Album Review: Stone Temple Pilots

for me, music and training are like wine and food. they combine in such a way that the best qualities of each are highlighted, the enjoyment thus increased.

this is why music has been such a big part of my blog, and will continue to be. today, i offer an album review. the album in question in Stone Temple Pilots self titled new release/ 2018.

STP have become one of my favourite bands over the past year. i have played their entire catalogue over and over again, in my car, on the trainer, running. they are, in my opinion, truly one of the best rock bands of their era, and in terms of the depth and quality of their catalogue, i would say that they rival bands like the red hot chili peppers, led zeppelin and dare i say, the stones or the beatles. they are that good. funny, cause when they came out critics accused them of ripping off pearl jam (maybe because of how much scott weiland sounds like eddie vader on plush). evolution and eclecticism are one of their strong points. at one moment they sound hard rock, then post punk, then a bit like aerosmith, then 70's, then bossa nova. they had the uncanny ability to sound like so many different bands that one could almost accuse them of not having an identity, but that was their identity.

anyways, i had always attributed much of the above to the chameleon-like nature of weiland. it was easy to overlook just how talented the rest of the band were, and just what fine musicians and song writers the deleo brothers are/were.

STP are also a true endurance story. just as an aside, i really hate the term "nostalgia" circuit, which i have encountered in music criticism, to encapsulate bands like Metallica, STP, Slayer, etc still touring. it undermines the here and nowness of live music. and maybe it is because i am now an old f%@k, but really hate to be told that i am into "the nostalgia circuit".

it takes alot of endurance to make it in music; to tour, to live on the road...to still be making music together almost 30 years later is a real tribute to the endurance of this band. add to that surviving the death of two singers and it is a story of survival and ultimate endurance.

their new singer, jeff gutt is no baby. he is 40 years old and a life-time musician. it is, at times, a bit spooky how much he sounds like scott weiland. this is both good and bad. he fits right in with the band in much the same way weiland did. his voice is there, clear, tuneful, dramatic enough, but not overpowering; it augments yet supports the music. weiland and now gutt, have a vocal style that blends perfectly into what is going on, they are so smooth and integrated that they could go under-rated, as compared to screamers like rob halford, or someone with an immediately recognizable voice like mick jagger, or robert plant for example.

yet, gutt also has his own identity, his own sound. in "the art of letting go" for example, which is one of the really nice ballads on the record, his range and the soft pureness of his voice really shine. it is boy-like, nice, appealing but never cheesy.

having watched clips of their recent live shows, it is a bit eerie how much gutt looks like a younger weiland with his hair died blonde. it kind've freaks me out.

however, back to the new album. it has become a favourite of mine to train to. it is also a great driving in the car album. it sounds like STP, but is also shows that they have evolved as musicians. there is an expansiveness and sophistication in production that can only come with age and experience. "finest hour" is a great example of what i am talking about. it almost reminds me of some of seal's better tracks with the melody development and the expansive sound quality.

the album rocks too; "middle of nowhere" starts the album off; it feels a bit like black dog, bluesy rocknroll. "guilty" and "meadow" have a more contemporary sound, but they do well at high volume, with nice riffs, drum-beats and catchy vocal lines.  "six eight" is a tribute to the time signature of the same name (a lot of STP tracks are in 6/8). here, deleo really reminds me of jimmy page, big riff and tasty, not too fast soloing. good shoes is aerosmith all the way, done STP style.

"roll me under" is my favourite rock out track on the album. it starts fast, with a short line that sounds like the chili peppers and then gets into a short refrain that almost sounds u-2'ish, and then hits hard with a wonderful, hard rock main chorus.

the album ends with "reds and blues", which sounds retro in a beck kind of way, before wandering off into beatles-like explorations. this song could easily have been on tiny music or shangri la dee da.

STP 2018 has become one of those albums that i can listen to over and over again. there are no bad tracks. it has depth and variety. it introduces a new rock singer to us; one who sounds a lot like what we are used to, but also has his own identity. and,  to me, this album  reveals just how talented the deleo brothers really are. their strength is to be able to blend a variety of styles so that the music comes out sounding  a bit like a lot of things, but also, distinctly their own.