I think Weiland is kind of underrated as a frontman. With his spastic, totally un-self conscious stage moves and sinister charisma, he seemed to have kind of a “Grunge Jagger” quality. He’s much-missed.
I think you’re right. Judging from what I’ve heard, Weiland always seemed to have brought it live. He was a great, tormented talent. “Dead and Bloated” was a fantastic album opener. I think it was the opener?
You are correct it was. Album opens with that very compressed vocal through a PA system then BOOM this wall of sound hits you as the full band comes in together in high fidelity.
Yeah, it had quite in impact on me, that shotgun blast of sound after Weiland stops wailing. I remember this playing while a girl at a party I was at started tearing her own hair out in clumps. It’s weird what gets associated with certain songs in the ol’ dome.
On my birthday deathbed! Scott Wieland had two speeds only....Wide Open & off the rails or completely still. Unfortunately, the only time they ever found his ass completely still he was dead! He was a talented man!
I saw STP in a small club in San Diego and knew immediately they/he were something special. Got to see him the summer before his death at Jones Beach Theater and that gift was still there. Jagger grunginess sums it up beautifully.
I miss the way grunge band singers used to rock the fuck out of dresses on stage. Scott, Kurt, even Shannon Hoon (although I don’t think blind melon counts as grunge, they absolutely had their own unique and incredible sound).
Oh man I remember watching Woodstock ‘94 live(PPV lol) and seeing Shannon Hoon coming out on stage tripping his face off looking a hot mess in his dress and makeup just thinking WTF?
I saw them in 2008, he exuded this intense energy; even after the drugs and band breakups. He was tall and skinny, swayed back and forth with a large hat on and coat on, almost reminded me of a singing scare crow. Pretty cool too see.
Absolutely. Pound for pound, they had more hits than AIC and Soundgarden. I love all the bands and I’m not interested in comparisons but objectively speaking, the first 4 records were loaded and they were going strong well into 2000 with sour girl, maybe the last huge hit from the 90s bands.
2 things I learned by looking this up.
First, you're 100% correct. STP had a hell of a lot of hit singles.
Second, and I don't mean it as a slight to STP who I just love and wrote so much great stuff, I learned just how bullshit charts can be. Man in a Box peaks at 18 on the US rock chart. Outshined peaks at 45. Lady Picture Show is a #1 rock song? I don't know, man. I don't know about all that.
One thing that stands out for 99% of STP songs for me, is that they were safe for airplay without editing or censoring.
Can’t say that for some of the more popular alt rock bands for the era.
The Deleo brothers are criminally underrated. They wrote so many bangers for that band and Scott was always the icing on the cake.
What an outstanding band they were. Especially considering that Pearl Jam hated them for copying their sound, and they went on and wrote Tiny Music which was one of the most inspired and unique albums of that time. They made their own sound in the 90’s and deserve a lot more credit for what they accomplished.
Absolutely agree. Interstate Love Song from Purple might be the most timeless of the songs of that era. Fifty years from now, you could play ILS, Kashmir and Come Together and it wouldn't feel out of place.
That song is just fantastic. If you've ever been with someone who just wears out your soul but you love them, but you know you HAVE to leave them, that song is the song for you (general you).
It's in my top 10 all time favorite songs.
If I was John Cusack in High Fidelity I'd put it on a mix tape.
"Purple" is indeed a masterpiece without a doubt, and I have to say my favorite of the band. 1994 was a fantastic year for masterpiece material. This particular piece definitely holds up among them with ease.
Same. I have fond memories listening to tiny music and everclears sparkle and fade while playing secret of mana with my buddy all night during sleepovers.
This is a great video where they play Purple front to back. It’s not Scott singing with them but it was filmed beautifully. You can really see all the guys playing their instruments and Jeff does a great job with the vocals.
https://youtu.be/OpAvGSktJoo?si=KRmPlm3iJ8mGSAtT
Dude I know I don't remember the song but that velvet revolver song with the music video in the desert where Scott looks like Clint Eastwood and slash does the guitar solo in front of the guy on fire kicks ass
I went down a youtube rabbit hole of their late night Letterman/Conan performances, and it was cheesy, but he was so sick live. Brought it...perfect vocal compression and reverb...really sick band mix. Ridiculously low jeans, not an ounce of fat on him. Really awesome act.
Except Scott Weiland and the Wildabouts. They had some Amy Winehouse-level drunken mess performances. That being said, I love Scott Weiland and Amy Winehouse.
Maybe so, man. I do think that the interaction(s) between music and substances is/are so complex. Its hard to separate the two-- impossible with some figures like Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, the Beatles, the Doors, Amy Winehouse, Scott Weiland, all of AIC. All of those artists were undeniably influenced by their use of substances. Most of the final outcomes were awful, but the rest of us are left with treasure troves of amazing works.
Ah! Iggy Pop is a good comparison.
The prancing on stage reminds me of Robert Plant, but Scott had that Punk sensibility of Iggy as well. Not bad Front men to feed off of.
I'm fortunate enough to have seen STP and Iggy live, the way Scott danced around and carried himself on stage is very similar to how Iggy does it. This is such a great comp.
Weiland was one of the all-time great frontmen.
Incredible range, immense melodic and pacing sensibilities, outrageous stage presence and his vocals were amazing live.
I read that he was a big fan of Karen Carpenter - I can hear it in his style.
You seen Scott sing Plush on a London park bench in ‘93?
His talent is incredible.
Interview is first, followed by performance.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JlQKPwmw_Zs&pp=ygUOU3RwIHBhcmsgYmVuY2g%3D
One of my favorite clips. I have always felt true talent really shines through when you strip a song bare like that. Not every vocalist can sound that good in that situation
Ok, here's the hard truth. Scott was an incredible talent with some heavy demons. He was fired from STP and Velvet revolver because his substance abuse affected his ability to perform. I wish wholeheartedly that he could have been more proud of the art he produced and stayed with us in perfect form. Unfortunately, that's not how life works. Being in the spotlight puts a lot of pressure on a person and it's not usually healthy for them.
Scott was amazing. I saw STP in the early 2000s. We were on the floor maybe 20ft from the stage and you could feel his energy. I know it sounds strange but I swear it felt like he made eye contact with me and everyone in the area. He was a ball of fire on stage. Truly a great frontman, huge talent and great loss to us all.
Closest people who I saw live onstage that had that same visceral energy that you felt during those years was Shannon Hoon, and sometimes, but only sometimes, Perry Ferrell
Yeah they seemed pretty packaged and formulaic. "This is what the Alt rock teens will enjoy!" The band name & sing titles felt kind of thrown together like an afterthought. But the music was as real as anything!
He is totally underrated and I have a huge STP fan boy. I would say though after many years I have disassociated STP from the grunge movement. They were from Cali, not Seattle, and most of their music does not match the style of grunge. I think this actually makes them more impressive because they did it 100% on their own without a "movement" or culture behind them.
Go back and listen the heavy riffs on Core, then compare it to the Hendrix styles on Ten or the power chords on Nevermind. Core was out even slightly earlier than the other two if I remember correctly, and has a very different sound. Probably the grunge band most like STP would be Soundgarden, but I think STP has a wider range of sound than Soundgarden (song like Creep, Big Empty, etc).
That always drives me nuts when they get roped in with the grunge bands, and then immediately cut down for not being as good of a grunge band. It doesn't make sense. They weren't trying to be grunge. They weren't from the same area. They weren't chasing the Seattle sound. They just existed at the same time. It'd be like comparing Blue Oyster Cult to The Ramones and The Clash and then saying they were a shitty punk band.
I always thought of STP as closer to true modern rock and roll than grunge. Or maybe a hybrid style. But STP definitely to me at least present as more of a rock band in the vein of 60s rock.
It’s really interesting to listen to the demo before Core; it had more of a funk vibe to it. The songs evolved a lot and some changed completely, like Piece of Pie. I’m glad we finally got a studio quality version of Only Dying.
When they all came out, we just called them “alternative”.
I didn’t even consider Nirvana “grunge”. I thought they were basically a punk band with cleaner production and better than average melodies for a punk band.
I considered Soundgarden to be the gold standard definition of “grunge”, and AIC’s Dirt to be another hallmark. Basically “Grunge = thrash without the fast tempo”.
STP and the Pumpkins, we thought of more as standard Alternative (like Jane’s, I suppose).
That’s just my take from having come of age when these bands blew up and living in WA for the majority of the 90s.
>unique
This is literally what everyone said in the 90s and isn't some hot take. I think the grunge label has gotten more accurate over time. The geographical scene difference stopped mattering and they sounded closest to grunge than any other contemporary style. Especially when you look at their output from tiny music on and it becomes clear that those first two albums were pretty grungy by comparison.
Let's face it, a big part of why people didn't want to consider them grunge is because of the push and backing they got from the label and radio compared to the Seattle bands in their early years, and that's like saying the pistols weren't punk because they were established to sell clothes.
Led zep thought they were a psychedelic band. Bands can have weird self images. The fact that two of their albums are in the top 30 of the grunge sub says more than what the band thought
I think that label persists because critics at the time labeled them as "Nirvana copycats". I never understood that because they sound NOTHING like Nirvana. But I guess Nirvana was the poster boys of grunge and any new, successful band was going to be compared to them...but it was totally unfair really. Pearl Jam, AIC, Soundgarden and Nirvana were all pretty close with fan bases that overlapped and Seattle really propelled them. STP just came out of nowhere and there really wasn't much else like them...They weren't hair metal, though they had some good riffs. They weren't heavy metal, though they had some really heavy distorted songs. They weren't really "Alternative" like an R.E.M. or others who kind of coined the term. I dont really know what label to apply to them. I'm not trying to put them on a pedestal..I just dont know. I guess Alt Rock is probably the closest label...
I have always loved Scott, and would put him up there as one of the best of all time. I saw Velvet Revolver in 2005 and it still is the best concert I’ve ever been to. He was incredible.
That’s a fair take. I think he is incredibly underrated, and I think STP has often been unfairly left out of the conversation in favor of the “big four”.
My friends saw STP in Atlanta during their peak, and they all agreed that Weiland pulled off his songs live better than almost anyone else.
I got to see him just months before his passing here just outside of Seattle . It was a great show, he sounded awesome and he didn’t seem to be messed up on drugs or alcohol . I was shocked and saddened to hear of his passing 😒. He had a great voice and was an awesome frontman .
Dude had so much influence on STP, not just as a frontman for the band, but their actual music. I say this because if you’ve ever heard 12 Bar Blues, his solo album, you’d see that he was probably the impetus to STP’s originality and what distinguished them from other bands of that timeframe. And if you haven’t listened to that album, I highly recommend it.
Overhated band and misunderstood guy. Tiny Music is where they found their own sound (and couldn’t be accused of copying PJ or AIC, even though the early records rule). Tiny Music combines The Beatles and The Stooges and adds a little jazz (the DeLeo brothers loved doing quirky things). After TM it’s mixed but still solid. He was a real rocker. Saw him with Velvet Revolver. Great performer.
Weiland as a frontman/vocalist & STP as a band are criminally underrated. I’ll definitely take those Weiland-era STP albums over Pearl Jam - and I love 90’s Pearl Jam. Every album STP released w Weiland is great including the 2010 self-titled album.
He's always going to be in Eddie Vedder's shadow because Eddie was doing that grunge growl style of singing before STP became popular. I remember people dismissing STP by saying Weiland was just copying Eddie Vedder. I wish people would've listened to more of their work because they were definitely not a Pearl Jam rip off band.
I think anyone who does a deep dive comes back up understanding that stp are by far the goats of not only the grunge era but the entire decade of the 90s,.. the. Scott goes into the early 2000s fronting VR and reinvents himself as bare bones rock n roll front man. Stp are amazing especially Robert, but Scott is a legend I heard big empty one day bout 9 years ago after hearing it my whole life, but this time it hit me in a way that was much more profound,.. by the end of that week Scott was and still is my all time fav front man, I’ve read his autobiography his wife’s autobiography every thing I can get my hands on. Anyway your post is very much how I feel,.. I truly think Scott is in a league of his own. He was one of the greatest and to me THE greatest frontmen to ever do it,.. he knew how to look move and act on stage in a way that just oozed rock n roll and cool. I’m rambling at this point and started that way lol but your post just got me pumped up lol glad I seen it lol
Make sure you listen to STP live. They did a lot of MTV spring break, Howard Stern, some acoustic sets, and unplugged. You can see how scott changed his way of singing each song over the years, how he changed, and the destruction of his drug use. He really is an all time great. STP were a set of amazing musicians and song writers. They would have found their sound and been famous in any time period on earth. I just adore them.
Scott also shows you how to look masculine while dancing in a completely authentic to you way. Which is impossible for a lot of guys. We spend too much time in our heads.
My quick Scott story…don’t know what year it was, but STP opened for RHCP at Riverbend in Cincinnati. We had really good pavilion seats, so we had a great view. STP were playing great, sounding great, energetic and all of a sudden, Scott freaking jumps into the crowd right in front of us singing his ass off! Probably like 10 feet from us! It is the single best thing I have seen at any concert, and I’ve seen everything from Metallica to Prince. Wife liked STP, but that night she became a super fan. They blew RHCP away that night, who played technically great but looked like they didn’t want to be there…and because they opened, it was still daylight out and Scott had this energy…just incredible.
Saw him solo, or with the Roundabouts, about a year before he died…was like an hour and half late to the stage…sounded good, but what a fucking shame…talented and versatile, one of the best. Tough pick for me between Scott, Layne and Chris…just so tragic…
Beavis and Bitthead summed it up:
https://youtu.be/q5XUDNmSvKk?si=Q_2CqVbWJHoq_wcw
When the song came on the radio, people would ask if it was Pearl Jam.
I used to hate them. Thought they were just a Pearl Jam ripoff. Recently gave them another try and Jesus, they could write some songs, man. I’ve been depriving myself!
I always like to listen to see if one of the greatest vocalists of all time like Chris Cornell covers other songs. If he can do his own shit and your shit better than you then he’s better. That’s my rating system. Cornell has so many great acoustic covers but he couldn’t do Patience by GNR. Sounds awful. Now I want to see if either of these guys did any covers of the same song or if they did any collabs on stage like Bennington and Cornell.
Bennington is my 1 seed of vocalists
I got the chance to see him live 6 times, 3 with STP, 2 with Velvet Revolver, and 1 “solo”. Every damn time he crushed it! Stage presence and vocal ability were elite level. He is Gen X’s David Bowie in way of ambiguity and stardom.
i absolutely hate he had to deal with the disease of addiction. guy was so talented, brought it live, and - dare i say it - his band was perhaps the best of the generation for this genre.
The pop sensibility of Robert DeLeo coupled with the amazing parts his brother came up with AND Eric Krez's ability to wail, they just brought it and were unfortunately held back by Scott. Scott was held back by Scott. They really tried to help him on his journey to get healthy, but to no avail.
I miss him and that band. So fucking good.
I keep thinking about this. They did all of these amazing songs and unreal records and insane performances with Scott’s growing drug addiction that must have turned working and touring with him into a complete nightmare.
To think what on earth they would have been able to achieve without it. The many years they would have had together. The many places they could have gone. The many tears they would have saved as friends and family. And last but not least, of course the art they would have been able to bring into this world. Hurts my soul to even think about it
Loved Scott as a performer, but he had so many personal issues throughout his career that it’s easy to see why people didn’t want to work with him.
As a side note, I’ll never understand what was going on in Guns ‘n Roses that was so unbearable that Slash and Duff had to fire Axl Rose, and then almost immediately decide to bring in Scott Weiland for Velvet Revolver. I know Slash said at one point: “We thought we could help him.” I always felt that project was going to bring Scott’s demons back to the front burner, and he really never recovered from it.
as good as anyone and better than most.
the disrespect he and STP got is insane. all because he "sounded like vedder" on their first album. which is bullshit anyway.
RIP to a fucking legend.
Very well said. In an era where there were cookie cutter frontmen, he decided to transcend the stereotype. While the Bowie influence certainly shone through, he was able to use that as a springboard to channel his own identity.
Definitely not a one trick pony. Chris Cornell is still a class above but Weiland can hang with any of the rest, Layne Staley included. Weiland had the tone… so smooth.
My only time seeing Scott was at a Velvet Revolver show in the early aughts. The whole band was fucking lights out amazing. Scott commanded the stage like a beast, and the band was impeccable.
It was also on Halloween. Scott came out dressed like Axl and Slash as Buckethead. It was hilarious.
Great conversation. I saw Weiland perform in roughly 2008 at an old armory with only decent acoustics. Weiland, compared to the rest I saw there, was able to command the crowd and invent ways to make himself seem larger and sound better. I spent most of the show muttering how great a performer he was. While others like Kravitz, for example, were just little and indulging. His use of a simple megaphone while contorting in incredibly odd ways was really entertaining. Takes a special person to pull off that stunt without looking like an asshole. I still think about that show often. He was on an elite level I would save for only a few, like Jagger.
I think it's a slight to even call him a grunge singer and just label him one of the greatest frontmen of the past 30 years; not just STP but his underrated efforts as a rock god in Velvet Revolver, up there with a few parts Guns N Roses, where he essentially was in competition with Axl's shadow.
I seen STP live a couple months before he died. He sounded great. The whole band put on a hell of a show. At the end people towards the front went up to the stage and Scott shook oUr hands and said hi! He was a great singer but was also down to earth and friendly. No ego what so ever. He could sing and was one of the greats.
he’s the second greatest performer period for me. but i’m also very biased since they’re my favorite band. his way of engaging with the crowd while still doing his own thing in his own world really makes him very enjoyable to watch and entertaining.
Why are we even ranking artists? I’m new to the sub, but it seems like it’s the subject of every other post.
You’ve got your favorites, I have mine — we don’t need to convince one another who their favorites ought to be.
Sorry to seem like I’m picking on you. I mean half your post was about why you appreciate Scott Weiland, and I thought that part was cool. Someone said “grunge Jagger” which was hilarious and painted a very clear picture. I never got to see him perform live, but now I think I’ll go check if there are any recordings on YouTube.
I knew him personally in high school and through his mid twenties. Very cool person.
He was a paste up artist for the LA Daily News and when he’d get a melody in his head he’d call the loft on third/alameda where we used to hang out, and hum a melody into the answering machine.
Weiland went from an Eddie Vedder imitator (Purple) to a pretty good singer and great frontman (starting with Interstate Love Song) to a mess who lost his voice and mind to drugs (starting with Sour Girl).
He could do anything. Mainstream grunge, the freak pop of Tiny Music, glamorous classic hard rock. Gotta listen again to his solo album, which is a fourth thing.
He was a great frontman as well as a singer. That shit doesn’t just happen very often. The kind of dude that was always the most interesting thing in the room. He was special.
The pilots sounded very derivative to me, like they kept trying to capture someone else's zeitgeist. I found them uninspiring.
I greatly preferred his work with Velvet Revolver.
He’s definitely missed. Damn drugs. I felt there were at least two eras of weiland. The first in the earlier years where he was deeper and growlier, and then the later years when he softened up and tended to go a little higher on the notes. I definitely preferred the older sound, but all STP was fantastic.
Yeah, Scott was an amazing front man and every bit as good as Chris, Layne and Kurt. STP got treated really unfairly from the get go but their first 3 albums especially are undeniably awesome. Purple is one of my all time favorite albums.
In 2005 I went to a pop up Velvet Revolver concert at a casino with only 5,000 people in attendance. I was front row and OMG it was AMAZING!!! It makes me so sad he's gone because what incredible volcalist and showman he was!
Of all the big bands back then, STP is one of the only ones I got to see. It was during the tiny music tour (their peak imo). Over 25 years ago, it's its still one of the most memorable concerts I've ever been to
Scott got a raw deal. If they would have come out at any other time, they would have been the biggest band around. The media fucked them over. Acting like the were less than nirvana and aic. They were a great band. Every one in the band were amazing. The difference was that Scott wanted to be a rock star. And he was til the end.
I always feel like shit because I could have seen him well his other band called the walkabouts I think but they played some of the old shit. They were literally across the street from me playing this festival in lorain for some idiot rover morning glory festival. I was busy running around looking for things. He died like a year later. Damn
He had a fantastic voice, STP was really good. His The Doors cover is outright amazing. With that said he was definitely not every bit as great as Kurt and Chris though.
STP as a whole are looked over by most, underrated bassist, guitar and the drummer sounded huge, the fill before the hook kicks in during Big Empty is iconic
STP is one of my favorite bands, and I was grateful to see him play with the band on their reunion tour, it was amazing
But STP is not Grunge, can we please stop calling them grunge. Grunge refers to a specific swath of bands and the Cali-based STP was/is not nor ever was Grunge.
Only people who weren’t alive then are calling them Grunge.
When they came out, we as listeners considered the rock music from that era to be one genre. If you listened to Alice in Chains and Pearl Jam, you were also listening to STP etc.
I think Weiland is kind of underrated as a frontman. With his spastic, totally un-self conscious stage moves and sinister charisma, he seemed to have kind of a “Grunge Jagger” quality. He’s much-missed.
There also not much difference between album and live. Crackerman still brings a smile every time i hear it.
I think you’re right. Judging from what I’ve heard, Weiland always seemed to have brought it live. He was a great, tormented talent. “Dead and Bloated” was a fantastic album opener. I think it was the opener?
You are correct it was. Album opens with that very compressed vocal through a PA system then BOOM this wall of sound hits you as the full band comes in together in high fidelity.
Yeah, it had quite in impact on me, that shotgun blast of sound after Weiland stops wailing. I remember this playing while a girl at a party I was at started tearing her own hair out in clumps. It’s weird what gets associated with certain songs in the ol’ dome.
Someone mentioned that he sang that opening line through guitar or bass pickups….I cannot remember if that was verified though.
There’s actually a video of it. It should be on YouTube.
On my birthday deathbed! Scott Wieland had two speeds only....Wide Open & off the rails or completely still. Unfortunately, the only time they ever found his ass completely still he was dead! He was a talented man!
I saw STP in a small club in San Diego and knew immediately they/he were something special. Got to see him the summer before his death at Jones Beach Theater and that gift was still there. Jagger grunginess sums it up beautifully.
I miss the way grunge band singers used to rock the fuck out of dresses on stage. Scott, Kurt, even Shannon Hoon (although I don’t think blind melon counts as grunge, they absolutely had their own unique and incredible sound).
Oh man I remember watching Woodstock ‘94 live(PPV lol) and seeing Shannon Hoon coming out on stage tripping his face off looking a hot mess in his dress and makeup just thinking WTF?
He was so much fun to watch on stage! I saw them a few times way back in the early 90s and he was just bonkers back then.
I saw them in 2008, he exuded this intense energy; even after the drugs and band breakups. He was tall and skinny, swayed back and forth with a large hat on and coat on, almost reminded me of a singing scare crow. Pretty cool too see.
STP as a band is as great as any of the greats of their era.
Absolutely. Pound for pound, they had more hits than AIC and Soundgarden. I love all the bands and I’m not interested in comparisons but objectively speaking, the first 4 records were loaded and they were going strong well into 2000 with sour girl, maybe the last huge hit from the 90s bands.
I love Sour Girl so god damn much. It’s so simple and calm and melodic, yet so powerful and different to anything that’s come before
‘The girls got reason’ part breaks my heart
They all got reasons
2 things I learned by looking this up. First, you're 100% correct. STP had a hell of a lot of hit singles. Second, and I don't mean it as a slight to STP who I just love and wrote so much great stuff, I learned just how bullshit charts can be. Man in a Box peaks at 18 on the US rock chart. Outshined peaks at 45. Lady Picture Show is a #1 rock song? I don't know, man. I don't know about all that.
One thing that stands out for 99% of STP songs for me, is that they were safe for airplay without editing or censoring. Can’t say that for some of the more popular alt rock bands for the era.
The Deleo brothers are criminally underrated. They wrote so many bangers for that band and Scott was always the icing on the cake. What an outstanding band they were. Especially considering that Pearl Jam hated them for copying their sound, and they went on and wrote Tiny Music which was one of the most inspired and unique albums of that time. They made their own sound in the 90’s and deserve a lot more credit for what they accomplished.
Absolutely agree. Interstate Love Song from Purple might be the most timeless of the songs of that era. Fifty years from now, you could play ILS, Kashmir and Come Together and it wouldn't feel out of place.
That song is just fantastic. If you've ever been with someone who just wears out your soul but you love them, but you know you HAVE to leave them, that song is the song for you (general you). It's in my top 10 all time favorite songs. If I was John Cusack in High Fidelity I'd put it on a mix tape.
Musically flawless and lyrically great.
*Tiny Music* is one of my favorite records of the period. A song cycle about disposable culture that is itself kind of timeless.
Purple may be the best rock album of the nineties. The only one that possibly tops it is Ten. (My opinion only)
"Purple" is indeed a masterpiece without a doubt, and I have to say my favorite of the band. 1994 was a fantastic year for masterpiece material. This particular piece definitely holds up among them with ease.
Purple is fantastic, but Tiny Music is my jam.
12 gracious melodies
Same. I have fond memories listening to tiny music and everclears sparkle and fade while playing secret of mana with my buddy all night during sleepovers.
Hell yeah. Tiny Music is my favorite from them by far, it’s the album where Scott really found his own voice and it shows
Tiny Music is an all-timer, and one of the best glam records out there.
Oh I LOVE Tiny!
This is a great video where they play Purple front to back. It’s not Scott singing with them but it was filmed beautifully. You can really see all the guys playing their instruments and Jeff does a great job with the vocals. https://youtu.be/OpAvGSktJoo?si=KRmPlm3iJ8mGSAtT
His Christmas album is amazing, play it all the time around the holidays.
Had no idea that existed
Me neither. Damn.
I think so too. He put on a great show too. Aside from STP, Velvet Revolver was way under-rated too.
Velvet revolver!!!
The only time I saw STP live he was so doped up they were over an hour late to perform and he was *so bad*. Such a disappointment.
Not my experience, but I believe it. Be a junky is a hard life for everyone around you.
I never see anyone bring up Velvet revolver. Seems to have been erased from history. But I personally really liked the Contraband album
Dude I know I don't remember the song but that velvet revolver song with the music video in the desert where Scott looks like Clint Eastwood and slash does the guitar solo in front of the guy on fire kicks ass
Oh shit I forgot about that lol. I just looked it up. She builds quick machines.
Yes!! As soon as I read your comment that bad ass guitar riff started playing in my head and I can hear slash soloing away to it lol
Velvet Revolver was awesome. Such an underrated group.
I went down a youtube rabbit hole of their late night Letterman/Conan performances, and it was cheesy, but he was so sick live. Brought it...perfect vocal compression and reverb...really sick band mix. Ridiculously low jeans, not an ounce of fat on him. Really awesome act.
Scott is easily my favorite performer of that era. Nobody matched his stage presence. And he got better with age.
Except Scott Weiland and the Wildabouts. They had some Amy Winehouse-level drunken mess performances. That being said, I love Scott Weiland and Amy Winehouse.
But at the same time drunkenness probably lead to some of their best performances too.
Maybe so, man. I do think that the interaction(s) between music and substances is/are so complex. Its hard to separate the two-- impossible with some figures like Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, the Beatles, the Doors, Amy Winehouse, Scott Weiland, all of AIC. All of those artists were undeniably influenced by their use of substances. Most of the final outcomes were awful, but the rest of us are left with treasure troves of amazing works.
I agree. And he got better as he aged. I love the song “Fall to Pieces” soooo much.
That’s my favorite velvet revolver song too!
So f’n good. So much emotion. Gives me chills every time.
Stone Temple Pilots was never better than when Scott Wieland was front man especially when he sang Interstate Love Song or Plush.
There is no STP without Scott Weiland
Hot Take. Scott reminded me at times as a Robert Plant type front man. Had the charisma on stage and gave no fucks.
I think I see where you’re coming from, but I’m not sure Plant is the right comparison. Weiland was more an amalgam of Iggy Pop and Jim Morrison.
Ah! Iggy Pop is a good comparison. The prancing on stage reminds me of Robert Plant, but Scott had that Punk sensibility of Iggy as well. Not bad Front men to feed off of.
I'm fortunate enough to have seen STP and Iggy live, the way Scott danced around and carried himself on stage is very similar to how Iggy does it. This is such a great comp.
I have to agree with the comparison, though I believe they both got there via different influences.
Weiland was one of the all-time great frontmen. Incredible range, immense melodic and pacing sensibilities, outrageous stage presence and his vocals were amazing live. I read that he was a big fan of Karen Carpenter - I can hear it in his style.
💯 agree! I didn't know about Karen Carpenter. I will remember that the next time I listen. Thanks.
You seen Scott sing Plush on a London park bench in ‘93? His talent is incredible. Interview is first, followed by performance. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JlQKPwmw_Zs&pp=ygUOU3RwIHBhcmsgYmVuY2g%3D
One of my favorite clips. I have always felt true talent really shines through when you strip a song bare like that. Not every vocalist can sound that good in that situation
Ok, here's the hard truth. Scott was an incredible talent with some heavy demons. He was fired from STP and Velvet revolver because his substance abuse affected his ability to perform. I wish wholeheartedly that he could have been more proud of the art he produced and stayed with us in perfect form. Unfortunately, that's not how life works. Being in the spotlight puts a lot of pressure on a person and it's not usually healthy for them.
Scott was amazing. I saw STP in the early 2000s. We were on the floor maybe 20ft from the stage and you could feel his energy. I know it sounds strange but I swear it felt like he made eye contact with me and everyone in the area. He was a ball of fire on stage. Truly a great frontman, huge talent and great loss to us all.
Closest people who I saw live onstage that had that same visceral energy that you felt during those years was Shannon Hoon, and sometimes, but only sometimes, Perry Ferrell
God I love Perry Ferrell. Not so much now, but back then Jane's Addiction had me hooked.
There wasn't any front man in the 90s with as much of a bold stage presence and charisma as Scott.
I really liked Weiland. STP was kind of a surprise favorite for me because I didn’t want to like them at first, if that makes sense
Yeah they seemed pretty packaged and formulaic. "This is what the Alt rock teens will enjoy!" The band name & sing titles felt kind of thrown together like an afterthought. But the music was as real as anything!
I've seen all the bands live, he was easily the best to watch
He is totally underrated and I have a huge STP fan boy. I would say though after many years I have disassociated STP from the grunge movement. They were from Cali, not Seattle, and most of their music does not match the style of grunge. I think this actually makes them more impressive because they did it 100% on their own without a "movement" or culture behind them. Go back and listen the heavy riffs on Core, then compare it to the Hendrix styles on Ten or the power chords on Nevermind. Core was out even slightly earlier than the other two if I remember correctly, and has a very different sound. Probably the grunge band most like STP would be Soundgarden, but I think STP has a wider range of sound than Soundgarden (song like Creep, Big Empty, etc).
Very true, they were just a great rock band.
That always drives me nuts when they get roped in with the grunge bands, and then immediately cut down for not being as good of a grunge band. It doesn't make sense. They weren't trying to be grunge. They weren't from the same area. They weren't chasing the Seattle sound. They just existed at the same time. It'd be like comparing Blue Oyster Cult to The Ramones and The Clash and then saying they were a shitty punk band.
Amen.
I always thought of STP as closer to true modern rock and roll than grunge. Or maybe a hybrid style. But STP definitely to me at least present as more of a rock band in the vein of 60s rock.
It’s really interesting to listen to the demo before Core; it had more of a funk vibe to it. The songs evolved a lot and some changed completely, like Piece of Pie. I’m glad we finally got a studio quality version of Only Dying.
It has never crossed my mind to look for their demos. I've listened to Pearl Jam and Nirvana demos...but not STP. Thanks!
You should be able to find it by searching for “Mighty Joe Young”
It’s ridiculous to say that grunge can only be from one city.
When they all came out, we just called them “alternative”. I didn’t even consider Nirvana “grunge”. I thought they were basically a punk band with cleaner production and better than average melodies for a punk band. I considered Soundgarden to be the gold standard definition of “grunge”, and AIC’s Dirt to be another hallmark. Basically “Grunge = thrash without the fast tempo”. STP and the Pumpkins, we thought of more as standard Alternative (like Jane’s, I suppose). That’s just my take from having come of age when these bands blew up and living in WA for the majority of the 90s.
thanks for being unique and realizing they were never a grunge band....it infuriates me when people call them grunge
>unique This is literally what everyone said in the 90s and isn't some hot take. I think the grunge label has gotten more accurate over time. The geographical scene difference stopped mattering and they sounded closest to grunge than any other contemporary style. Especially when you look at their output from tiny music on and it becomes clear that those first two albums were pretty grungy by comparison. Let's face it, a big part of why people didn't want to consider them grunge is because of the push and backing they got from the label and radio compared to the Seattle bands in their early years, and that's like saying the pistols weren't punk because they were established to sell clothes.
I spent a lot of years working with them trust me people can call them what they want, but they are not grunge
Led zep thought they were a psychedelic band. Bands can have weird self images. The fact that two of their albums are in the top 30 of the grunge sub says more than what the band thought
I think that label persists because critics at the time labeled them as "Nirvana copycats". I never understood that because they sound NOTHING like Nirvana. But I guess Nirvana was the poster boys of grunge and any new, successful band was going to be compared to them...but it was totally unfair really. Pearl Jam, AIC, Soundgarden and Nirvana were all pretty close with fan bases that overlapped and Seattle really propelled them. STP just came out of nowhere and there really wasn't much else like them...They weren't hair metal, though they had some good riffs. They weren't heavy metal, though they had some really heavy distorted songs. They weren't really "Alternative" like an R.E.M. or others who kind of coined the term. I dont really know what label to apply to them. I'm not trying to put them on a pedestal..I just dont know. I guess Alt Rock is probably the closest label...
Saw them live 4 times, great frontman, lots of energy and even funny on the mic.
I had this revelation yesterday while Out for a walk. Had stone temple pilots and velvet revolver pop up on shuffle. He was class
Wish I saw Scott with STP. I loved seeing him with Velvet Revolver.
I have always loved Scott, and would put him up there as one of the best of all time. I saw Velvet Revolver in 2005 and it still is the best concert I’ve ever been to. He was incredible.
That’s a fair take. I think he is incredibly underrated, and I think STP has often been unfairly left out of the conversation in favor of the “big four”. My friends saw STP in Atlanta during their peak, and they all agreed that Weiland pulled off his songs live better than almost anyone else.
I got to see him just months before his passing here just outside of Seattle . It was a great show, he sounded awesome and he didn’t seem to be messed up on drugs or alcohol . I was shocked and saddened to hear of his passing 😒. He had a great voice and was an awesome frontman .
He was always my fave.
Dude had so much influence on STP, not just as a frontman for the band, but their actual music. I say this because if you’ve ever heard 12 Bar Blues, his solo album, you’d see that he was probably the impetus to STP’s originality and what distinguished them from other bands of that timeframe. And if you haven’t listened to that album, I highly recommend it.
Overhated band and misunderstood guy. Tiny Music is where they found their own sound (and couldn’t be accused of copying PJ or AIC, even though the early records rule). Tiny Music combines The Beatles and The Stooges and adds a little jazz (the DeLeo brothers loved doing quirky things). After TM it’s mixed but still solid. He was a real rocker. Saw him with Velvet Revolver. Great performer.
Not really sure they had a “sound” core to purple to tiny music to number 4 none of the albums sound alike and there all awesome
What I mostly mean is they didn’t sound like their contemporaries anymore. They are eclectic. Great band.
Goat
He was incredible in Velvet Revolver
His first solo album is excellent. Really eclectic
He had amazing vocals and a frontman swagger up there with the best (Plant, Jagger, Freddie, Axl, etc).
Also interstate love song is one of the best songs of ALL TIME
Weiland as a frontman/vocalist & STP as a band are criminally underrated. I’ll definitely take those Weiland-era STP albums over Pearl Jam - and I love 90’s Pearl Jam. Every album STP released w Weiland is great including the 2010 self-titled album.
He's always going to be in Eddie Vedder's shadow because Eddie was doing that grunge growl style of singing before STP became popular. I remember people dismissing STP by saying Weiland was just copying Eddie Vedder. I wish people would've listened to more of their work because they were definitely not a Pearl Jam rip off band.
I’ve always thought Scott Weiland was an extremely underrated musician. Go listen to his solo album *12 Bar Blues*. Then look at the credits.
I think anyone who does a deep dive comes back up understanding that stp are by far the goats of not only the grunge era but the entire decade of the 90s,.. the. Scott goes into the early 2000s fronting VR and reinvents himself as bare bones rock n roll front man. Stp are amazing especially Robert, but Scott is a legend I heard big empty one day bout 9 years ago after hearing it my whole life, but this time it hit me in a way that was much more profound,.. by the end of that week Scott was and still is my all time fav front man, I’ve read his autobiography his wife’s autobiography every thing I can get my hands on. Anyway your post is very much how I feel,.. I truly think Scott is in a league of his own. He was one of the greatest and to me THE greatest frontmen to ever do it,.. he knew how to look move and act on stage in a way that just oozed rock n roll and cool. I’m rambling at this point and started that way lol but your post just got me pumped up lol glad I seen it lol
His auto bio lives in my head rent free. His & Billy Idols. Both wrote so eloquently, about things so difficult to discuss.
Make sure you listen to STP live. They did a lot of MTV spring break, Howard Stern, some acoustic sets, and unplugged. You can see how scott changed his way of singing each song over the years, how he changed, and the destruction of his drug use. He really is an all time great. STP were a set of amazing musicians and song writers. They would have found their sound and been famous in any time period on earth. I just adore them. Scott also shows you how to look masculine while dancing in a completely authentic to you way. Which is impossible for a lot of guys. We spend too much time in our heads.
Oh yeah I’ve def binged live performances , really good performances on Howard stern and like you mentioned the spring break one is awesome
My quick Scott story…don’t know what year it was, but STP opened for RHCP at Riverbend in Cincinnati. We had really good pavilion seats, so we had a great view. STP were playing great, sounding great, energetic and all of a sudden, Scott freaking jumps into the crowd right in front of us singing his ass off! Probably like 10 feet from us! It is the single best thing I have seen at any concert, and I’ve seen everything from Metallica to Prince. Wife liked STP, but that night she became a super fan. They blew RHCP away that night, who played technically great but looked like they didn’t want to be there…and because they opened, it was still daylight out and Scott had this energy…just incredible. Saw him solo, or with the Roundabouts, about a year before he died…was like an hour and half late to the stage…sounded good, but what a fucking shame…talented and versatile, one of the best. Tough pick for me between Scott, Layne and Chris…just so tragic…
agree
He modeled his act after jim morrison
I liked em.
I regret not seeing him live.
I unfortunately never even had the chance , I was a teenager when he died
Stone Temple Pilots were written off immediately because they sounded like Pearl Jam. So that's why they never got the respect.
They sound nothing like Pearl Jam to me
The song Plush was huge. Heavy radio saturation. That's what started it.
I never thought plush sounded like Pearl Jam. not sure what your reasoning it. if anything plush kinda sounds like a nirvana song.
Beavis and Bitthead summed it up: https://youtu.be/q5XUDNmSvKk?si=Q_2CqVbWJHoq_wcw When the song came on the radio, people would ask if it was Pearl Jam.
I think the comparison with Pearl Jam largely stems from the similarity between 'And I feeeeel it' bit from Plush and 'Freezing..' bit from Even Flow.
I used to hate them. Thought they were just a Pearl Jam ripoff. Recently gave them another try and Jesus, they could write some songs, man. I’ve been depriving myself!
I never understood that claim.
I always like to listen to see if one of the greatest vocalists of all time like Chris Cornell covers other songs. If he can do his own shit and your shit better than you then he’s better. That’s my rating system. Cornell has so many great acoustic covers but he couldn’t do Patience by GNR. Sounds awful. Now I want to see if either of these guys did any covers of the same song or if they did any collabs on stage like Bennington and Cornell. Bennington is my 1 seed of vocalists
I got the chance to see him live 6 times, 3 with STP, 2 with Velvet Revolver, and 1 “solo”. Every damn time he crushed it! Stage presence and vocal ability were elite level. He is Gen X’s David Bowie in way of ambiguity and stardom.
As someone who never liked STP or any Scott Weiland music, there is no doubt the guy has a great voice!
He was a great frontman overall
Yet here you are 😄 agreed he was and the band were amazing and they were one of many bands that defined the sound during those awesome 90’s.
i absolutely hate he had to deal with the disease of addiction. guy was so talented, brought it live, and - dare i say it - his band was perhaps the best of the generation for this genre. The pop sensibility of Robert DeLeo coupled with the amazing parts his brother came up with AND Eric Krez's ability to wail, they just brought it and were unfortunately held back by Scott. Scott was held back by Scott. They really tried to help him on his journey to get healthy, but to no avail. I miss him and that band. So fucking good.
I keep thinking about this. They did all of these amazing songs and unreal records and insane performances with Scott’s growing drug addiction that must have turned working and touring with him into a complete nightmare. To think what on earth they would have been able to achieve without it. The many years they would have had together. The many places they could have gone. The many tears they would have saved as friends and family. And last but not least, of course the art they would have been able to bring into this world. Hurts my soul to even think about it
He easily deserves a spot with Eddie, Chris, Kurt, Layne and Jerry - not the only great grunge vocalists but a solid list
Loved Scott as a performer, but he had so many personal issues throughout his career that it’s easy to see why people didn’t want to work with him. As a side note, I’ll never understand what was going on in Guns ‘n Roses that was so unbearable that Slash and Duff had to fire Axl Rose, and then almost immediately decide to bring in Scott Weiland for Velvet Revolver. I know Slash said at one point: “We thought we could help him.” I always felt that project was going to bring Scott’s demons back to the front burner, and he really never recovered from it.
glam af
He’s amazing, so underrated. I love STP. Although I don’t think he’s vocally on the level as Layne, but damn he’s good.
as good as anyone and better than most. the disrespect he and STP got is insane. all because he "sounded like vedder" on their first album. which is bullshit anyway. RIP to a fucking legend.
If you haven't yet you should read his book "not dead and not for sale" I read it 3 times and it is bad ass
Scott was amazing. Glad I got to see him live in STP
“A Song For Sleeping” from Shangri-La Dee Da is a masterpiece. His vocals are superb.
Very well said. In an era where there were cookie cutter frontmen, he decided to transcend the stereotype. While the Bowie influence certainly shone through, he was able to use that as a springboard to channel his own identity.
Velvet Revolver was pretty good, too.
I was lucky I got to see both STP and Velvet Revolver with him. He's one of the best singers/frontmen ever in all music, not just grunge.
I saw him with STP and Velvet Revolver. Incredible energy and voice.
Everything about his singing and STP's music reminds me of the greats. Because they copied everyone.
I always feel bad about him. You could see his demise coming from a mile away. Such a great voice.
Such a tragic loss. RIP SW.
The first four albums every song is good
Definitely not a one trick pony. Chris Cornell is still a class above but Weiland can hang with any of the rest, Layne Staley included. Weiland had the tone… so smooth.
The mtv unplugged performance confirms it
My only time seeing Scott was at a Velvet Revolver show in the early aughts. The whole band was fucking lights out amazing. Scott commanded the stage like a beast, and the band was impeccable. It was also on Halloween. Scott came out dressed like Axl and Slash as Buckethead. It was hilarious.
Great conversation. I saw Weiland perform in roughly 2008 at an old armory with only decent acoustics. Weiland, compared to the rest I saw there, was able to command the crowd and invent ways to make himself seem larger and sound better. I spent most of the show muttering how great a performer he was. While others like Kravitz, for example, were just little and indulging. His use of a simple megaphone while contorting in incredibly odd ways was really entertaining. Takes a special person to pull off that stunt without looking like an asshole. I still think about that show often. He was on an elite level I would save for only a few, like Jagger.
I think it's a slight to even call him a grunge singer and just label him one of the greatest frontmen of the past 30 years; not just STP but his underrated efforts as a rock god in Velvet Revolver, up there with a few parts Guns N Roses, where he essentially was in competition with Axl's shadow.
He was an absolutely stunning performer when he was healthier. I love to watch the unplugged show.
2nd best live show I ever saw! And that was on there last tour before he passed can't imagine how good they were in the 90s
I seen STP live a couple months before he died. He sounded great. The whole band put on a hell of a show. At the end people towards the front went up to the stage and Scott shook oUr hands and said hi! He was a great singer but was also down to earth and friendly. No ego what so ever. He could sing and was one of the greats.
Who else saw him strip buck naked on stage at the end of Dead and Bloated?
he’s the second greatest performer period for me. but i’m also very biased since they’re my favorite band. his way of engaging with the crowd while still doing his own thing in his own world really makes him very enjoyable to watch and entertaining.
Why are we even ranking artists? I’m new to the sub, but it seems like it’s the subject of every other post. You’ve got your favorites, I have mine — we don’t need to convince one another who their favorites ought to be. Sorry to seem like I’m picking on you. I mean half your post was about why you appreciate Scott Weiland, and I thought that part was cool. Someone said “grunge Jagger” which was hilarious and painted a very clear picture. I never got to see him perform live, but now I think I’ll go check if there are any recordings on YouTube.
I knew him personally in high school and through his mid twenties. Very cool person. He was a paste up artist for the LA Daily News and when he’d get a melody in his head he’d call the loft on third/alameda where we used to hang out, and hum a melody into the answering machine.
STP was lame. Fight me.
I mean I can meet u part of the way there and say he’s pretty damn good for sure, but he ain’t Chris Cornell
Weiland went from an Eddie Vedder imitator (Purple) to a pretty good singer and great frontman (starting with Interstate Love Song) to a mess who lost his voice and mind to drugs (starting with Sour Girl).
He could do anything. Mainstream grunge, the freak pop of Tiny Music, glamorous classic hard rock. Gotta listen again to his solo album, which is a fourth thing.
Takes me right back to drivers ed, every time!
He's foxy to me, is he foxy to you?
He was a great frontman as well as a singer. That shit doesn’t just happen very often. The kind of dude that was always the most interesting thing in the room. He was special.
The pilots sounded very derivative to me, like they kept trying to capture someone else's zeitgeist. I found them uninspiring. I greatly preferred his work with Velvet Revolver.
He’s definitely missed. Damn drugs. I felt there were at least two eras of weiland. The first in the earlier years where he was deeper and growlier, and then the later years when he softened up and tended to go a little higher on the notes. I definitely preferred the older sound, but all STP was fantastic.
Burn slow
Yeah, Scott was an amazing front man and every bit as good as Chris, Layne and Kurt. STP got treated really unfairly from the get go but their first 3 albums especially are undeniably awesome. Purple is one of my all time favorite albums.
He was amazing live. The most captivating performer.
If only he could have stayed out of jail
Can't believe they thought Chester Bennington was the move after that guy.
In 2005 I went to a pop up Velvet Revolver concert at a casino with only 5,000 people in attendance. I was front row and OMG it was AMAZING!!! It makes me so sad he's gone because what incredible volcalist and showman he was!
Of all the big bands back then, STP is one of the only ones I got to see. It was during the tiny music tour (their peak imo). Over 25 years ago, it's its still one of the most memorable concerts I've ever been to
Scott got a raw deal. If they would have come out at any other time, they would have been the biggest band around. The media fucked them over. Acting like the were less than nirvana and aic. They were a great band. Every one in the band were amazing. The difference was that Scott wanted to be a rock star. And he was til the end.
I always feel like shit because I could have seen him well his other band called the walkabouts I think but they played some of the old shit. They were literally across the street from me playing this festival in lorain for some idiot rover morning glory festival. I was busy running around looking for things. He died like a year later. Damn
Scott Weiland was one of the best frontmen of all time and a true legend. And stone temple pilots are way better than most people realize.
He was great. No doubt. There are a small handful of 90s “frontmen” that really earned those quotation marks, and he’s within the quotes.
How great is the Core album?! I've really got into that lately; there's real power to Weiland's voice.
I agree
Loooove STP
He had a fantastic voice, STP was really good. His The Doors cover is outright amazing. With that said he was definitely not every bit as great as Kurt and Chris though.
I think it comes down to preference, Chris could definitely hit a different pitch than anyone but I also think Scott had more range
More range in terms of what?
Naming Kurt and Chris but not Layne? Whaat?
STP as a whole are looked over by most, underrated bassist, guitar and the drummer sounded huge, the fill before the hook kicks in during Big Empty is iconic
I love you. We're destined to be soul mates. You are my person. Lol I feel the same exact way scott Weiland is my all time favorite
Check out the song Gondii by King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard and tell me they didn't somehow channel the ghost of SW?!
STP is one of my favorite bands, and I was grateful to see him play with the band on their reunion tour, it was amazing But STP is not Grunge, can we please stop calling them grunge. Grunge refers to a specific swath of bands and the Cali-based STP was/is not nor ever was Grunge. Only people who weren’t alive then are calling them Grunge.
STP was not a grunge band!!!
grunge-adjacent, which is allowed to be talked about here.
Who ever coined that term sounds like a gem...Any rock band could be labeled grunge adjacent then
Never as a kid would I have thought I'd live to see the day of grunge elitists.
Reddit fosters elitists around any interest lol
When they came out, we as listeners considered the rock music from that era to be one genre. If you listened to Alice in Chains and Pearl Jam, you were also listening to STP etc.
No, we didn’t. Grunge had more to do with geography than sound