After having spent much of the mid to late-'90s expanding the proto-grunge sound of Core into a dense, mildly psychedelic art rock swirl, it came as something of a surprise to hear the Stone Temple Pilots rock so hard again on their appropriately titled 1999 fourth album. Somewhat swept beneath the proverbial tablecloth of Scott Weiland's yearlong jail sentence, the album is perhaps their tightest, most cohesive effort to date: a seamlessly thick collection of pummeling rockers, swirling ballads and aggro-experimental material falling somewhere in the middle. Both Shangri-La Dee Da and 2010's regrettable self-titled album more or less ripped off this album's aesthetic blueprint: a culmination of the band's unfairly written off '90s work that more than merits a second (or third) listen back.
Robert DeLeo, Scott Weiland, Dean DeLeo and Eric Kretz
Using Spotify? Listen to No. 4 in its entirety right here.
"Down"
"Yeaaahh, I've been waiting for my Sunday girl…" Holy shit, kind of the heaviest song ever written, right? Can't not crank the volume every time this comes on the local new rock alternative radio station. Kudos to Dean DeLeo's simple but killer as hell riffs and Eric Kretz's Bonham-sized drumming.
"Heaven & Hot Rods"
Another full-throttle monster filled to the brim with teeth-gnashing riffs and Scott Weiland's beyond-grunge Core style vocals. Love the spacey swirl of the chorus and how it folds back into the relentless stomp of the second verse. Good stuff, y'all.
"Pruno"
A buzzy grind of tweaking guitars, thumping bass and Weiland at his melodically adventurous best. Equal parts trippy pop experiment and hissing industrial moan. A definite overlooked highlight.
"Church On Tuesday"
Some retro-cool electric guitar licks on the verses, but the song really takes off on that chorus: can't even deal with the layered harmonies, shuffling rhythm and extended outro trail off. "I'll find a way to her someday…"
"Sour Girl"
Can't help but sigh-smile whenever I hear this. The video really seals the deal (more thoughts on that), but the song is a pure marvel: an endearing, boisterously melancholy psychedelic acoustic pop classic… and an underrated breakup mixtape essential!
"No Way Out"
Another overlooked gem. Ominous, slow burn intro spills out into another monster, tear shit up Dean DeLeo guitar riff. "I'm going under, I'm suffocating / Drowning but I'm holding on…"
"Sex & Violence"
Some cool slide guitar riff action towards the beginning that changes up quickly into a breezy thrash punk march. "Chew me up and spit me out / You're just a little bitch I cared about…" Segues gorgeously into a very Tiny Music chorus—all pyschedelic sheen and melodic sprawl.
"Glide"
Love the spiky delay pedal intro… spills out into a lush acoustic-electric crawl with Weiland's tortured coo tumbling in childlike wonder overtop. Surges up to anthemic heights on the chorus—love the trippy guitar breakdown before the bridge.
"I Got You"
Very much cut from the "Big Empty" intro cloth—dusty, dead end town, abandoned truck stop acoustic vibes. Reeks of half-smoked cigarettes, dirty shoes and day-old sweat. Weiland always really shines on this sort of stuff, don't you think?
"MC5"
Nice little sonic homage to the Detroit proto-punk icons: all punchy, tumbling post-Zeppelin riffs and fist in the air growling.
"Atlanta"
Maybe my all-time favorite Stone Temple Pilots song. Don't ask me why, I just get the chills every time I hear it. The laid back acoustic guitar strums… the bittersweet string arrangement… Scott Weiland's spot-on Jim Morrison… the chilling whistle over the outro… I don't know, everything about it works. Perfect end to a damn near perfect hard rock record.
Have a favorite song from or memory of Stone Temple Pilots' No. 4? Get the conversation started in our comments section below.
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