Atlantic 82607
Producer: Brendan O’Brien
Track listing: Meatplow / Vasoline / Lounge Fly / Interstate Love Song / Still Remains / Pretty Penny / Silvergun Superman / Big Empty / Unglued / Army Ants / Kitchen Ware & Candy Bars
June 25, 1994
3 weeks
The Stone Temple Pilots’ debut album, Core, peaked at number three and spawned three hits on the Modern Rock and Album Rock Tracks charts. When the new STP track “Big Empty” was included on The Crow soundtrack, radio programmers were quick to gravitate toward the introspective rocker, although it wasn’t officially released as a single.
Since the track was also included on STP’s sophomore set, Purple, singer Scott Weiland had mixed feelings about radio going on the track weeks before the band’s second album. “When we were writing and recording the second record, we decided we wanted [“Big Empty”] on there,” he says. “It fit the vibe.” By the time STP decided that they wanted the song for their album, “Big Empty” was already slated for inclusion on The Crow. Says Weiland, “We didn’t want to give away too much before the album was finished, but radio started playing the song when we were still in the process of recording the album.”
Yet, he adds, “If people want to hear it, they want to hear it. It would be pretty pompous of me to make a stink about it and say, ‘Don’t play this song. You’re tainting the feeling of the album.'”
Most of Purple was recorded at Atlanta’s Southern Tracks studio with Brendan O’Brien, who had also produced Core, once again, manning the board. Says Weiland, “It’s far away and removed from the industry, so we didn’t have to worry about distractions.” The band completed the album in approximately two weeks.
A few additional tracks were recorded while the band was on the road. “Lounge Fly” was cut at Paisley Park Studios in Minneapolis and features Paul Leary of the Butthole Surfers on guitar. “Big Empty” was recorded in L.A., during a break from touring. An unlisted 12th track, performed by a Washington-based lounge singer, showed off the band’s warped sense of humor.
Weiland says Purple is much more personal than Core. “I wasn’t writing to explain or put any point across or any opinion to a mass audience,” he says. “The more successful we became, the less responsible I felt about instilling any type of ideas. I don’t know if that works anyway. It doesn’t work for me. I’m just expressing myself.”
Musically, the band had grown as well, escaping the comparisons to Pearl Jam that dogged them around the release of Core. In fact, the subtle acoustic number “Pretty Penny” is more reminiscent of Led Zeppelin than any of STP’s contemporaries. “I would be very bored making an album the sounds completely like the last record with nothing more than copycat songs, just for the sake of making money,” says Weiland.
Yet squabbles between band members over the album’s title and artwork almost delayed the release of Purple. The title of the album only appears on the package in Chinese. Says Weiland, “As long as we can still dig each other and communicate with each other while arguing about album titles, we will make other albums.”
THE TOP FIVE
Week of June 25, 1994
1. Purple, Stone Temple Pilots
2. Regulate… G Funk Era, Warren G
3. The Sign, Ace of Base
4. Ill Communication, Beastie Boys
5. Not a Moment Too Soon, Tim McGraw