That's Entertainment : Stone Temple Pilots
When Grunge was at it's very peak and we were between Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden albums, all of my school mates had hitched their wagons to Rage Against The Machine. And whilst Killing In The Name Of was turning teenage boys in to testosterone fuelled headbangers, I was getting in to a song called Plush by the Stone Temple Pilots. It has this riff-a'rola guitar borrowed straight out of mid-1970's Zeppelin era bluesy hard rock and this soaring vocal that delivers a milieu of 'I don't actually really know what you're singing about' lyrics. And having the CD single, I only got the album when I harangued my mum to buy me the CD because it came with a free T-shirt (the promo didn't mention they were size SMALL t-shirts or that it just had the band name printed about six inches across the chest).
I listened to the album Core a lot in that period in late 1993, just as Radiohead was coming on out with Creep. Shortly after my 18th birthday in mid-1994, STP dropped their 2nd album, the sonic masterpiece Purple. This is one of those albums - for mine - that mixed the grungy rock elements with psychedelic rock and pop aesthetics to deliver a creative and musical wonder. It contains two of the biggest 'ballads' (or as close as the alt-grunge movement got to 'ballads') in Big Empty (also on The Crow Soundtrack) and Interstate Love Song. This album - along with Alice Cooper's The Last Temptation, The Offspring's Smash and Led Zeppelin's IV - was the soundtrack of my HSC.
STP hit the big time, but the problem was, the singer Scott Weiland had a predilection for narcotics that railroaded the band from cashing in on their sales success and touring the album. Each time Scott Weiland would make bail, he'd be out looking to score. That 1996's Tiny Music From The Vatican Gift Shop actually arrived is a miracle in itself but the momentum had been lost. Chock full of more aural goodies, Tiny Music… rounded out the 'peak' years (even scoring a mention on The Nanny) and the three other band members (brothers Dean and Robert DeLeo [bass and 'tars] and drummer Eric Ketz) finally leaving Scott to form Talk Show [one of those 'lost' albums of the 1990's] and Scott Weiland went solo with 12 Bar Blues [another great 'lost' album].
Reconvening in 1998, Stone Temple Pilots returned in 1999 with No 4 and more a 'meat & potatoes' rock album, though what would end being their biggest hit, Sour Girl [replete with Sarah Michelle Geller in the video clip] was a chilled out stripped back soft rocker. Returning again in 2001 with Shangri-La Dee Da [an album that was rumoured to be a double album so prolific and creative the band was in that period], it had a Beatles feel and was again another album full of gems. But band fell out once again, and the same trio went off to form Army of Anyone with Filter's Richard Patrick and Scott Weiland joined the remaining Guns n Roses - Slash, Duff and Matt Sorum to become Velvet Revolver [perhaps the world's most cynically created 'rock supergroup' of all time].
Hitting a patch where nostalgic 90's was coming in to vogue in the late 2000's, Stone Temple Pilot again buried the hatchet and in 2010 released their sixth platter, the retro sounding self-titled album. Hitting the touring circuit and wowing new audiences with their catalogue of rock-pop jewels, things were looking up for the band. However, within a year, the fractures reappeared. There were allegations that Scott Weiland had lost his vocal range and was unable to hit the range needed to perform Core on 20 year anniversary celebration tours, it would almost two years of bickering in various media and arguing over set lists that the band finally decided to fire Scott Weiland. Speculation had been rife this would occur and in mid-2013, Chester Bennington of Linkin Park became the new singer of STP.
At the time of writing, the author hadn't ventured out to purchase the new EP with Chester. For mine, the first three albums represent what was stunning about this band. Often accused of jumping on the grunge band wagon, and voted by Rolling Stone writers as the worst new band in 1993 whilst the readers voted them best new band in the SAME issue, STP had many fans. Problem was, really, the singer not only let himself and his bandmates down, but all the fans. After 1996, there was a whiff of 'litigation' rock, where lawyers for the band members outnumber actual band members in the band. Stalling, momentum to be the best band in the world saw the spotlight shift.
However, if you go back to the first trio of slabs, STP were GREAT. They truly deserve to be remembered as one of the GREAT 1990's bands with three distinctive and original albums full of little masterpieces. That's where my heart is. Anything after, I was buying and listening to out of loyalty, and whilst there is the odd spot of wonderful on the subsequent albums, there was never enough to win me back to when they were GREAT. And like that Small T-shirt, after all the let down, it was never going to fit.
Still, tuck on in here. STP have an enviable list of achievements. Maybe when all is said and done, let's just remember them for their talent and music. And if it's anything else we learn, it's that drugs are bad, m'ka.,
Sex Type Thing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hhu-OyHqZM
Plush https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5UOC0C0x8Q
Sin https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S62Hi8B2l6I
Creep https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sT1DdO3SISg
Vasoline https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ht672-wYelc
Interstate Love Song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjJL9DGU7Gg
Big Empty https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdHFA4sbKTs
Still Remains https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L35vA9-DZl4
Army Ants https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDy4P0FXkmA
Big Bang Baby https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0gAxuvo5rc
Trippin' On A Hole In A Paper Heart https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVPzWkdhwrw
Lady Picture Show https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ds_43MdYiuQ
Adhesive https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUrk1lrGNp8
Sour Girl https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxS4lqppZ6Y
Days of the Week https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_4POA-4GYo
All In The Suit That You Wear https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUQ0ooB6ST8
Cinnamon https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiLA59F-UFg
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