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STONE TEMPLE PILOTS
PURPLE |
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| | Reviews: 152 |
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| Average Rating: 9.26 |
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"Sing a Yellow Nectarine" Complements Purple's Psychedelic!!
by Three Furies Hunting Unpunished Sin "The Roman Triumph" Somewhere In The Vasoline
Reviewed on December 18th, 2004
Purple collided with Weiland's surfacing drug addiction, which was unmasked in the middle of the Purple tour in 1995 with his drug bust outside an uncleanly disreputable California motel, crushing the remainder of Purple's tour. It's doubtful whether Weiland's singing talent-which he intrinsically possesses, make no mistake, despite STP's humiliatingly last two CDs-is helped or hurt by hard drugs, although one contention is that his vocal chords could've degenerated from them, resulting in the abysmal chaos of the final STP CDs. Indisputably, Purple, along with Core, constitute STP's BEST albums, and Purple ranks just instantly behind Core, albeit the difference is marginal since Purple may not have the 100%, total grinding ferocity that Core owned, but its respective increased variedness, long-ranging song-scale, and grungy hardness in most songs finalize Purple as one of STP's defining cornerstones.
Weiland did have a great voice-since regenerated laudably in Velvet Revolver, after degenerating on No.4 and SLDD-it can be heard crooning gravelly on tracks like Kitchenware & Candybars, Big Empty, and Pretty Penny, belting coarsely on songs like Interstate Love Song, Lounge Fly and Meatplow, and bellowing gutturally on offerings Vasoline and Silvergun Superman, or screaming thunderously on Unglued and Army Ants. Because Core was their grunge-debut, Weiland's voice there was manipulated to embody the quintessential Vedder-like growls-more or less the same, deep, raging barks; not that that's detrimental. In Purple, Weiland eases up just slightly, and gives his voice more differential ranges as a tradeoff. His vocal range on Purple typifies an effort to broaden his capabilities somewhat to a more diverse range of tunes to sing, encompassing anything from soft to loud to grinding. On Meatplow, his tone is almost that of a drawl, in that it's slack-jawed and raspy over Meatplow's bulldozing and chugging riffs. On Silvergun Superman, Weiland adjusts subtly again, this time murmuring introspectively and intimidatingly in the versus before combusting in passionately sung vocals in the chorus. In Vasoline, his vocals are of a mesmerizing, hypnotic quality. Pretty Penny, Kitchenware & Candybars and Big Empty's vocals exhibit more tenderly yearning characteristics, as Weiland seems to be reflecting ruefully, although Big Empty's singing rejuvenates in the chorus with raw belting. In Lounge Fly, Weiland reaches increasingly morosely grim territory, his vocals overcasting the song's fabric, yet in a haunting evocativeness. Interstate Love Song sees him transitioning again to more booming power-singing, richly stretching each note to completion. On both Army Ants and Unglued, Weiland lets loose using the most unbridled exertion, lending those songs some turbulence.
While STP's likely recalled for their singer's renown-off-stage exploits and singing mastery-STP owns a hidden ace up their sleeve in one of the most undeservedly underrated guitarists: Dean DeLeo. DeLeo's, who's famed for some memorable solos, style is greater along the lines of classic rock instead of more the infectious metal adept to stunning solos. His fruits can be enjoyed on Meatplow, the impressionable Lounge Fly, Silvergun Superman's durative solo at the end, Big Empty's revving-up interlude, Unglued's spastically charged riffs, Army Ants' explosively driving solo, and Kitchenware & Candybars' grand-opus-like finale. Indelible DeLeo riffs also come to mind, such as the world-famous Vasoline's hypnotic, repetitive, brainwashing licks, Lounge Fly's scorchingly, wailingly heat-seeking chords, Meatplow's sludgy, foul, grating rumbling, for a change of pace, even Interstate Love Song's lighter, hooky strumming, Silvergun Superman's aggressively charging drive and blaring effects, Unglued's ferociously assaulting hooks, Army Ants' purely unadulterated, tumultuous velocity, or even Kitchenware & Candybars' movingly poignant chords interspersed with hooky acoustics. DeLeo is never given his due credit, and neither is Eric Kretz, the drummer. Kretz's hits come across ruthlessly as some of the most solid, heavy drumming ever, with a generous usage of the cymbals.
Purple's divergent from Core in a single, preeminent manner: its irreparable psychedelic, causing interpretations of sometimes spacey hallucination. It's blatant Weiland was practicing crushing recreational use on this one, right???? Although not as immoderate as on Tiny Music, where this degenerated into an STP trend, Purple's psychedelic is evident on key songs. On Still Remains, the lyrics alone are enough to incur reactions of bizarre repulsion. The kinds of unrealistically abstract distortions that Weiland's included about stabbing thorns, orange-blossom breezes, dragon flies and singing yellow nectarines impose absolute unorthodoxy. However, this crafts a creative, refreshing turn that arouses greater interest, instead of just STP's usual traits of head-banging force. On the diverse side, other new variations STP's included are toned-down songs like acoustic Pretty Penny, essentially a campfire song, and Big Empty, a self-blaming ode. Songs like Lounge Fly and Kitchenware & Candybars employ soft-to-loud dynamics, with usually provocative or yearning, quieter verses and searing guitar work accompanied by full-throttle singing and playing in the chorus. But Interstate Love Song manages to counterbalance breezy hooks alongside grungy guitars nonetheless. On the more Core-tilted side, Vasoline, Meatplow, Unglued and Silvergun Superman all subsidize the hardest side to musical approach, as each features harsh-sung vocals and the most drubbing or grating jams.
It can't be disputed that Purple was STP's LAST respectable and prime album, and signified a peaking of the band, as Tiny Music cautioned a stunning careen in quality, with the two follow-up nightmares No.4 and SLDD dilapidating even worse. Sales figures incontestably support this assessment as does fan reaction. STP was a tad influenced by the classic rock route on Purple, as some DeLeo solos on Silvergun Superman, Meatplow, Kitchenware & Candybars, Vasoline, Big Empty, Lounge Fly and Army Ants solidify. The mentality on the mood of Purple's songs is on the whole a somewhat experimental one, with STP branching out into subtly newer fortes. Purple, thusly, is also a diverse trip for one's mind, taking the lucky listener on an aurally sonic intoxication ranging from the spacey textures of STP's more abstract and trippy ideas to their concrete, identifiable territory of hard grunge that they introduced themselves with on Core with positively no filler, a greater remarkable achievement in itself when considering the rarity of such flawless chance.
More "Purple" reviews:
[2005-01-07] The album that made STP a household name (10)
[2004-12-18] "Sing a Yellow Nectarine" Complements Purple's Psychedelic!! (10)
[2004-12-15] ahh,the ultimate STP bliss (10)
[2004-12-06] "Sing a Yellow Nectarine" Complements Purple's Psychedelic!! (10)
[2004-11-11] The Kick in Purple Is Deeper Than Many Will Have You Believe (10)
[2004-11-10] Yes, it really is that good (10)
[2004-11-01] Goodnight!!! Greatness!! (10)
[2004-10-30] "Sing a Yellow Nectarine" Complements Purple's Psychedelic!! (10)
[2004-10-15] One of the best rock albums of the 90's (10)
[2004-09-26] Stone Temple Pilots - Purple (10)
[2004-09-26] Words cant express what this album means to me (10)
[2004-08-21] Purple Rain (10)
[2004-08-07] A classic! (10)
[2004-07-29] To Be Honest I Have No Idea What They Were All About (4)
[2004-06-29] I wish I could give this more stars! (10)
[2004-06-22] Another classic (10)
[2004-06-14] True grunge (10)
[2004-06-08] "Sing a yellow Nectarine" complements Purple's Psychedelic!! (10)
[2004-04-28] A Musicians review of this album... (10)
[2004-04-26] good album (8)
[2004-02-23] Alt. Rock classic (10)
[2004-02-20] Their Last Truly Great Album (10)
[2004-02-16] D*MN! (10)
[2004-02-14] Second Battle in the War on Grunge (10)
[2004-02-14] Not their best, but still awesome! (8)
[2004-01-26] Easily the best STP album (10)
[2003-11-25] hehe my love cd (10)
[2003-10-31] very good (10)
[2003-10-29] STP EXCELS ITSELF (10)
[2003-10-11] STP in a royal shade (10)
[2003-10-10] one of my favorite CDs from one of my favorite bands (10)
[2003-09-24] Unique (10)
[2003-09-17] STP Tops Debut Album With Purple (10)
[2003-07-29] Great album from start to finish! (8)
[2003-07-25] Best STP album (10)
[2003-07-07] Not "Core" -- but a factor in its own right (10)
[2003-07-06] A lotmore diverse than Core, and just as strong (10)
[2003-05-30] Kicking it with STP (10)
[2003-04-28] A Must Have Album (10)
[2003-04-25] I am purple,allright! (4)
[2003-04-08] An excellent album! (10)
[2003-02-27] THE Best Album of the 1990's (10)
[2003-01-04] Carrying the torch (10)
[2002-12-24] More Than Just Grunge... (10)
[2002-12-12] An old favorite, and a classic (10)
[2002-11-03] STP at their peak (10)
[2002-10-08] STP proves themselves a heavyweight band with this release. (10)
[2002-10-08] Sophomore album takes new, creative direction (10)
[2002-09-28] By far their best effort... (8)
[2002-09-22] One time a thing occured to me... (10)
[2002-09-06] Decent album (6)
[2002-08-31] Underestimated in it's time; one of the greatest ever. (10)
[2002-07-16] No two songs on this album sound alike (8)
[2002-06-26] good stuff (10)
[2002-06-20] Pearl who??? (10)
[2002-04-21] Best album of all time (10)
[2002-04-09] Absolutely Essential (10)
[2002-02-18] Another STP gem! (8)
[2001-10-11] Great Album (10)
[2001-10-10] the best album ever... (10)
[2001-10-09] Excellent! (10)
[2001-09-26] What is Left To Say? (8)
[2001-09-02] sometimes it blows my mind... (10)
[2001-08-30] The album that silenced the critics (10)
[2001-08-29] My Favorite Album Ever, Bar-none (10)
[2001-08-01] Nothing Sophmore about it! (10)
[2001-07-23] STP at their best... (10)
[2001-07-18] A great follow-up to Core (10)
[2001-07-16] blown away (10)
[2001-07-13] STPs Second Best, but Most Consistent (8)
[2001-07-12] Purple Plow (10)
[2001-07-02] A solid album from a great band! (10)
[2001-06-26] This is a GREAT CD (10)
[2001-06-25] Purple: straightforward, classic rock (10)
[2001-06-02] An audio juggernaut (10)
[2001-05-15] And the drum roll please... (10)
[2001-05-04] 12 gracious melodies (10)
[2001-04-22] The best, no questions (10)
[2001-02-12] PURPLE, Stone Temple Pilots (10)
[2001-02-10] not all that bad, but still a disapointmant... (6)
[2000-12-07] Fresh Sounding (8)
[2000-11-27] Amazing (10)
[2000-11-23] No Sophmore Slump For These Guys (10)
[2000-11-22] a truly ecectic collection (10)
[2000-11-20] Not Bad At All. (8)
[2000-11-03] Great Groove. (8)
[2000-10-23] Solid album. (6)
[2000-10-12] Alt-rock CLASSIC (10)
[2000-09-28] A GREAT album!!! (10)
[2000-09-06] Helps to expand on STP's sound (10)
[2000-08-04] Better than "Core"...not as good as the next two... (10)
[2000-07-25] it's good listenin' (8)
[2000-07-14] Polished Grundge's Final Blow (8)
[2000-07-10] A good grunge album from a used-to-be-good grunge band (8)
[2000-07-09] Better than their first in some ways. (8)
[2000-07-08] STP kicks! (10)
[2000-06-26] good tape (10)
[2000-06-21] three and a half stars (6)
[2000-06-08] BBBBBOOOORRRRIIIIINNNNNNGGGGGGG! (6)
[2000-06-06] Purple takes you to the edge and back (10)
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