Tag: Robert DeLeo

Stone Temple Pilots – ‘Tiny Music…Songs From the Vatican Gift Shop’ (25th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition) – Album Review

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The band’s third album saw a dramatic change in their music. Gone was the grunge and rock sound of their first two albums and in its place was a more experimental sound that was a mix of glam and psychedelic, but still rooted in the STP vibe. The band rented a mansion in Santa Barbara, California where they holed up with producer Brendan O’Brien and on March 26, 1996, ‘Tiny Music…Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop’ was born. And there is nothing “tiny” about it. It is huge in sound and in packaging. The album went all the way to #4 on the Billboard charts and spawned 3 #1 songs on the Mainstream Rock Charts. I would say it was fairly successful selling over 2 million copies in the U.S. alone.

And here we are 25 years later celebrating the album with a Super Deluxe Edition done in the same style as the first two albums ‘Core’ and ‘Purple’ which you can check out their Super Deluxe Editions by clicking on their album name. I have to say, they are great sets to have and I can’t wait for ‘No. 4’ as I hear there is some great stuff unreleased for that album.

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Stone Temple Pilots – ‘Perdida’ – Album Review

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Stone Temple Pilots release their first album of the new decade which is their eighth album overall and second with new lead singer Jeff Gutt.  ‘Perdida’ is quite a departure for the band as the album is an all acoustic affair of 10 new songs.  This is either a bold step in a new direction or a complete and utter misstep in a stellar career.

When I heard several months back that this was all acoustic, I had my reservations.  I was curious as to the reason why with only one album under their belts with Jeff Gutt as the singer would they change course so dramatically.  I still don’t know why, but it is an interesting choice.

The album title “Perdida” struck me as odd until I found out what it meant.  The word is Spanish and means “lost’.  Take that word with the image of the cover, which I find to be spectacular, and everything starts to fall in to place.  Is the band lost in who they are as group or our they spiritually lost.  Is the album them trying to find their way or is it a statement that they have no idea what to do anymore and it is a cry for help?  So many questions.

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Stone Temple Pilots – ‘Purple” (25th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition) – Album Review

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I didn’t jump on board with the first album although it started me leaning in their direction.  It was ‘Purple’ that was “My First Time” experience with Stone Temple Pilots.  When I heard the song “Vasoline”, I was hooked and there was no looking back.  The late, great Scott Weiland was one of the greatest frontmen in Rock and the swagger and charisma he brought to the stage is unmatched by most singers.

The band might have been considered, Grunge, but to me it was more like the rock & roll I grew up loving.  Yes, they had the Grunge elements, but the way these guys played just screamed Rock and that is probably why I connected with them more than the others.  The band consisted of the following members:

  • Scott Weiland – lead vocals
  • Dean DeLeo – guitar
  • Robert DeLeo – bass, backing vocals
  • Eric Kretz – drums

The partnership between the band was simple.  The DeLeo brothers wrote the music and Scott wrote the lyrics.  Musically, the music was heads & shoulders above anything else out there.  Lyrically, the songs were some of the most bizarre yet most fascinating from any bands around this time.  The combination of the two was pure magic.

The original album came out on June 7, 1994,  The 25th Anniversary Edition came out last Friday, October 18th.  Funny enough, it is the exact day that two years earlier I posted my review of the 25th Anniversary Edition of their debut album ‘Core’. Go check out that review when you are done.

What do you get with this Super Deluxe Edition.  It is similar to the ‘Core’ release, but honestly, not quite as much extra to offer.  You get a lot, but the Core set was 4 CDs, Vinyl and a DVD along with a booklet and lithograph.  For ‘Purple’, you get the following:

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You still get a lot.  But before we get to the music, let’s talk a little about the album.  The album itself debuted at #1 thanks to the build up from their first album ‘Core’.  It remained #1 for six weeks and went on to sell over 6 million copies.  The band had become a force to be reckoned with.  The album’s producer was the great Brendan O’Brien who was the driving force for a lot of albums in the 90’s.

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The artwork is quite strange and consists of a very Chinese theme which I am not sure what that has to do with anything in this album.  The cover is a child riding what is called a Qilin which is a mythological creature that is thought to be a good omen of some kind.  Accompanying the child are several fairies.  The album title, ‘Purple’, is depicted by the Chinese characters for the word.  The cover for this set is like a hardback book and is fantastic.  It is embossed which makes it so shiny and pretty.  The back cover is the same as the original with the cake and words saying 12 Gracious Melodies.

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The cover is a gatefold with a picture of the band on one side and the CD’s on the other.  The band picture is actually a record sleeve and holds the LP and the booklet.

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Okay, time for the music.

CD One & Vinyl:

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The first CD and the LP are both the same.  They are the original album remastered in 2019 to bring you a crisp and clear sound that sounds even better than back in the day.  I am not going to go song by song because I have done that already a few years back and you can read that hear at “My First Time” with STP’s ‘Purple’.  If some of what I say above looks familiar when you read it, I borrowed a little from that post.  Why re-create the wheel.

The CD and album both still include the hidden track “My Second Album”.  It is quite funny to listen to and did bring a smile to my face.  The song is done in the manner of a lounge song and is performed by Richard Peterson.  It definitely is a corny little song.

CD Two (Early Versions, Demos & Acoustic):

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The 2nd CD is full of 12 tracks, 11 of which have never been issued before.  The one track that was issued prior is “Dancing Days” which is a Led Zeppelin cover from a tribute album for the band.  I have to admit the collection is a little disappointing as there isn’t as much meat as there was on ‘Core’.  Aside from “Dancing Days”, the only cool addition is the demo of the song “She Knows Me Too Well” which is a Beach Boys cover.  The other nice to have songs are the acoustic recordings from the KROG Acoustic Christmas show in 1994.  You get a wonderful Christmas song called “Christmastime is Here”.

CD Three (Live at New Haven Veterans Memorial Coliseum, New Haven, CT, August 23, 1994):

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The biggest treat on the release is the live show from 1994.  It is 17 solid tracks 10 of which from the new album.  The recording sounds stunning.  Musically, the band is on point and sounds tight.  I especially love the guitar sound as Dean is freaking killing it.  Scott’s vocals are a little rough at times, but really that is what makes this recording special.  He sounds untouched.

A couple cool covers are in the set.  The first is “Gypsy Davy” by Scott’s Dad’s favorite artist, Woody Guthrie.  The second is from one of Scott’s idols, David Bowie.  He covers “Andy Warhol” and makes it his own, special song.  And of course, who doesn’t love hearing the songs from the first album.  Such songs as “Crackerman”, “Creep”, “Plush”, “Dead & Bloated” and ending it all with “Sex Type Thing”.

Do you want to see all the tracks?  Ok, then zoom in on this cardboard insert that was actually on the back of the set until I ripped off the plastic wrap.

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And there you have it.  It isn’t as great as the 25th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition of ‘Core’ as I think they didn’t have as much to offer.  Not enough cool unreleased tracks, but the live show is the real gem here.  That will get a ton of listen along with the original album.  Don’t get wrong, this is worth having and any fan who loves this album needs this set.  Sell the old copy you have and put the money towards this and then add a ton of other money as it ain’t cheap. I am listening to the vinyl now and as it the album is ending, I am now at the end of the post.  Perfect timing.  Thanks for stopping by!!

Stone Temple Pilots – ‘Live 2018’ – Revised Album Review

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Is 4% a lot?  If someone was to give you 4% less of something, are you really missing out?  For the most part, that answer would be…No!  Well, the answer changes when it comes to music. If you were to listen to an album that was playing 4% slower and you asked that question, my answer would be…Yes, 4% makes a huge difference.  And such is the case for the Stone Temple Pilot’s album ‘Live 2018’.

What am I talking about?  For Record Store Day 2018, the one on Black Friday, Stone Temple Pilots released a special edition, 3-D, live album.  The music wasn’t 3-D, the album cover was. There was a manufacturing error with the vinyl that caused the speed of the album to be 96% of the actual speed.  Only a 4% difference that made a world of difference when listening to the music.

In my original review of Stone Temple Pilots – Live 2018 review, I mentioned if my opinion of the album was changed when (and if) I received the replacement copy, I would do another review…and here we are. The original, 96% speed, actually received a 3.0 out of 5.0 Stars…what will the corrected vinyl receive?  We will see shortly.

The Replacement copy arrived and it took about 3-4 months after I contacted them to get a replacement which makes sense since albums need about a 3 month window to be made.  The copy arrived and it was in a very simple, solid white cardboard sleeve.  The dust cover was the same as the original version and the album was also the same in the that beautiful translucent, red vinyl.

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Stone Temple Pilots – Live 2018 – Album Review

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For Record Store Day on Black Friday of 2018, I was able to pick up the new Stone Temple Pilots Live album simply called Live 2018.  I have been a fan of STP for years and was happy to hear they were getting a new singer and were going to continue despite the death of former lead singer, the great Scott Weiland.  The new singer, Jeff Gutt seemed like a good choice and their new album earlier this year wasn’t bad…wasn’t great either, but wasn’t bad (see review here).

When I heard they were doing a Live album for Record Store Day, I was excited and it was one I wanted to get to see how Jeff does live..  The track listing was only 10 songs, but they are a great 11 songs with 2 from the new album and the rest being STP classics.  The album cover was cool as it was rendered in 3-D and the album came with 3-D glassed

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And the back cover of course was in 3-D as well which is why it is a little blurry.

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Stone Temple Pilots – ‘Stone Temple Pilots’ (2018) – Album Review

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Stone Temple Pilots are back with a brand new album and a brand new singer.  As you probably already know the story, their original lead singer was one of the most iconic lead singers of any band, Scott Weiland.  Scott had a lot of troubles with addiction and was in and out of the band several times.  He was replaced with Chester Bennington of Linkin Park, but Chester left to focus solely on his original band.  Since this time, both singers have passed away and will never rejoin the band.

Now STP has a decision to make.  Do they continue as a band?  The answer to that is obviously YES or I wouldn’t be doing a review of their new album.  Do they get a new lead singer that is completely their own person and nothing like the previous singer or do they get one that sounds just like Scott Weiland?  The answer to that will come later, but first let me explain why I asked that question myself.

In history, bands have always replaced lead singers.  There are two types of replacements..1) The singer that sounds nothing like the original singer and 2) the singer that sounds just like the old lead singer.  Depending on which one you choose can have a different impact on the band.  I think throughout history we have seen both work, however, for me there is only one solution.

Let’s look at the first, the new singer sounds nothing like the original singer.  There are many examples of that happening and quite successfully…Deep Purple has done it, Black Sabbath, Rainbow and even Van Halen.  Let’s look at Van Halen…with David Lee Roth (the original singer) and Sammy Hager (the replacement) were totally polar opposite singers and styles.  However, each band  was extremely successful in their own right.  Why you might ask? Because the band sound was still Van Halen and the songs were great.  Also, there was no real comparison between the two.  It was really two different bands that just happened to have the same name.  I personally like both versions (I am little more partial to David’s era just because I liked that sound a little better).

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Stone Temple Pilots – “Meadows” – Single Review

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Back on November 14, 2017, Stone Temple Pilots announced their new lead singer, Jeff Gutt, and released their new single “Meadows”.  Through an exhaustive search of over 15,000 submissions they finally found the guy they were looking for in Jeff.  Over the past year, they  have been working together and honing their skills to make sure the band sounded as good as ever and that they gelled.  They didn’t want a Scott Weiland clone, but they needed someone that could pull off the old material as well as the new material (soon to come).  Not only can Jeff sing, but he writes as well.  That combination was what STP was looking for with a new singer.

Scott Weiland was one of the most iconic frontman any band had ever seen.  He is irreplaceable and STP will never be the STP they were with Scott.  A lot of fans won’t be accepting of Jeff for this reason and they are going to be too judgmental of anything new STP puts out.  That is a crying shame because STP isn’t trying to be that STP anymore.  They are trying to move forward with a new sound and honoring the days past.

With the release of “Meadows”, the band has stepped into the future without abandoning anything from the past.  Musically, the song sounds like STP and why wouldn’t it.  These are the same musicians and songwriters of the music from days gone by so of course it is going to sound like STP.  Jeff Gutt sounds amazing. With tinges of Scott’s sound, but not imitating him, you can hear Jeff’s own style shine through.  I think it was a great song choice for the introduction of Jeff as it bridges that gap between new and old so well.

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Stone Temple Pilots – Core 25th Anniversary Edition – Album Review

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On September 29, 1992, the debut album ‘Core’ by the band Stone Temple Pilots was released to great fanfare.  The album kicked off the career of what would become one of the best bands to come out of the 90’s.  Well, on September 29, 2017, Stone Temple Pilots commemorated the 25th Anniversary of their stellar debut with a spectacular re-release of their debut album. I love how they were able to release on the same day as the original.  And yes, I already had a copy, but now I have it again, but this time there is so much more.

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What all do you get?  Well, I am glad you asked.  The set I bought was the Deluxe Edition.  You can get a Super Deluxe Edition which had a T-Shirt and 16″x20″ Litograph, but I didn’t see that offered on Amazon as that might have been a STP website only purchase.  The Deluxe had everything you see above which is as follows:

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“My First Time” with Stone Temple Pilots – “Purple”

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When Grunge came on the scene, I refused to listen.  I was still a hard rock enthusiast and didn’t quite get this new style of music.  I will admit that I never got the fascination with Nirvana, even to this day I don’t get it and I don’t think I ever will. I am sure I am in the minority. I didn’t care for Soundgarden or Pearl Jam either at the time, but have since found them both to be outstanding with Soundgarden now my favorite of the two.  But there was one band out of the Big Four, that I found to be incredible.  They were Stone Temple Pilots.

I didn’t jump on board with the first album although it started me leaning in their direction.  It was ‘Purple’ that was “My First Time” experience with Stone Temple Pilots.  When I heard the song “Vasoline”, I was hooked and there was no looking back.  The late, great Scott Weiland was one of the greatest frontmen in Rock and the swagger and charisma he brought to the stage is unmatched by most singers.

The band might have been considered, Grunge, but to me it was more like the rock & roll I grew up loving.  Yes, they had the Grunge elements, but the way these guys played just screamed Rock and that is probably why I connected with them more than the others.  The band consisted of the following members:

  • Scott Weiland – lead vocals
  • Dean DeLeo – guitar
  • Robert DeLeo – bass, backing vocals
  • Eric Kretz – drums

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My Sunday Song – “Vasoline” by Stone Temple Pilots

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For My Sunday Song #53, I have gone with “Vasoline” by Stone Temple Pilots.  This is one of my favorite STP songs…one of many.  The song was the second single off their second album ‘Purple’.  It is also the second most successful song they had.  It reached #1 on the U.S. Billboard Rock Album Tracks chart for two weeks.  The most successful song was “Interstate Love Song”.

What do I like about this song?  That opening bass part is flat out amazing.  The best part of the song.  I also dig the uptempo, fast driving feel to the song.  The guitar solo is also fast, but impactful.  And of course, Scott Weiland’s vocals.  The song is short at under 3 minutes, but what an impression it leaves.

In researching the song, I found out how they came up with that sound effect on the bass.  Robert DeLeo ran his bass through a wah wah pedal.  As I am a fan and not a musician, I had to look up “wah wah pedal”.  Here is what wikipedia says…

A wah-wah pedal (or simply wah pedal) is a type of electric guitar effects pedal that alters the tone and frequencies of the guitar signal to create a distinctive sound, mimicking the human voice saying the onomatopoeic name “wah-wah”. The pedal sweeps the peak response of a frequency filter up and down in frequency to create the sound, a spectral glide, also known as “the wah effect”.

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