The Stone Temple Pilots - Purple (Super Deluxe Edition) is a 25th-anniversary reissue released in October 2019 to celebrate the band's massive 1994 sophomore album. This expanded set includes a newly remastered version of the original multi-platinum record alongside nearly 30 bonus tracks. Core Contents & Configuration
The Super Deluxe package is typically a 3-CD and 1-LP set, often housed in a foil-finished hardcover book.
Disc 1 / 180g Vinyl: The full 11-track original album, featuring hits like "Interstate Love Song," "Vasoline," and "Big Empty," all freshly remastered.
Disc 2 (Early Versions & Demos): A collection of unreleased studio material, including early incarnations of "Meat Plow" and "Interstate Love Song," plus a rare demo of the Beach Boys' "She Knows Me Too Well".
Disc 3 (Live at New Haven 1994): A full, previously unreleased 17-song concert from August 23, 1994, capturing the band at the height of their success. Bonus Highlights
The Super Deluxe edition is available now via Rhino Records. It is streaming in Dolby Atmos on Apple Music, though true fidelity requires the Blu-Ray audio disc included in the physical box.
Final Score: 9.5/10
Purple remains the moment Stone Temple Pilots stopped chasing Pearl Jam and started chasing ghosts. This Super Deluxe remaster doesn't just honor the past; it drags a masterpiece kicking and screaming into the high-definition future. Do not miss it.
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Report: Stone Temple Pilots - Purple (Super Deluxe Edition) Review
Introduction
Stone Temple Pilots' debut album, "Purple", released in 1994, is a landmark record in the history of alternative rock. The Super Deluxe Edition, released in 2020, offers a comprehensive reissue of the album, featuring remastered audio, bonus tracks, and extensive liner notes. This report provides an in-depth analysis of the reissue, exploring its significance, musical themes, and sonic enhancements.
Background
Stone Temple Pilots (STP) emerged in the early 1990s as one of the prominent bands in the alternative rock movement. Their debut album, "Core", achieved significant commercial success, but it was "Purple" that showcased the band's maturity and depth. Recorded at East West Studios in Hollywood, California, "Purple" was produced by Brendan O'Brien and STP, and its release coincided with the grunge and alternative rock explosion.
Music and Themes
"Purple" is characterized by its blend of catchy hooks, guitar-driven melodies, and distinctive vocal performances from Scott Weiland. The album's lyrics explore themes of love, relationships, rebellion, and social commentary. Standout tracks like "Vasoline", "Big Empty", and "Interstate Love Song" demonstrate the band's ability to craft memorable songs with substance.
The album's musical style is marked by:
Super Deluxe Edition
The Super Deluxe Edition of "Purple" offers a comprehensive reissue of the album, featuring:
Sonic Enhancements
The remastered audio presents a significant upgrade over the original release. The sound is now more detailed, with a clearer definition of instruments and vocals. The bass lines are more pronounced, and the guitar textures are more nuanced. The overall effect is a more immersive listening experience.
Impact and Legacy
"Purple" has had a lasting impact on the alternative rock genre, influencing a range of bands and artists. The album's success helped establish STP as one of the leading bands of the 1990s, and its themes and musical styles continue to resonate with listeners today.
Conclusion
The Super Deluxe Edition of "Purple" is a must-have for fans of Stone Temple Pilots and alternative rock. The remastered audio, bonus tracks, and extensive liner notes provide a comprehensive and engaging listening experience. This reissue serves as a testament to the band's creative vision and enduring legacy.
Rating: 5/5
Recommendation
If you're a fan of alternative rock, 1990s music, or Stone Temple Pilots, the Super Deluxe Edition of "Purple" is an essential addition to your music collection. Even 25 years after its initial release, "Purple" remains a timeless classic that continues to captivate listeners with its memorable songs, musical innovation, and emotional depth.
Title: The Purple Haze: How Stone Temple Pilots Conquered the Sophomore Slump Stone Temple Pilots - Purple -Super Deluxe- Rem...
The Setup: The Weight of Expectation
In the spring of 1992, Stone Temple Pilots were arguably the most reviled band in rock and roll. Their debut album, Core, had sold millions, but critics dismissed them as little more than Pearl Jam copycats—corporate rock opportunists riding the flannel-clad coattails of the Seattle grunge explosion. Frontman Scott Weiland was mocked for his baritone growl; guitarist Dean DeLeo was accused of mimicking Jimmy Page and Kim Thayil.
But as the band entered the studio in early 1994 to record their follow-up, they had a secret weapon: they didn't care what the critics thought. They weren't trying to make a grunge record. They were trying to make a classic rock record.
The Shift: From "Core" to "Purple"
Where Core was heavy, dark, and sludgy, the band envisioned something brighter, weirder, and more melodic. They enlisted producer Brendan O’Brien, who pushed them to strip away the doom-and-gloom aesthetic. They wanted to sound like The Beatles meets Led Zeppelin, filtered through a modern alternative lens.
The sessions were prolific and frantic. Weiland, already battling the demons that would eventually consume him, was in a state of chaotic creative flux. The band—brothers Dean and Robert DeLeo on guitar and bass, and the unstoppably precise Eric Kretz on drums—were firing on all cylinders.
The result was Purple. Released in June 1994, it debuted at number one on the Billboard charts, knocking the Lion King soundtrack off the top spot. It was a commercial behemoth, but artistically, it was a grenade thrown at the music press.
The Sound: A Technicolor Dream
Opening with the feedback swell of "Meatplow," Purple immediately signaled a shift. But then came "Vasoline"—a jagged, staccato riff masterpiece that proved the band could be technical and gritty simultaneously.
Then, the hits. "Interstate Love Song" became the band’s defining anthem. With its sweeping, country-tinged slide guitar and weary lyrics about burnout and betrayal, it captured the exhaustion of a band that had toured the world and lost themselves in the process. It sounded like a classic rock standard the moment it hit the airwaves.
Elsewhere, the band stretched out. "Big Empty" (featured in the film The Crow) oozed cinematic cool. "Still Remains" offered a lush, romantic melody that flew in the face of the "angry young men" trope of the era. And buried at the end was "Kitchenware & Candybars," a gorgeous ballad that devolved into a hidden track of lounge-singer parody, showing a sense of humor that their peers lacked.
Critics who had derided them as hacks suddenly had to reckon with a band that could write better hooks than almost anyone in the genre. Purple wasn't just a grunge album; it was a psych-rock, hard rock, and pop hybrid.
The Legacy: The Super Deluxe Edition
Decades later, Purple stands as the band’s masterpiece. It represents the moment the "sophomore slump" was not just avoided, but obliterated. It is the sound of a band stepping out of the shadows and claiming their own identity. The Stone Temple Pilots - Purple (Super Deluxe
To honor this era, the Super Deluxe Remastered Edition offers a treasure trove for audiophiles and historians. It strips back the layers of time to reveal the raw power of the original recordings.
The remastering process brings a new clarity to O'Brien's production. The low end on "Meatplow" hits harder; the acoustic guitars on "Interstate Love Song" shimmer with newfound resonance. But the true value lies in the unreleased material.
Listeners are treated to early demo versions, revealing the skeletons of these anthems before the studio gloss was applied. We hear the band in their rawest form—practicing, experimenting, capturing the lightning in a bottle that was their creative peak. Live tracks from the era capture the combustible energy of Weiland at the height of his power, a magnetic frontman commanding a stadium crowd before the drugs took the wheel.
The Conclusion
Purple was the album that proved Stone Temple Pilots were more than just a product of their time. They were students of rock history who wrote a textbook of their own. The Super Deluxe Edition doesn't just remind us of the hits; it reminds us of the danger, the talent, and the tragedy of a band that burned incredibly bright. It is the definitive document of 1994, the year STP stopped asking for permission and started demanding respect.
The Stone Temple Pilots - Purple (Super Deluxe Edition) is a 25th-anniversary celebration of the band's 1994 sophomore masterpiece. This comprehensive set, released by Rhino Records in late 2019, expands the original triple-platinum album with a wealth of rare and previously unreleased material. What's in the Box?
The Super Deluxe package is a 4-disc set (3 CDs and 1 LP) housed in a foil-finished, hardback book-style case.
Disc 1 (CD/LP): A 2019 remaster of the original 11-track album, including hits like "Interstate Love Song," "Vasoline," and "Big Empty".
Disc 2: A collection of unreleased demos and early versions, featuring: Early takes of "Meat Plow" and "Interstate Love Song". Acoustic versions of "Big Empty" and "Pretty Penny".
A previously unreleased demo of The Beach Boys' "She Knows Me Too Well".
Live acoustic tracks from the 1994 KROQ Acoustic Christmas show, including a cover of "Christmastime Is Here".
Disc 3: A full, previously unreleased concert recording from August 23, 1994, in New Haven, Connecticut. This 17-song set captures the band at their peak, mixing Purple tracks with Core staples like "Plush" and "Sex Type Thing". Interstate Love Song
The set also includes a 108-page hardcover book with unreleased photos from the Purple photoshoot (featuring the band in their signature “inside the album art” red backdrop), liner notes by Rolling Stone’s David Fricke, and a new interview with the surviving members—Robert and Dean DeLeo—reflecting on the sessions.
For those uninterested in the full box, Rhino will also issue a standalone 2-LP Purple (Remastered) on 180-gram purple-and-red swirl vinyl, as well as a single CD of just the original album remastered. SEO Keywords Integrated: Stone Temple Pilots - Purple
What does Stone Temple Pilots - Purple - Super Deluxe - Remastered mean in the context of modern rock? In an era of Tik-Tok sped-up songs and AI-generated playlists, this album stands as a monument to human imperfection. Weiland’s slurred vowels, the Dean DeLeo’s bent strings slightly out of tune, the rhythm section locking in like a jazz combo—none of this can be replicated.
The Super Deluxe edition reminds us that Purple was never a grunge album. It was a classic rock album disguised in flannel. The remaster brings out the 70s influences (Aerosmith, David Bowie, The Doors) that were always hiding beneath the fuzz.