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Rating: According to some, "Purple" (1994) is the album of redemption for the Stone Temple Pilots, the proof that absolves them from accusations of being plagiarists of the more famous grunge bands, criticisms due to their arrival in medias res with a debut - "Core" - cunningly derivative and highly profitable. Another widespread opinion is that "Purple" is more melodic and accessible than its predecessor. I only agree with the second thesis.
It is true that the group gives up the dark parametal sounds of Alice In Chains so much honored in their debut, but it is equally true that in doing so, they leave the field open to the sphere of influence of another band they have often been compared to, Pearl Jam. And for the Pilots, being inspired does not mean taking cues and creatively reworking them; it rather means imitating, emulating, sometimes even copying.
"Interstate Love Song" is quite similar to the old hit "Plush", which in turn seemed like an outtake from "Ten," which says it all. In "Big Empty", the country-blues overtones in the verses do not mask the similarities with Pearl Jam, and equally evident is the debt in the semi-acoustic Kitchenware & Candy Bars. As if that were not enough, it seems that Scott Weiland takes pleasure in mimicking the epic and solemn voice of Eddie Vedder: a shame, because when he commits to singing with his own timbre, he defends himself quite well, as happens in the romantic electric ballad "Still Remains", and in the languid acoustic ditty "Pretty Penny", not surprisingly two of the most successful songs of the lot. Elsewhere, the guys attempt, as taught by Soundgarden, to build vigorous riffs halfway between Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, but since they lack the brilliance and authenticity of the masters, it results in fairly canonical hard rock, neither here nor there ("Meatplow", "Silvergun Superman"). The best track, the one that gives the band a grain of historical importance and not just excessive commercial fortune, is "Army Ants", a fierce funk shrouded in hard between Red Hot Chili Peppers and Jane's Addiction: with hindsight, although it is also a collage of known characters, it has the merit of anticipating what will be the sound of the same peppers in "One Hot Minute," the 1995 album that not coincidentally hosts former Jane's Addiction member Dave Navarro on guitar. A few years later, even Rage Against The Machine will copy its introduction in the verses of their "Born Of A Broken Man".
The album also has a sort of subtitle engraved on the back cover, "12 Gracious Melodies," which says a lot about its content and the substance of its authors: they assemble graceful, appealing melodies conforming to mass tastes and seem to be even aware of it. In any case, personality is lacking, originality is light-years away.
It is well known that innovations and revolutions are not everyday occurrences, but to be valid artists, one must at least be able to stand out and be recognized. Stone Temple Pilots do not possess these characteristics (I speak in the present because following a very recent reunion, they are still active), and "Purple" is no exception to the rule that their records sound more or less like compilations of various grunge artists. Three stars is a somewhat generous rating.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Meat Plow (03:38)
Fine place for a day full of breakdowns
Takes more than a meltdown to show us how
Throw a tak on the road stop the meatplow
Got a bullet but it aint mine
They got these pictures of everything
To break us down, yea to break me down
They make us hate and we make it bleed
But I got a lover and yeah
She shows me how,
To understand it, yea to understand
I got a brother and well
He shows me how,
To make amends, yeah to make amends
with it
Take a break from the mousetrap we call home
Takes more than a message to make me smile
I can feel when she kisses me sleeping
But not when the news is on
02 Vasoline (02:55)
One time a thing occured to me
What's real and what's for sale?
Blew a kiss and tried to take it home
It isn't you, isn't me
Search for things
That you cant see
Going blind, out of reach
Somewhere in the vasoline
Two times and it has rendered me
Punch drunk and without bail
Think I'd be safer all alone
Flies in the vasoline we are
Sometimes it blows my mind
Keep getting stuck
Here all the time
It isn't you, isn't me
Search for things
That you cant see
Going blind, out of reach
Somewhere in the vasoline
You'll see the look
And you'll see the lies
You'll eat the lies
And you will
Flies in the vasoline we are
Sometimes it blows my mind
Keep getting stuck
Here all the time
It isn't you, isn't me
Search for things
That you cant see
Going blind, out of reach
Somewhere in the vasoline
05 Still Remains (03:33)
Our bed we live, our bed we sleep
Making love and I become you
Flesh is warm with naked feet
Stabbing thorns and you become me.
Oh, I'd beg for you,
Oh, you know I'll beg for you
Pick a song and sing a yellow nectarine
Take a bath I'll drink the water that you leave
If you should die before me ask if you can bring a friend
Pick a flower, hold your breath
And drift away ......
She holds my hand, we share a laugh,
Sipping orange blossom breezes
Love is still but sweat remains
A cherished gift unselfish feeling ...
Oh, I'd beg for you,
Oh, you know I'll beg for you.
Pick a song and sing a yellow nectarine
Take a bath I'll drink the water that you leave
If you should die before me ask if you can bring a friend
Pick a flower, hold your breath
And drift away ......
She tells me things, I listen well
Drink the wine and save the water --
Skin is smooth, I steal a glance
Dragon flies are flying over ...
Oh, I'd beg for you
Oh, you know I'll beg for you
Pick a song and sing a yellow nectarine
Take a bath I'll drink the water that you leave
If you should die before me ask if you can bring a friend
Pick a flower, hold your breath
And drift away ......
06 Pretty Penny (03:42)
Have you seen your mother girl?
Has she gone away?
gone away and found the pearl
but the price she paid
gone
when you wake in the morning
gone
when you find that there's no one sleeping
gone
pretty penny was her name
she was loved and we all will miss her
how far will you go i say,
just to bait a mouse?
shorter lived and longer gone,
can you figure out?
have you seen your sister girl?
she's all but blown away
blown away and lost the pearl
and the price she paid
gone
when you wake in the morning
gone
when you find that there's no one sleeping
gone
pretty penny was her name
she was loved and we all will miss her
07 Silvergun Superman (05:16)
find you in the dark
read you like a cheap surprise
without shame
sell me out, and frame your name
i can hear when the pig whispers sweetly
jealousy is the way that you kill me
keep a dime for a truth you might tell
(Chorus) you towed the line, and i know it was mine
couldn't hide, write a wave, ride a lie
let me know, can i friend ask you why?
rolling back the days
with my friend i love to play
the "little one"
superman with silver gun
i can hear when the pig whispers sweetly
jealousy is the way that you kill me
keep a dime for a truth you might tell
CHORUS
wait for me, take a dive, take a piece of my life (leave me numb)
wait for me, tell a lie, try to take my wife (leave me numb)
wait for me, take a dive, take a piece of my life (leave me numb)
close to me, and i'll leave you numb...
CHORUS X2...
08 Big Empty (04:54)
drivin' faster in my car
falling farther from just what we are
smoke a cigarette and lie some more
these conversations kill
falling faster in my car
time to take her home
her dizzy head is conscience laden
time to take a ride
it leaves today no conversation
time to take her home
her dizzy head is conscience laden
time to wait too long
to wait too long
to wait too long
to much walkin', shoes worn thin
too much trippin' and my soul's worn thin
time to catch a ride
it leaves today, her name is what it means
to much walkin', shoe's worn thin
Chorus
Conversations kill
Conversations kill
Conversations kill
Chorus
Conversations kill
Conversations kill
Conversations kill
09 Unglued (02:34)
Moderation is masterbation
What is what, and what makes you feel good
All these things I think about
I think about -
Always come unglued
Yea - I got this thing
It's comin over me, I got this thing
Its comin over me, I got this feelin
Coming over me - yea
This confusion is my illusion
Nowhere to look, but know where
To find ya.
All these things Im sick about,
Im sick about -
Always come unglued
10 Army Ants (03:46)
You dont look but you kick me
You cant feel but you hit me
You can't live with the way I pray
Why do we all have to look this way
I gotta heart, I got blood, feel pain
Time, time is not on my side
Cause the way I am
Gotta gotta now gotta find the reason why
A woman aint a man
You dont look but you kick me
You cant feel but you hit me
You cant deal with the way I pray
Why do you all have to think this way
I gotta heart, I got blood, feel pain
Fall in those single file lines
Like Army Ants
Yeah, fall on into those single file lines
And complete the plan
11 Kitchenware & Candybars (04:32)
somebody told me, I know where to go
somebody showed me, I was last to know
sell me down the river
sell me down the river
sell me down the river
sell me down the river
unfriendly feelings, down on wounded knees
unfriendly reasons, some blind mothers need
sell me down the river
sell me down the river
sell me down the river
sell me down the river
what I wanted, is what I wanted
what we wanted, is what she wanted
you read the words and it sells you life
they sell their words, but it's all a lie
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Other reviews
By Tegucigalpa
"Purple was the album of consecration for Scott Weiland and the De Leo brothers' band."
"Vaseline, a phenomenal example of minimalism applied to rock, a dry and intense two minutes for one of the most famous tracks of the alternative-MTV era."
