Tag: Tiny Music…Songs From the Vatican Gift Shop

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

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic19 Comments

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 – The Albums Ranked Worst to First

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic21 Comments

You have the Big Four in Metal…Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax and Megadeth.  In Grunge, the Big Four were Nirvana, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam and Stone Temple Pilots.  At the time, the only one I liked was Stone Temple Pilots.  They were the closest to the old Rock & Roll that I grew up with.  The others were too foreign to me to like.  However, I do like Soundgarden now and Pearl Jam I can tolerate…Nirvana still sucks (I still don’t get the hype for them but that is another story for another time).

Today, we are focusing on Stone Temple Pilots and how their albums rank from my least favorite to the very best one.  Despite all the troubles with the band and lead singer Scott Weiland, they were able to capture a magic that set them apart from most other bands.  Hell, Scott was probably one of the best frontmen to come out of that era or any era for that matter.  His stage presence and charisma were unparalleled and he could command a crowd.  After his passing, a couple other singers came on board including the late Chester Bennington (Linkin Park) and now current lead singer Jeff Gutt.

And let’s not forget the band…Robert DeLeo (bass), Dean DeLeo (guitar) and Eric Kretz (Drums).  Musically, they are the driving force behind the band. They are the constant.  They are why I still listen to this band no matter who fronts.  Their playing is excpetional and Dean’s guitar is freaking awesome.  Some of the best riffs you will hear!

Enough chit chat, let’s get to the reason we are here.  Here are the Stone Temple Pilots albums I rank from Worst to First!!

THE WORST – SHANGRI-LA-DEE-DA (2001):

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