REVIEW #500!!! Stone Temple Pilots - Purple

Wow. Just a flat out astonishing number up there. Big bands, little bands, genres all across the board. 500 albums down. I haven't even scratched the surface of all the music out there. PLEASE - please keep the suggestions coming. I wouldn't have gotten this far without all you guys giving me great music ideas.

For 100 it was Weezer, for 250 it was Nirvana and for 500 - it's STP. Do you see a theme? I still can't bring myself to say 90's alternative rock is my favorite, but it has to be the genre I identify with most. I was most impressionable during that time - being a pre-teen to teenager. It's hard to imagine, but I think I have a new found respect for the music today. Don't get me wrong, back in the day I thought it was really good. But I stack up music from today and the alt rock music from then - and I hear and see and feel a quality that isn't there today. No band makes a better example of that than STP. Core and Purple here were flat out amazing albums. Stack that up to their latest Self Titled effort? Sure, it's good - but it's not these albums. I always undervalued this album growing up. I thought that 'Core' was number one and you couldn't change my mind. But listening to this again recently (I was on a big Purple kick about two months ago) - my mind might be changed. Take away the hits. Remove 'Interstate Love Song', 'Big Empty', 'Vasoline' and 'Unglued' from the mix. We all know those songs - and we could all probably belt them out as loud as we could at a show without missing a lyric. We know the value those bring to the table. My favorite song on this album isn't even listed there! 'Silvergun Superman' blows my mind right off my head! 'Meatplow' - another great track. Concluding the album with 'Kitchenware and Candybars'?? Flat out rockin'! And not even "rockin'" in the sense the guitars melt your face off or anything...just rockin' like "wow, what a great arrangement, what a great change of pace, what a great way to wrap up a FANTASTIC record!" My marquee number reviews have all been perfection - and it isn't going to change here. I think if you're about my age - if the 90's rock scene was something you really identify with too, you need to listen to this again. And don't skip tracks, and listen to them in the intended order. I think you'll be amazed by what you think today versus nearly 20 years ago when this dropped. It'll be hard for me to pick three songs - because this album truly is 11 tracks of awesome.

FIVE HUNDRED IN THE BOOKS! CHEERS B SIDERS!

TRACK LISTING:
1. Meat Plow
2. Vasoline
3. Lounge Fly
4. Interstate Love Song
5. Still Remains
6. Pretty Penny
7. Silver Gun Superman
8. Big Empty
9. Unglued
10. Army Ants
11. Kitchen Ware & Candy Bars

Listen To Samples

Top 3 Tracks:
1. Silvergun Superman
2. Interstate Love Song
3. Meatplow

4. Vasoline
5. Big Empty
6. Unglued
7. Kitchenware and Candybars
8. Pretty Penny
9. Army Ants
10. Still Remains
11. Lounge Fly

FINAL RATING:
5 out of 5 stars