Stone Temple Pilots' 'No. 4' Given Audiophile Upgrade For Limited Edition Release
(Scoop) Stone Temple Pilots' 1999 platinum-certified No. 4. is being reissued in audiophile sound for the first time on vinyl by Mobile Fidelity and the numbered-edition 180g 45RPM 2LP set is available May 22 (order here), with a Hybrid SACD coming at a later date.
Sourced from the original analog tapes (1/2" / 30 IPS analog master to DSD 256 to analog console to lathe), pressed at Fidelity Record Pressing, and housed in a Stoughton gatefold jacket. With exceptional groove definition, quiet surfaces, and black backgrounds, this collectible edition plays with enhanced liveliness, balance, and solidity that spotlights the heaviest and edgiest of the California ensemble's career.
Helmed by the band's go-to producer, Brendan O'Brien, No. 4 makes a big noise. The thick crunch of the guitars, bang and crash of the drums, fluid textures of the bass, and lingering echo of the studio space: All are conveyed with newly revealed immediacy, presence, and scope on this reissue, which also delivers the music's punch and power with visceral impact. Other aspects that tremendously benefit from the restoration: The tenor, attitude, grain, and pitch of Scott Weiland's versatile voice. While partially obscured or collapsed on prior pressings, imaging and separation come into full view on this version.
Despite its general back-to-basics nature, No. 4 contains a wealth of colors, dynamics, and subtle accents that demand careful unpacking and transparent resolution. Nothing more so than the wide-spanning sounds and sizable footprints of the guitars and percussion. Massive riffs drive sledgehammer tracks such as the grinding "Down," stormy "Heaven & Hot Rods," stomping "No Way Out," and vitriolic "Sex & Violence." The latter is as close as Stone Temple Pilots ever came to garage-rock territory. The aforementioned cuts and several others bulldoze and plow, their muscular arrangements caked with rich sludge and aluminum tones, their sinister moods draped in distortion.
Even as they embrace aggression and toughness, Stone Temple Pilots don't overlook the importance of sticky hooks and accessible melodies. The springboard motions of the pop-streaked "Church on Tuesday" and shuffling patterns of the dreamy "Sour Girl," named by Billboard as one of the "100 Best Rock Songs of the 2000s", spotlight the ace songwriting chemistry between Weiland and guitarist Robert DeLeo. Ditto the lush "Glide," a spacy nod to the '70s glam movement. It features Weiland singing at the top of his range and, for good measure, a folksy outro steered by an otherworldly zither. Don't forget the closing "Atlanta," a mini-epic complete with a formal string section and spry tunefulness that echoes the Rodgers and Hammerstein standard "My Favorite Things."
Stone Temple Pilots also briefly dial it back and hint at optimism on "I Got You," a country-tinged ditty sent up with pedal-steel guitar, six-string bass, and piano. Yet No. 4 unmistakably remains a creation of its circumstances. While the album's edgy sonic character speaks to the gaping holes left by artists who abandoned rock to chase the latest crazes, the lyrical themes relate to Weiland's problems and addictions.
Recorded after the singer spent time in jail for drug violations, No. 4 doesn't shy from dark desires or wallowing despair. Most narratives seemingly read as confessions and pleas. They concern personal loss, chemical abuse, toxic impulses, and desperate struggles. Weiland addresses everything head on without gloss or protective shielding.
Track List:
Side One:
Down
Heaven & Hot Rods
Pruno
Side Two:
Church on Tuesday
Sour Girl
Side Three:
No Way Out
Sex & Violence
Glide
Side Four:
I Got You
MC5
Atlanta
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