REVIEW: Stone Temple Pilots, No. 4 (Atlantic) - Scott Hudson
When the Stone Temple Pilots entered the studio last May for the sessions that would yield their fourth album, No. 4, frontman Scott Weiland was 40 days clean of an six-year heroin addiction that had effectively ended STP three years earlier.
Rejuvenated, Weiland stormed through those sessions with a renewed sense of purpose. However, by the end of June he had not only fallen off of the wagon, but had overdosed.
Already on probation for prior drug arrests, Weiland's overdose constituted a probation violation and on September 3rd he was sentenced to one year in jail.
With Weiland now behind bars, their reunion tour postponed and the grunge wave that STP rode in on six years ago all but dead, some interesting questions remain. Will an everchanging musical climate that currently rolls out the red carpet to the likes of the Goo Goo Dolls and Ricky Martin embrace a grunge band that has been MIA for three years? Will anyone care?
The answers will be forthcoming with the release of No. 4, easily their most complete and consistent offering yet.
Aptly-titled and produced by Brenden O'Brien who has produced every STP album to date, No. 4 effortlessly meshes the white-knuckled grunge tones found on Core with the psychedelic/pop sounds that grace Purple and Tiny Music...
Songs like "Down", "No Way Out" and "Heaven and Hot Rods" steam through the speakers like a heavy guitar-driven locomotive a' la Core's "Sex Type Thing."
"Sex and Violence" is a high velocity Zeppelinesque workout and "Atlanta" is so eerily reminicent of the Doors that one would be led to believe the band raided Ray Manzarek's attic for this Morrisonian jewel.
"Sour Girl" finds Weiland lamenting his recent split with his wife, while the fluid arrangements of "Church on Tuesday" and "Glide" give the band two radio-worthy pop tracks that mirror the vibe of Purple's "Interstate Love Song."
In the past, the Stone Temple Pilots have demonstrated a musical chemistry that most bands will never possess, nor understand. Guess what? Nothing has changed!
Despite all of the turmoil, they were able to up the ante of their previous outings to produce their finest work to date. If winning back fans and attracting new ones is their aspiration, then No. 4 is the perfect carrot to dangle.
