Disco de Stone Temple Pilots: “Thank You [CD & DVD]”

4.5 stars

Stone Temple Pilots certainly proved all their detractors wrong. Initially written off as nothing but Pearl Jam clones, Stone Temple Pilots proved to be one of the most creative and vital forces throughout the 1990s. Although they borrowed from the Seattle soundbook with their debut "Core" (1992), they found their own sound with subsequent albums. STP never stagnated or suffered a creative bust. They always put out quality albums. STP was always mixing it up with each new release. All five of their albums had their own unique sound and vibe. As previously stated, "Core" was the most grunge sounding album in the STP catalog. It was grunge music made as arena rock. "Purple" (1994) was more refined and the songs were more skillfully crafted. "Tiny Music...Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop" (1996) eschewed the grunge style of the earlier albums, and instead opted for retro, 70s glam meets 90s modern rock. "No4" (1999) was a combination of the first three albums, and was also somewhat more rough-around-the-edges. The highly underrated "Shangri-La-Dee-Da" (2001) was a more refined, polished follow-up.

The greatest hits album "Thank You," is flawed, but great nonetheless. If you listened to modern rock radio throughout the 90s, you will undoubtedly be familiar with all these songs, as they were all radio staples, and remain so to this day. By listening to this album, you will see why STP was one of the best rock bands of the 1990s. They just wrote killer, killer catchy songs with infectious hooks. This CD is really a comprehensive overview of all their radio-hits. This compilation does an excellent job of representing the bands first three albums.

The problem with "Thank You" is its treatment of the last two STP albums "No4," and "Shangri-La-Dee-Da." As STP rolled on through the late 90s and early 00s, their music always stayed consistently good, and these are two great albums, but they are underrepresented on "Thank You." Only two songs from "No4" and one song from "Shangri-La-Dee-Da" are included.

"Thank You" serves as a greatest hits, as opposed to a best-of. The problem is that a lot of their best songs from the later day albums were not huge radio staples, and were not hits, but were great nonetheless. A CD can hold 80 minutes of music, but this CD holds only 60. About four additional songs from the last two albums should have been included (five, if they left off the acoustic version of "Plush" which was a cool rendition, but a waste of space). It would have been a great way for fans of the earlier albums to get into the later day stuff. "Heaven & Hot Rods" from "No4" should have been included, as should have "Too Cool Queenie" and "Hello, it's Late" from "Shangri La Dee Da."

A real comprehensive best-of album from Stone Temple Pilots would really need to be two CDs in length, with not only the radio hits, but also essential album cuts from all five albums. In addition, it should include the awesome cover of Led Zeppelin's "Dancing Days" and the Beatles "Revolution."

Apart from these faults, this is still a great compilation. "All in the Suit that you Wear" (recorded in 2002) is a great song, unavailable elsewhere and should please fans of the band. If you don't own any STP albums, this is a good place to start. But then I'd still check out some of the later day albums.

Finally, an STP best-of and DVD all in the same package!!!!! OK, first of all, the best-of CD is really good, but at 15 tracks and only 58 minutes (in non-chronological order), it could have included more tracks, so here's what I would have put instead:

1. Plush

However, the DVD ROCKS!!!!! With 3 hours worth of music videos, live performances, bootleg footage shot by friends and family of the band and other material, the DVD makes this a 5-star set!!!!!

(P.S. - check out the video for "Sour Girl"...it has Sarah Michelle Gellar - from TV's 'BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER', for those who don't know - on it!!!!! Mmm, BUFFY!!!!!)

I'll just start off by saying that I have every STP CD there is. I've been a fan for a long time, but when I found out they were coming out with a greatest hits CD, I had doubts. The CD isn't as great as a greatest hits should be, and it definately is not a list of their best songs. When I found out that their would be a special bonus DVD, I almost fainted. I have been waiting for a good Stone Temple Pilots DVD for as long as I can remember. The fact is, this is the best bonus DVD I have ever come across. Three hours of music videos, live concerts and bootleg video is all that I could ever ask for. It's a great buy for someone looking for an awesome DVD. If your going to just buy the CD, then I recommend saving your money and buying them all, because thats the only way you'll get a true dose of STP.

If this is the last STP album ever, it's a great way to go out. It's pretty much like your standard Greatest Hits compilation, all of the hit singles put on one disc. Add in the unreleased track "All in the Suit That You Wear" (which I heard was originally supposed to be on the Spider-man soundtrack) and you have yourself a great disc. STP is truly one of the most underrated bands to come out of the 90s. They suffered through all the early critic bashing of being Pearl Jam clones (which I NEVER understood since they sound so different) and survived Scott's drug problem to put out 5 solid studio albums. STP has been a favorite band of mine since the beginning, and I am a bit upset at the possible end of the band since Velvet Revolver seems to be doing quite well. For those of you out there who have really only seen Scott's work with VR, then this cd is for you to get a good look on the band that started it all for Scott. But you shouldn't stop there, because this cd only skims the surface of the STP collection. Each of the other 5 releases are great albums and I enjoy listening to everyone of them. Here's to hoping that someday STP will reunite and put out another studio album!

Has it really been over a decade since the debut album of Stone Temple Pilots? I remember when these guys got roasted by critics for jumping on the grunge bandwagon and for allegedly ripping off Pearl Jam. But I always believed that STP got a bad rap and was truly a good band that never got the respect they deserved. Over the years, the Pilots were able to fight back their haters by releasing a string of five solid studio albums, all of which have gotten either gold or platinum. "Thank You" is a compilation of singles from those CDs, and it's a great snapshot of the very best of STP. I, for one, am thrilled that this CD contains the acoustic version of "Plush," which I always thought was far superior to the original. Other standouts are "Vasoline," the sing-a-long groove of "Lady Picture Show," the catchy "Days of the Week" and "Sour Girl." It's an hour's worth of power glam rock with Scott Weiland singing with all the charisma of a funky cross between Bowie, Iggy Pop, and Jim Morrison. "Thank You" is also available as a limited edition release with a bonus DVD featuring a very generous 3 hours worth of music videos, live performances, and other goodies. Fans can get the CD without the DVD if they choose, but they would only be cheating themselves. In my opinion, it's worth forking out the extra cash for the DVD, which, by the way, presents the music in a solid 5.1 surround sound. With Weiland having just started his latest project Velvet Revolver, it's not certain when (or if) Stone Temple Pilots will regroup. In any case, "Thank You" is a worthy compilation from one of the most energetic rock bands of the 1990s.