Stone Temple Pilots
N°4

LA RECENSIONE

The album in question, this "N°4" by the Stone Temple Pilots, represents how a band can make a CD without their own ideas, borrowing from here and there: imitating Alice In Chains, in some cases mimicking Iggy Pop, and including acoustic tracks that have nothing to say.

Something enjoyable can be found on this album if you forget that it's the Stone Temple Pilots (one of the last remaining grunge bands) and consider the rather well-crafted sound combined with passable tracks. In short, the "strong point" of the album is the producer: the guru Brendan O'Brien, who gathered the little good that came from the minds of the Stone Temple Pilots and made sure that the album was at least listenable.

Aside from the nice distortion, there is little else in tracks like "Heaven & Hot Rods" or "Church On Tuesday." Not to mention the acoustic tracks: "I Got you" is ridiculous, a bit better is "Atlanta" thanks to the inclusion of the "Bass Marimba" from the Viola and Cello, which have nothing to do with a grunge album but at least give a touch of originality to a work anything but original. Another sore point is "Scott's" voice, lacking personality and trying desperately to resemble, especially in the harder tracks, the never too lamented Layne Staley, voice of the splendid Alice In Chains. The track that perhaps stands out from the flatness of the others is "Glide" where a soft distortion finally allows us to appreciate a bit of Scott Weiland's real voice.

In short, we are faced with a CD that slips by like a glass of water and does nothing to stir emotions in the listener.