UMUR "Core" is the debut full-length studio album by US, California based hard rock act Stone Temple Pilots. The album was released through Atlantic Records in September 1992. Stone Temple Pilots were formed in 1985 by lead vocalist Scott Weiland and bassist Robert DeLeo under the Swing monicker (they later recruited drummer Eric Kretz), but changed their name to Mighty Joe Young (after Robert´s older brother guitarist Dean DeLeo joined in 1989 and suggested a name change). The band recorded a demo under the Mighty Joe Young monicker and made a name for themselves on the San Diego club scene using that name, and Atlantic Records eventually took notice and signed the band. While in the studio with producer Brendan O´Brien recording the material for "Core", the band were told that a blues band existed using the Mighty Joe Young name, and the band were therefore forced to another name change. They settled for Stone Temple Pilots.

Stone Temple Pilots are often lumped in with the contemporary Seattle scene and artists like Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, and Alice in Chains (and were often criticized for it by the contemporary music press), and while there is certainly some truth (ok, a lot of truth) to that Stone Temple Pilots were not a worsphipping clone act. They had a enough original musical elements to stand out and it´s predominantly the voice and singing style of Weiland which point toward Seattle (and especially Alice in Chains lead vocalist Layne Staley). The songwriting is also top notch and "Core" features many standout tracks and it´s through and through a high quality hard rock release.

Radio/music video hits like "Plush" and "Sex Type Thing" are among the best known tracks off the album, but there´s not a single sub par track on the album and I could just as well have mentioned tracks like "Dead & Bloated" or the 8:25 minutes long "Where The River Goes" (which are the two tracks bookending the album), or the hard rocking and faster-paced "Crackermann" as some of the highlights. Stone Temple Pilots can also do melancholic ballads which they prove with "Creep", but their greatest success is actually the tracklist flow. Even the two shorter interlude tracks "No Memory" and "Wet My Bed" serve a breather purpose and work well in transitioning the album to the next phase.

"Core" features a professional, powerful, and detailed sounding production, which suits the material perfectly. The performances are also strong on all posts. hard rocking and sometimes pretty heavy guitar work, organic and powerful drumming (and some pretty nice percussion too), clever bass lines, and the strong voice and passionate delivery by Weiland in front. This does not sound like a debut release at all. There are no odd experimental tracks (save for "Wet My Bed", but that one fits the concept and atmosphere of the album), inconsistent songwriting, or unpolished musical ideas, which don´t fit in. This is an album which works from start to finish and a 4 - 4.5 star (85%) rating is deserved.

Unitron Some albums evoke a specific season. The likes of Loreena McKennitt or Immortal nail the winter's cold, The Chemical Brothers' Surrender and The Crystal Method's Tweekend reflect two sides of a sunny summer, and lots of grunge as well as alt rock bands like R.E.M. and The Tragically Hip bring to mind my favorite season of autumn. For a while though, I didn't know what was the sound of spring, but after a nice night of listening, I'd say Stone Temple Pilots' Purple will be my go-to spring album.

I don't quite know how to explain it, but there's something about Purple that just makes me think of a nice brisk spring day and a time of fresh life. The blend of meaty grunge, bright alt rock, and bittersweet psych rock all come together to create a sound that is simultaneously relaxing, heavy, pretty, and with a slight tinge of melancholy for those rainy days.

Some of my favorite songs include Vasoline, Pretty Penny, Silvergun Superman, Unglued, and closer Kitchenware & Candybars. These all give a good example of the varied moods and styles, with some combining multiple sides of the band. Pretty Penny and Unglued stick to one sound, and perfect them. The former is a beautiful semi-acoustic piece and the latter being a complete contrast by hard-hitting grunge with insanely catchy guitar screeches. On the other hand Silvergun Superman contrasts crushing riffs with serene alt/psych rock segments, and the melancholic Kitchenware & Candybars is a perfect wandering finale with what sounds like a string section and building up to a heavy finish.

The pure grunge of the band's debut Core is great too, but Purple really showed STP craft a unique sound for themselves and created a wonderful album for seasonal spring listening.

Kingcrimsonprog Tiny Music Songs From The Vatican Gift Shop was the third full length studio album by San Diego Grunge band Stone Temple Pilots. It was released in 1996 and produced by Brendan O’Brian. This third album continues their trend of not having two albums in a row sound much like each other. The first album was a weighty, almost Metallic mixture of Alice In Chains, Soundgarden and Pearl Jam’s styles, blended together. Their second was a moody, mid-paced, thoughtful record that embraced “Alternative” more than Grunge specifically. This third album is a breezy, summery album, with pleasant melodies, jangly psychedelic moments and a bit more speed than Purple had.

The album is almost in two halves, firstly of enjoyable, slightly heavy Rock songs with enough bite to satisfy but simple and easily digestible enough to be memorable and entertaining, and the rest is more laid back, mildly trippy music that evokes Gentle Giant’s less complex moments, or indeed The Beatles. It’s a very good mixture that balances well together and makes for a strong record overall. Experimental enough to sound fresh but grounded enough to give you what you want.

Highlights include ‘Tumble In The Rough,’ ‘Lady Picture Show’ and the famous ‘Trippin On A Hole In A Paper Heart’ …three tracks equally as strong and memorable as anything off the excellent debut Core, and as separate from the styles of other bands as anything on Purple. These sit alongside the likes of ‘Dead And Bloated’ and ‘Sex Type Thing’ as some of the most fun songs the band have released, but without losing the artsy identity the band found for themselves with tracks like ‘Silvergun Superman.’ A best of both worlds, if no stylistically then at least in terms of quality.

Overall; Tiny Music has all the benefits of pleasant disposable summery fun music, but with the talent and backing to make it last. If you like this band, or this sort of music, its an absolute must. Its probably the band’s most fun and easily accessible album and its absolutely worth your time. Don’t let the headlines or anything put you off. Don’t miss out!

aglasshouse Out of all of Stone Temple Pilots' releases, this has to be the most experimental and interesting of all of them. Their previous grunge-laden release of Core definitely showed that these guys could rock, but they were able to change significantly as well as experiment with different variations of their hard rock genre.

Purple is, perhaps, the most known of the STP albums (next to Core (1992), and has thus earned several different awards and high spots on lists around the world. It earned number six on Loudwire's "10 Best Hard Rock Albums of 1994", was ranked at number 438 in Rock Hard Magazine's "The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time", as well as being ranked at number 24 on Guitar World's "Superunknown: 50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1994" list. It earned number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 in 1994, number 10 in the UK Album Chart, number one on the Australian albums chart, and number two on the Canadian RPM Albums Chart.

Needless to say, the album didn't do horribly. Not to mention several different and equally successful singles were spawned from the release. 'Interstate Love Song' in fact became their most popular song to date (next to 'Plush' [Core]). But the question is, does this album deserve all the credit and praise it has received? I would think, after listening, say yes. I definitely like this album equally, if not more, than their debut album. I've always felt like Purple had more interesting elements than Core, mostly because of Weiland's deep drug addiction that he fell into around the time of this album's release, which caused their sound to become not only more creative, but also much more weird. It must be said that Stone Temple Pilots suffered huge dislike from a wide variety of critics upon the release of their debut, most insults coming from the fact that they, as a alternative hard rock band, had blatantly ripped off the alt. rock uprising that Nirvana had lighted on back in 1991. Both alternative rock and it's metal counterpart exploded during the early 90's, with bands like Alice in Chains coming in with the release of Dirt (which was incidentally released on the same day and year as Core). So it didn't help STP out of the rut that there were numerous alternative bands around them around the time of their up-commence. But perhaps, it could be said that Stone Temple Pilots were more demeaned than other bands at the time, and Core was particularly, well, stoned because of it's (as critics said) uncreativity and lazy grunge-rock sound. So with full remembrance of the hate heaped on Core, STP released their second album, Purple, to the masses.

The album uses not only hard-rocking grunge as it's centerpiece. In fact, there is a much more acoustic and, dare I say, progressive sound on this album. It is clear upon listening to the entire album that is has psychedelic influence (as said before due to Weiland's drug addiction). This adds a somewhat richer tone to their overall sound, and automatically adds a more creative edge on the rock. The opener of 'Meatplow' is somewhat reminiscent of Core's 'Dead and Bloated', with them both being rather bland (but not bad at all) grunge track. It isn't a bad opening, but it does sort of offset you from the mood of the album. 'Vasoline' is a quick-riffing, free-flowing track. Like 'Meatplow', not too spectacular but still pretty good. The album takes a more boring turn with 'Lounge Fly', which is quickly followed up by 'Interstate Love Song'. This song sort of sounds bland and lame, mostly due to the country-influences that are clearly present. 'Pretty Penny' is an interesting acoustic, yet it does take some certain key changes which I overall find annoying. 'Silvergun Superman' heads off the heavier side of the album, and is the heaviest off of the album. Slow, slamming riffs accompany awesome guitar and bass screams. Real nice. 'Big Empty' is my second favorite track off of the album (next to 'Silvergun Superman'). Although hailed as a alternative rock song, this songs acoustics combined with grungy-riffing give it a oddly progressive sound. Highly enjoyable. 'Unglued' is another quick-riffing song, and is actually pretty catchy and nice. 'Kitchenware & Candybars' is a beautiful song that slowly falls into a hard-hitting song with crunching chords, finishing the album off well.

I think my only problem with this album preventing me from giving it 4.5 or 5, is that very much filler is present. Those songs are unenjoyable, and not worth listening to. Aside from that, this album is a really great pickup for anyone interested in the band.

Go give it a listen.