads Wonderful and Hello It's Late, and the swaggering Hollywood Bitch. The unpredictable Weiland proved to be the bands undoing once again though, thanks to him punching on with Dean DeLeo at the end of their 2002 tour. Weiland went on to do a solo album and work with Velvet Revolver, while the DeLeo's worked with Filter's Richard Patrick for Army Of Anyone. Drummer Eric Kretz worked as a mixer and engineer for everyone from Slayer to Death Cab For Cutie. STP reunited in 2008 and their self-titled sixth record was released last week to fair reviews.
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