Core 2017

I have always said, "Stone Temple Pilots is to rock music what Quentin Tarantino is to Cinema." More on Quentin later. Point is, they both steal from the best and effectively "pour new wine into old bottles" as the saying goes.Some critiques were hard on Stone Temple Pilots and their debut album "Core." But STP stands alone today, and in my opinion matters more today, a quarter of a century later. They still capture the energy and spirit of what some would label grunge, alternative or rock and roll and will still be referenced and relevant 25 years from now and beyond.Core, by true definition, is the central or essential part of something. It is also the part of the fruit the contains the seeds. This album would indeed contain seeds of greatness and songwriting strength that STP planted and rooted in solid soil of classic rock and roll and produced a sonic crop a "hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown."For me personally, Core continues to rank as one of the greatest rock debut albums along with Jimi Hendrix "Are You Experienced," Guns & Roses "Appetite for Destruction," and Van Halen, Rage Against the Machine, Elvis Presley, The Doors, Led Zeppelin, Nine Inch Nails, Pearl Jam, The Beatles, etc. etc.The album is balls-to-the-wall, but paced in such a way-- thanks to the brilliance of Brendan O'Brien -- that we listen straight through without disengaging or skipping tracks."Plush" is still one of the finest rock songs ever written. Simple, Singable, memorable, but never forgettable. Creep, the only acoustic track on the album, is shamelessly Nirvana, but who cared? We couldn't get enough of Nirvana.BUT LET'S TURN BACK THE CLOCK IN CASE YOU WEREN'T THERE...1992 From "Reservoir Dogs" to "When the Dogs begin to smell her..."If you were into movies you remember, Coppola's "Dracula," "A Few Good Men" (Yeah, you know... "You Can't Handle the Truth...") Eastwood's "Unforgiven," "The Bodyguard," "Basic Instinct" and "Wayne's World," and the underdog of them all that year "Reservoir Dogs," by a then unknown filmmaker by the name of Quentin Tarantino.Music wise, STP was in good company: you had Rage Against the Machine, "Dirt" by Alice in Chains, "The Chronic" by Dr. Dre (Yes, I bought that CD too), Beastie Boys, Blind Melon and Nirvana, and Prince was a symbol. You ditched your cassette tapes for CDs at this point as a consumer.News of that Year: Bill Clinton was your president, Los Angeles was rioting for Rodney King (...Can't we all just get along?" No, we still can't for some reason 25 years later). Gas was about a buck, your rent was about $500 a month, and postage stamp .29 cents.John Gotti was no longer "Teflon" and he got life in prison once and for all.World conflict raged on with No Fly Zones and shell games with weapons inspectors in Iraq, violence erupting in Germany against Immigrants blaming them for economic troubles. Somalia and Civil War conflicts, the Communist Government is overthrown in Afghanistan.Nero fiddled while Rome burnt down and grunge musicians were our new fiddlers.NOW TURN BACK THE CLOCK EVEN FURTHER...I was a new, wide-eyed vocalist straight from Detroit when I first happened upon, Mighty Joe Young ripping it up at Club Lingerie and the Coconut Teaszer rock clubs in L.A. (Which as you know how the story goes, they would become STP). Our band played some of those same clubs before we split up. We were part of the scene. Corey Hickok was playing guitar at that time and Dean would later replace him. I distinctly remember, Weiland and Robert Deleo had something special going on, that indefatigable energy or mojo, of successful stars. They owned their time on stage like they were playing to an arena, even if it was only a run-of-the-mill nightclub with phlegmatic patrons. When Core came out, I was floored. Was this the same band? I remembered they were good, but now Stone Temple Pilots (with Dean Deleo) were phenomenal. The only other group on the scene that I felt was going places like STP was Rage Against the Machine, Zach de la Rocha kicked ass, and that was twice I was correct on my instincts. Both bands were stellar."Memories pressed between the pages of my mind..."THE SPIRIT OF CORE WILL LIVE ONThis album is still mysterious to me, like so many great works and contributions from artists, musicians, painters and poets, you find yourself returning to them for inspiration or more than just nostalgia... there is something that strikes a chord, is almost religious, or resonates in your "core." You would not be reading too much into the "spirit" of Core since its title derives from the apple in the Garden of Eden and there are numerous biblical allusions and imagery in Weiland's titles and lyrics: Wicked Garden, Sin, holy water, returning to dust, where the river goes ("I wanna know what the rent's like in heaven"). Weiland, did after all, once sing in a choir and it is evident in his soul. He was a gifted lyricist. The lyrics are deeply meaningful, and the liner notes thank God and JC, and the artwork depicts a burning tree. RIP Scott."... And I feel it."Do you?

I bought this record for my daughter for Christmas. It was my personal favorite album as a teenager and got both my kids into it. When she got her record player, she never bought the album. So I made the step to get her it. And I knew once I handed it to her, she blared the music happily. It's my favorite album. I love Scott Wieland.

Great album

The best nostalgia album of the ‘90s! Great for a road trip!

Great record. 2017 re issue on 180 gram black vinyl...im happy with my copy.

Very nice CD. Great condition, great price, and shipped quickly.

Overall, not taking into account that the corner was terribly damaged, the vinyl itself sounds great!

Despite the fall of an era as Stone Temple Pilots split (prior to 2008) a generation of hard rock enthusiasts/ circa grunge sound of the early 90's came to an end. Albeit STP never wanted to or really liked the title of being "a grunge band" they were closely associated with the sound and as a major factor in contributing to its evolving scope. That is, they were boxed into a genre they didn't see as fit, and as the band grew with albums beyond "Core" the sub genre dwindled, to the gratification of many musical intellects and band members... the undercut was the worst haircut of all time.However, this album review is about their debut collective, named "core" hard, distorted and in general loud, this album provided power chord riff's with melodic vocals reminiscent of past blues rock-come-country singers that broke out into their own sound. Tracks listed in a particular manner that helped compliment each song, one after the other.Needless to say, this album is what made stone temple pilots who they were destined to become. It provided a niche fan base that would follow the band right through to Shangri-La Dee Da and Thank Youdespite their experimental and evolving sound post- Purple( now listed on amazon.com as self titled???)Tracks making the honour list are : Wicked garden, Sex type thing, plush, dead and bloated and creep all making my personal list for some of the greatest music to come out of 1992.Nostalgic, heart warming for a guy who was on the verge of growing up, skateboarding and liking girls for the very first time, this album has a place with me always, a good listen for background tunes, driving, and just having a good time. Raw and uneven, I love that the imperfections that people might see in this album are anything but that to the devote STP community.