Stone Temple Pilots - No. 4

This fine band's powerful music has been often overshadowed by singer Scott Weiland's well-documented drug and legal troubles. Not to mention that STP's 1992 debut, Core, was dismissed by critics as "Seattle lite." Nonetheless, STP has managed to make four noteworthy albums, No. 4 being the latest in their solid and cohesive body of work. No. 4 is not groundbreaking, but the quartet's aggressive, dynamic hard rock is emotion-packed and timeless. Not as hit-heavy as its predecessors, No. 4 is nevertheless strong and diverse. On the gentler side, there's the lilting '60s-influenced "I Got You" and "Atlanta," which is almost Doors-like in its dreamy mood. Heavier fare includes the midtempo heavy riffing opener "Down" and the winning but not-so-subtly titled "Sex and Violence," which matches an aggressive, linear feel with a cool punk vibe. At 42 minutes, the only thing wrong with No. 4 is that there's not enough of it. --Katherine Turman Amazon.com

Lovely moments but not their best.

No. 4 by Stone Temple Pilots almost never happened but singer Scott Weiland finally cleaned up his act and got sober for this ambitious album. Songs like Sour Girl, Down, S*x and Violence, and my personal fave Atlanta are excellent tracks but the rest of the album is pretty much filler. Weiland's voice is in fine tune but the rest of the band seems tired and uninspired. This is a mixed bag for me. November 24, 2008

Want grunge?

Amazingly, this album was released in 1999, after grunge had come and gone and was replaced by boybands, rap and hip-hop. But it is Grungy, with a capital "G". Most of the tracks are good and dark. The exceptions only make these more apparent. "Sour Girl" and "I Got You" are definitely more in the pop area, with Beatle-inspired lines. "Glide" soars a little into the psychedelic. The last track, "Atlanta", could have been a Doors song, lyrically and musically. The rest are all needle-in-the-arm, glorious grunge. And it's all good. Actually, the album is worth the price for just the first and last tracks. "Down" is STP at their grungiest, and "Atlanta" is one of the most real and touching rock ballads I have ever heard.

Too often STP has been dismissed as a "pop" band, undeserving of the respect given to Nirvana and Pearl Jam. But let's face it. Any band that achieves commercial success is a pop band. As Scott Weiland once said (I'm paraphrasing something I read), "The Beatles were a pop band, so what's wrong with that?" I agree, Scott. I totally agree. September 13, 2008

Least favorite but still good

This is my least favorite CD by STP, but that's ok, because they more then made up for it with "Shangri-La Dee Da." This is a good CD, and "Sour Girl" is a great song. August 9, 2008

Go Scotty Go

It's just plain cool the way Scott pronounces "Waiting" as "Way-TAN!" It just kills me. Makes me want to jump around the living room and pound on stuff.

Notice how, on the opening track 'Down,' he takes only 4 couplets for verses, 1 line for a chorus, and one line for a bridge. It's the same lyrical economy he used on 'Dead & Bloated.' He's not writing an extensive lyrical masterpiece here. The words simply function as a vehicle for his a$$-kicking DELIVERY.

Now that's' what I've been Way-TAN for!

Nice vocal nod to Ozzy Osbourne on the bridge, too. August 5, 2008

Inferior to Earlier Works

Quite simply put, 'No. 4' suffers from the fact that it just isn't quite as good as the earlier albums. If it had come first, many of it's flaws could be overlooked.

But it didn't, so you really can't. 'Sour Girl' and 'Down' are the highlights (and also the singles) of this probably underrated, yet flawed, work. 'No Way Out' and 'Church on Tuesday' are also solid songs. If you have a jones for STP, go with 'Purple' or 'Tiny Music' instead. April 3, 2008

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