Stone Temple Pilots
Tiny Music...Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop

THE REVIEW

In 1996, grunge was languishing, Kurt Cobain was a pale ghost, and the charts were dominated by the dismal prêt-à-porter flannel of Bush, Silverchair, and their whining companions.

At a time when even the divine Soungarden were abdicating by releasing the indecent “Down on the upside”, it was the much-maligned Stone Temple Pilots who churned out an album with guts. Flamboyant without excess, unusually varied, “Tiny Music... Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop” whimsically evaded the traps of déjà vu, just as the contemporary Pearl Jam would shortly do with the twilight “No Code”.

Creating this album during a period when singer Scott Weiland was in and out of jail due to drug issues, the Pilots managed to remain vibrant enough to make a mark. The grunge-Zeppelin impetus that had spelled success for the previous “Core” and “Purple” only echoes here and there in these grooves, as in the swirling advance of “Tumble in the Rough” or in “Trippin’ on a Hole in a Paper Heart”. The singles released do not feature the tear-jerking balladry of “Creep”, but a couple of Cheap Trick-style numbers such as “Pop’s Love Suicide” and “Big Bang Baby”. Although not as memorable as the “Vaseline” from the previous album, they are nonetheless two well-crafted episodes. This pop-rock vein is also enjoyable in songs like “Lady Picture Show” and “Art School Girl”, whereas “Ride the Cliché” is enriched with exquisite shoegaze echoes à la Slowdive. The guitar parts are no longer as explosive as in the past, but they gain in variety and effectiveness.
This is also evident in the discreet jazz-bossanova nods of “And So I Know” and “Daisy”. Among the group’s classics are “Adhesive” and “Seven Caged Tigers”. The first is a folk number akin to early Tim Buckley, subtly enlivened by surprising psychedelic parts and a splendid trumpet solo, with leisurely vocals from a decidedly inspired Weiland. The second develops an intriguing shoegaze version of Jane’s Addiction, with their “Classic Girl” being evoked at the end.

Nothing tiresomely grunge: "Tiny Music… Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop” is simply the most genuine work of a great band.