Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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38 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Thorough collection of radio hits, November 13, 2003
If you are a passing fan and you just want the radio hits, this collection is one of the best of the MANY compilations competing for the boost from the 2003 holiday season sales. Unlike many of the rest though, the casual fan gets ALL the biggest radio hits (unlike Pearl Jam's 'Lost Dogs' or Tori Amos' 'Tales of Librarian') with no filler (unlike Peter Gabriel's 'Hit').Serious fans will quibble about the song choices, as greatest hits does not equal best songs. (e.g., Only one song from "Shrangri-La"?!) But with any good band, reasonable ears/minds will differ, and besides, we make our own compilations anyway. Still, even for hardcore fans, there IS the decent new song, a harder edge tune titled "All in the Suit that You Wear", and the acoustic version of "Plush" from MTV Headbanger's Ball-1992 (which was a minor radio hit in an of itself). I used to loathe this band back in 1992, when it seemed like they were just Johnny-come-latelies of Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Soudgarden, but I came to respect them more after I learned a little bit about the grunge scene (i.e., all the sonic similarities existed before any of these bands hit big). Plus I just can't get "Big Bang Baby" out of my head, and those chord changes on "Plush" and "Interstate Love Song" are truly infectious.
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15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A great, but imperfect collection, April 16, 2005
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.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
ONLY 15 TRACKS??? COME ON!!!, December 22, 2003
They couldn't put "Unglued" & "Dancing Days" on here? It's not like they didn't have the room! The music that is here is quite good, but as a greatest hits, it's just not complete. You'd be better off borrowing this disc from a friend as well as the other 5 STP cds & the Led Zeppelin tribute and just make your own compilation. That's what I'll do!
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