Nonetheless, he and the band got themselves sorted out long enough to make a third album before remanding the singer to a medical facility for further treatment. So was WeilandвЂ™s heroin addiction, which erupted into public view with a May 1995 drug bust, the first of many. The odd acoustic pop of вЂњPretty PennyвЂќ provides an intriguing contrast to the loudness (and doesnвЂ™t sound anything like NirvanaвЂ™s вЂњPollyвЂќ - well, not too much), but the syncopated JaneвЂ™sish monotony of вЂњArmy AntsвЂќ is a bad sign. The roaringly melodic вЂњInterstate Love Song,вЂќ вЂњVasolineвЂќ and the вЂњCreepвЂќ-soundalike вЂњBig EmptyвЂќ all repeat CoreвЂs downbeat hard rock with maximum efficiency.

Weiland possesses a strong, gritty voice and the others can certainly play, but the group canвЂ™t seem to shake off its kleptomaniacal instincts. The bass/guitar brotherhood of Robert and Dean DeLeo makes a solid but flexible noise on the album, and Eric Kretz drums with the hamhanded power of John Bonham, driving songs like the Nirvana-seeking вЂњSex Type ThingвЂќ (whose ironic idea of a crude come-on is вЂњIвЂ™m gonna learn ya my philosophy / You wanna know about my atrocity?вЂќ), вЂњSinвЂќ and вЂњCrackerman.вЂќДЄgain produced by OвЂ™Brien, Purple (a title that appears nowhere on the package) is tighter and more confident, drawing the band closer to a characteristic sound but not quite getting there. Where the best of the Northwest groups STP aped were fighting to break tired rock formulae, the Californians served up their innovations pre- digested and refined for mass consumption, writing songs catchier, more radio-friendly and less compellingly serious than their bull-headed counterparts to the north. вЂњPlushвЂќ and вЂњPiece of PieвЂќ were understandably mistaken for Pearl Jam, and Scott WeilandвЂ™s dry, constricted vocals on the dramatic, semi-acoustic вЂњCreepвЂќ (вЂњIвЂ™m half the man I used to beвЂќ) sound uncannily like Kurt Cobain. Tweaked to commanding post-metal power by producer Brendan OвЂ™Brien (Black Crowes, Pearl Jam, Red Hot Chili Peppers), Core resonates with the sonic effects of Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden in plain view. Stone Temple Pilots arose from obscurity in San Diego, where the group was formed as Mighty Joe Young, to worldwide attention so quickly and with a sound so close to what was happening on radio via Seattle that the backlash set in before the quartetвЂ™s debut album, Core, finished reeling off its succession of hits.

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