Sold Date: January 11, 2020
Start Date: January 1, 2020
Final Price: $89.00 (USD)
Seller Feedback: 5189
Buyer Feedback: 36

Having scored a massive hit with their debut album, Core, Stone Temple Pilots returned to the same sludge-filled well for Purple, only to come up with an album that's harder, more concise, and filled with thunderous, punishing riffs. Headbangers will rejoice over the grinding guitars of "Meatplow," "Vasoline," "Lounge Fly," and "Unglued," but the album reveals far more than one dimension. They back off the throttle for the hushed (though still intense) "Pretty Penny," "Big Empty" puts a respectable spin on the phrase "power ballad," and the catchy, hook-filled "Interstate Love Song" asserts itself as one of the most memorable alt-rock singles of the '90s.
WHY SCOTT WEILAND LIKED PURPLE MORE THAN CORE
According to Scott Weiland’s bio, he liked Purple more than Core, and I have to agree with him. He felt "Purple … was more honest and biographical. It was also more heartfelt and heartsick.”
Core was a solid album and blew the doors wide open for STP, and Plush is one of the greatest rock anthems ever written. However, in Purple, STP follows Led Zeppelin’s second album trajectory. If you are conversant with Zeppelin than you know what I am talking about. Purple, like Zeppelin 2, expands and defines the group. They are no longer circumscribed by the grunge genre. To compare and contrast, you have “Still Remains,” Pretty Penny,” “Big Empty” and "Kitchenware and Candy Bars" compared to Led Zeppelins: "Ramble on," "What is and What Should Never Be," and "Thank You." These songs break the two groups out of their predefined music genres and redefine them.
Dean DeLeo adds acoustic layers and atypical chords (minors and sevenths) and style choices like Jimmy Page and firmly establishes STP as songwriters and superior musicians. He serves the song and does not focus on riffing like most rock guitarists. But when Dean breaks out into leads, he has a distinctive and tasteful style like Page. Bassist Robert DeLeo wrote one of the band’s biggest hits on the album: "Interstate Love Song." This song will never die. Still sounds fresh today. Robert DeLeo's innovative bass-through-wah-wah pedal effect on "Vasoline," is riveting. Drummer Eric Kretz channels Bonham in the hit song, "Vasoline" (you hear Bongos reminiscent of Zeppelins "Whole Lotta Love" bridge section). It is noteworthy of Kretz's detail as a drummer. He mentioned in a Drum article that he used a vintage 1929 Ludwig kit on the verses of "Big Empty" and his GMS kit on the choruses. This is another production and performance example of sonic nuances that make all the difference to the listener.
Grinders on this album include: "Meatplow." "Superman with Silvergun" (my favorite) with Drop D tuning. "Unglued," Lounge Fly" (open D tuning) and "Army Ants." These songs kick ass.
Vocally and lyrically, Scott Weiland excels on Purple. "Vasoline," "Unglued" and "Pretty Penny" all deal with addiction and Scott was battling heroin addiction at this time. He becomes a modern day Coleridge or De Quincey. He was stuck in the "Vasoline" and could not kick it. And this habit was growing into what he once referred to as a “big black monster.” According to his biography, Scott stated that, “Only heroin could turn up the quiet. Only heroin took me to a place where shame, guilt and remorse were magically washed away.”
CONDITION: Used VINYL: PURPLE VG+ JACKET: EXCELLENT. Markdown notch upper right.
TRACK LISTING:
A1Meat Plow3:36 A2Vasoline2:57 A3Lounge Fly5:18 A4Interstate Love Song3:14 A5Still Remains3:33 A6Pretty Penny3:42 B1Silvergun Superman5:16 B2Big Empty4:54 B3Unglued2:34 B4Army Ants3:46 B5Kitchenware & Candybars8:06
JPHBX27-2MM-075678260711