Características
Revenge is sweet! Written off by many critics, Stone Temple Pilots fired a loud warning shot in 1999 with “No. 4.” The multi-award-winning album combines the strengths of the San Diego quartet’s three previous albums while marking a return to the band’s hard rock roots. “No. 4” is considered the hardest and edgiest album in the California band’s career. Despite prevailing trends and a lack of promotion – due to the one-year prison sentence singer Scott Weiland had been sentenced to shortly before the album’s release – “No. 4” was certified platinum by the RIAA on August 7, 2000, and by the CRIA in August 2001. The song “Down” was nominated for Best Hard Rock Performance at the Grammy Awards. The album also produced one of STP’s biggest hits: “Sour Girl,” which reached No. 78 on the Billboard Hot 100 and remains the band’s only song ever to chart there.
Under the direction of the band’s longtime producer, Brendan O’Brien, “No. 4” caused quite a stir. The rich, crisp guitar sound, the banging and crashing of the drums, the flowing textures of the bass, and the reverberating echo of the studio space amplify the power of the music with an almost physical force. Despite its “back-to-basics” character, “No. 4” turned out to be incredibly diverse: massive riffs drive hammering tracks like the grinding “Down,” the stormy “Heaven & Hot Rods,” the stomping “No Way Out,” and the biting “Sex & Violence.” The latter is damn close to garage rock territory, and the Stone Temple Pilots literally plow their way through the album – with powerful arrangements, a rich sound, and dark, distortion-shrouded moods. Even as they embrace aggression and heaviness, Stone Temple Pilots don’t overlook the importance of catchy hooks and accessible melodies. The bouncy, pop-infused “Church On Sunday” and the dreamy rhythm of “Sour Girl” underscore the excellent songwriting chemistry between Weiland and guitarist Robert DeLeo. The same goes for “Glide,” a spacey homage to the glam movement of the ’70s. Here, Weiland sings in the highest registers, and as an encore, there’s a folky outro carried by an otherworldly zither. And let’s not forget the closing track “Atlanta,” a mini-epic featuring a classical string section and an upbeat melody reminiscent of the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic “My Favorite Things.” The Stone Temple Pilots then abruptly slow the tempo and let a hint of optimism shine through in “I Got You” – a country-tinged track accompanied by pedal steel guitar, six-string bass, and piano. Most of the songs read like confessions and pleas. They deal with personal loss, drug abuse, destructive impulses, and desperate struggles. “No. 4” may not be the Stone Temple Pilots’ most commercially successful album. But it remains their most uncompromising. And that status probably carries more weight than any other!
MFSL now presents “No. 4” for the first time in audiophile reference quality! Mastered from the original tapes at MoFi Studios in California and pressed by Fidelity Record Pressing, this numbered double LP (180 grams, 45 RPM) comes in a luxurious gatefold jacket by Stoughton Printing and offers the best sound quality the album has ever received on vinyl. This collectible reissue sets new standards in terms of spatiality, transparency, and dynamics. The vitality and authenticity of the album – created at a time when many rock musicians were increasingly relying on electronic elements or quit the scene entirely – is underscored by Brendan O’Brien’s brilliant production!
LP 1
Side A:1. Down2. Heaven & Hot Rods3. Pruno
Side B:1. Church On Tuesday2. Sour Girl
LP 2
Side C:1. No Way Out2. Sex & Violence3. Glide
Side D:1. I Got You2. MC53. Atlanta