Issue #72: Stone Temple Pilots – Purple

Released:  June 7th, 1994

Recorded:  Spring 1994

Genre:  Grunge, Alternative, Hard Rock

Record Label:  Atlantic

Duration:  46:59

Producer:  Brendan O’Brien

Personnel

Track Listing

Singles

Why Purple is One of My Favorites

The Stone Temple Pilots were the guys that critics loved to hate back in the 90s.  They took the Seattle sound and made it their own, and they weren’t miserable with their success like the Big 4, which somehow made them inauthentic in the eyes of the music press.  Thankfully, the public at large didn’t have this same weird perception (most of the public anyway) and they continued with their career…for a while at least.  Weiland doesn’t have as sad of a story as Cobain or Staley yet, and hopefully the guy’s got his shit together for good.

In retrospect, they’re seen as one of the giants of the era, and Purple is often seen as their masterpiece.  In some ways I prefer faster chugging of their debut Core, but I also appreciate the diversity on Purple.  They begin moving out of Seattle’s shadow on this record and drawing on more strictly hard rock and blues influences that would ultimately resonate throughout the post-grunge world.

The guitar are still big on this album, though less aggressive.  Distorted waves create a wall of sound against more jangly, high register notes.  Weiland does much more with his voice, aiming for melody and using a softer, less grunge-flavored delivery on many songs.  All in all, Purple is a satisfying release that holds together much of what made grunge so appealing while adding in complexity from other styles.  We don’t get the immediacy or urgency of an album from a band imploding, but we do get the added composure of a band that hasn’t yet burnt out and let the lifestyle get in the way of the music.

The two biggest hits from Purple, “Interstate Love Song” and “Big Empty,” are built on bluesy guitar licks.  “Big Empty” veers down the path of anthemic arena rock, while the edgy riffing in “Interstate Love Song” perfectly captures the feel of an adventure on the road; the lonely, sparse parts of the lead evoke uncertainty while the chugging chorus embodies resolution.  “Meat Plow” (as dirty as it sounds) and “Vasoline” (probably as dirty as it sounds) open the album in just over 6 minutes with the dense buzzing of guitars and memorable riffs, along with downtrodden melodies borrowed straight from the heyday of grunge.

“Lounge Fly” slithers along like a sleazy grunge track, interspersed with both an acoustic interlude and a solo.  “Still Remains” still remains one of my favorites.  There’s something interesting going on with the melody that I absolutely cannot put my finger on.  In a way, it doesn’t really go where I want it to go, but then again it seems to go the only way it can.  There are moments (seconds, really) where I feel like a country-esque chord progression is popping through…and then I lose it.  The chorus is a little less interesting than the verses, but I feel like I could rack my brain over how to put this song into words for weeks.  The lyrics are vague and cryptic, but no less so than anything from Pearl Jam or Nirvana that everyone seems to “get it.”  I actually remember seeing the chorus of “Still Remains” plastered somewhere as something that really helped a girl “really get through my teenage years” and was offered no further insight.

“Pretty Penny” sees STP try their hand at a ballad with mixed results.  It tends to break the flow of the album a little, but it’s also refreshing to hear Weiland sing in such a natural tone.  “Silvergun Superman” and “Unglued” are booming, chugging tracks that would feel right at home on Core, though with perhaps more of a melodic touch in their choruses (the latter of which reminds me of Nirvana’s “On a Plain”).  Some people remark about the “middle of the road” feeling that settles in about halfway through the album, and I can see where it could come off that way, except that I can’t get enough of those rolling, pulsating guitars.  I would even go so far as to say that both of these tracks (as well as parts of “Army Ants”) begin encroaching on alt metal territory.  But maybe that’s just me.  “Army Ants” flies by at 100 miles per hour with a blistering drum track and an intense delivery from Weiland that lands itself just outside of familiar grunge territory.  It lets up for a moment, but only to introduce a guitar solo, from whence it continues in earnest.

I’m on the fence with “Kitchenware & Candybars.”  It’s probably the album’s most emotional moment, mostly due to Weiland’s soft and sad vocals.  I like the music well enough, but it drags on a bit too long, even after getting to the crunch guitar outro.  Roughly 5 minutes in, the novel “My Second Album” kicks in, a tongue in cheek reference to Purple’s status as the band’s sophomore effort done in the style of a lounge song.  (Think Richard Cheese, only done by the band themselves.)  It’s a weird way to finish things off, and appropriately hidden, but I could take it or leave it.  I guess it’s better than the hidden tracks that I actually wish made it on the album proper and find myself having to fast forward through 2 to 7 minutes of silence to get to…assuming my finger doesn’t slip and knock it back to track 1.  (I’m not a fan of hidden tracks, or at least not how they’re presented, i.e. tacked on to the last song after several seconds of silence.  Maybe that’d make a good article of its own…)

You know, for all its simplicity and groundedness, grunge was a tenuous and volatile happening.  Elements of it still survive into today’s rock music, and while rock will go on changing and evolving until direct parallels are ever more difficult to trace; while bands like Nirvana and Alice in Chains begin to transcend reality and enter into legacy, becoming a mythical force like The Beatles or Elvis who everyone who makes music listened to but no one who listens to music listens to; while the ones who are still around move closer and closer to the fading edge of the spotlight and further from a generation who idolized them; while the movement transforms into a moment, it’s undeniable that grunge changed popular rock forever.

And not that it was that important, but it was important enough to influence a wave of artists who then got popular, who went on to influence another wave of artists that then got popular, and so on.  As romanticized as the scene has become, it will always be marked by the troubles of its stars, and Purple is a nice reminder that it wasn’t always horrible, not all the time at least.  It’s friendlier and less depressing, and it isn’t a chronicle of the worst years that a group of 3 or 4 guys ever had to go through.  I enjoy the less weighty implications of Purple, even if it wasn’t something that STP would go on to be known for.

Written by The Cubist

Other albums from Stone Temple Pilots in this series:

• 1992 – Core – Issue #28

Back to The Cubist’s 90’s Albums

Written by The Cubist

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Find out what these ratings mean and how I rate video games.

I collect as much video gaming paraphernalia as I can get my hands on, especially when it comes to hardware. With over 40 systems including oldies like the ColecoVision and Intellivision, obscurities like the CD-i and 3DO, and the latest and greatest including the Wii U, PS4, Xbox One, 3DS, and PS Vita, I get easily overwhelmed. Most of the time you can find me firmly nestled sometime between 1985 and 1995 when it comes to my games of choice, but I’m also having a great time seeing what the 8th generation has to offer.

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