Stone Temple Pilots (album)
Encyclopedia
Stone Temple Pilots is the sixth studio album by American rock band Stone Temple Pilots
. The album was released worldwide from May 21 through May 27, 2010, and is the band's first album since Shangri-La Dee Da
(2001). The album is the result of the band's reunion, which occurred in April 2008 with their North American tour
. After Stone Temple Pilots had begun playing together, the band decided to record again, but a lawsuit filed by Atlantic Records
on June 12, 2008, made the sixth album an uncertainty, and led vocalist Scott Weiland
to release statements expressing his disapproval of working with a major record label. Atlantic eventually withdrew the lawsuit, and the band's attorney called the legal situation a "misunderstanding".
Robert DeLeo
, against Atlantic Records's wishes, insisted that he and his brother Dean DeLeo
produce the record themselves, which began production in early 2009. Because recording took place during breaks in the band's touring schedule, production took nearly ten months to complete. Three studios were used simultaneously, including Robert's home studio and Eric Kretz
's Bomb Shelter Studios. Scott Weiland recorded vocals at his own Lavish Studios. Don Was
was brought in as an additional producer to help keep the band's separate recording sessions in sync, as well as to work closely with Weiland during the recording of his vocals. The album was completed in December 2009, and mixing and mastering were finished by February 2010.
The album received generally favorable reviews. Most critics agreed that Stone Temple Pilots was heavily inspired by country and rock music from the '60s and '70s. The band confirmed these assertions and, in interviews, discussed their influences, which included country music
, lyricists like Bob Dylan
, and guitarists like Speedy West
and Brad Whitford
. The album was promoted during the band's performances at music festival
s and headlining concerts, as well as in interviews with music websites and magazines, including Billboard
and Spin
, and radio and television talk shows. "Between the Lines
" was the first single, released on March 22. The second and third singles, "Take a Load Off
" and "Cinnamon
", were released later in the year. Stone Temple Pilots sold 62,000 copies in its first week and peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200
.
.
Despite the band's intent, a future album from the group was uncertain. On June 12, 2008, Atlantic Records filed a lawsuit against Weiland and Eric Kretz, claiming the two had threatened to terminate their contract unless changes were made. Stone Temple Pilots had delivered six albums (five studio records and the compilation, Thank You
) and Atlantic wanted a seventh album with an option for two more. In a statement made by email, the band said they were surprised and disappointed by the lawsuit.
Stone Temple Pilots stressed that a new album would be recorded as long as both parties in the lawsuit acted in good faith, but in November 2008, Weiland would comment, "I was told, and I was told for years, that we were free from Atlantic.... I have no interest in making a record for a major label." Weiland expressed interest in exploring distribution options after the band's reformation. Commenting on his idea, he said, "[O]ther bands, they make more money doing things in an unconventional fashion as opposed to doing it... with the major labels." Dean was curious about Weiland's idea but was aware that the band was contractually obligated to release two more albums. Increasing the uncertainty in the future of a new album, Weiland added, "I'm proud of everything we've written. But to make another record would mean another couple of years of my life dedicated to that, and I just don't know if that's where I see myself going."
The band's attorney, Gary Stiffelman, clarified that the complaint was a result of a "misunderstanding" during contract negotiations, and a representative for Atlantic stated the lawsuit had been voluntarily dismissed. The final negotiation details between Atlantic and the band remain unknown. Weiland later clarified, "I didn't want to record for Atlantic because I didn't know anybody there anymore, except for Craig Kallman
. Since then I've gotten to know Craig much better, and I've gotten to know the Atlantic staff pretty extensively."
Recording a new album was, according to Robert, a "natural progression" after the band began playing together again. "The thing that kind of introduces us back together is all those memories of the songs, and once you start playing those songs... it always takes us back to... 18 years now. It can take us back to our past and think about where we were when we were writing these songs, and that's a bond, I think, [that] will always keep us together as four people.... It just progressed into, 'Maybe it's time to make a new record.
's only release
in 2006; some of Dean's contributions date from this period, but "Dare If You Dare" was written while Talk Show
was touring. Robert and Dean began writing new material by November 2008, but, except for clips played during the tour sound checks, Weiland would not hear anything new until after February 2009. The recording process took place over a period of ten months, due largely to the band's touring schedule, but the majority of actual studio time was spent experimenting with different instruments and miking techniques. Pre-production for the album took place at Kretz's Bomb Shelter Studios and consisted mainly of Dean, Robert, and Kretz sifting through musical ideas.
Robert insisted, against Atlantic Records's initial wishes, that he and Dean produce the album together. This freed the band from the constraints of any outside producer's schedule. The recording process could then be intertwined with tour dates, which, Dean said, resulted in improved performances on the record. Dean admitted they had been spoiled by working with producer Brendan O'Brien
on previous releases. "I'm not so good at walking around the control room with a pen and clipboard in my hands, marking down what takes are the best. It's a lot of work. But I like being the very best I can be, and when you're producing, you are taking on everyone's performances and wanting it to be the best it can be."
The DeLeos often worked off each other when writing the songs. Robert's primary instrument for composing was the bass, and Dean complimented his achievements: "It's probably easier to tell a story through a piano or a guitar, but when [someone] can tell a story with a bass, that's pretty remarkable." Robert recognized the important roles each of the band members played in bringing his songs to life.
CDs were submitted to Weiland containing music in completed demo form, including scratch melodies, which Weiland had the option to use or discard. Dean did not mind when his melodies were not accepted by Weiland. "[W]hen I write a song, I know what I want it to be melodically. But Scott always... knocks my melodies out of the water." Weiland worked on the lyrics using these demo arrangements, often making suggestions for musical phrases to be doubled or moved. Weiland was credited for the lyrical melodies, but Robert pointed out, "This record was made in a way that Scott wasn't really there for the creation of these songs, musically." However, both Dean and Robert would be surprised at the direction Weiland would take the songs, which could have been composed with an entirely different vision. Robert found this to be a strength within the band. "People always have this misconception that a band all need to think alike... [There are] so many different ways of looking at songs and [how they're] put together, and that's really the beauty of a great band".
Working as an additional producer, Don Was helped keep Weiland's and the rest of the band's separate recording sessions in sync by bringing them together to perform live. When the band performed together, they would do so acoustically, so each member could hear the nuances of the songs. Weiland credited Was for helping Stone Temple Pilots re-learn how to play together again. Was also worked closely with Weiland during the recording of the vocals.
By June 2009, the band had written eighteen songs, twelve of which were planned to be released on the album, with B-sides for Japan, the United Kingdom, and Europe selected from the remaining songs. Recording began in early 2009, at times taking place in three studios simultaneously. Bass lines and overdubs were recorded at Homefry Studio, located in the basement of Robert's house. The majority of "Cinnamon" and "First Kiss on Mars", including drums, were recorded in Robert's home studio. Dean's guitars were recorded at Kretz's Bomb Shelter Studios, and Weiland's vocals were recorded at his Lavish Studios. By early December, nine songs had been finished, and the entire record was completed later that month. Mixing began in January 2010 with Chris Lord-Alge, and mastering for the album was completed in February by Ted Jensen
at Sterling Sound. Robert described the overall feel of the album as having a " '60s
vibe." Though previous albums explored new sounds, Weiland acknowledged that the new album would be a "back-to-basics rock record."
ous name. Kretz explained, "We've always tried to come up with very witty and interesting names for our records and we just felt that it was time, 18 years into the Stone Temple Pilots career, to put out a self-titled album." Robert agreed that the new title was a testament to the "new chapter" in the band's career. Weiland also felt the band was starting over and thought the music expressed this on its own. "We don't need to come up with some major conceptual title. The image on the cover and the music speak for themselves."
The album cover incorporates the artwork Peace Fingers Red, designed by Shepard Fairey
. According to Kretz, "It was just something to kind of symbolize more of our attitude right now.... We definitely are in a really good place right now as a band and really want to spread some peace and love across the world as much we can. We're going to do it through music and the celebration of rock and roll." The artwork on the deluxe edition released in Target
stores added gold foil to the patterns.
s, a '56 Stratocaster
, three Telecasters dating between '65 and '66, and a '60s double-cut Danelectro
. An assortment of amps were used, including 10-, 15-, and 20-watt Valco
speakers and late '60s 18- and 20-watt Marshall
combos. Robert recorded the bass lines to "First Kiss on Mars" with a 1950s six-string Danelectro Longhorn bass, and Weiland used Robert's collection of vintage microphones for some of his vocals. Dean exclaimed, "Most bands do a retro thing and apologize for it. We’re unapologetically retro here. That was the whole idea!"
Leading up to the recording process, Dean had been listening to country, drawing inspiration from '60s guitarists like Jimmy Bryant
, Speedy West
, Hank Garland
, Pete Drake
, Hank Snow
and Aerosmith
's Brad Whitford
. Songs like "Hickory Dichotomy" gave Weiland and Kretz a "Down South
" and "swampy kind of feeling". Although it was recorded in standard tuning, "Hickory Dichotomy" features a slide guitar
solo performed in open G. Both "Cinnamon" and "Maver" were recorded with a Telecaster set up for Nashville tuning
, and Dean described "First Kiss on Mars" as having a "down-home country kind of feel", but noted Weiland's influence on the song: "That title takes it to this whole other plateau."
Several of the songs were inspired by '60s and '70s rock bands. "Between the Lines" was written with The Animals
, The Zombies
and Paul Revere & the Raiders
in mind, and Weiland considered "Cinnamon" to be a combination of '60s British pop and Ian Curtis
(of Joy Division
). "Huckleberry Crumble" was inspired by Aerosmith
, specifically "Same Old Song and Dance
". Dean admitted to the similarities: "The arrangement is almost the same: riff, solo, verse, chorus, solo, back to a second verse—it’s pretty much the same setup." He also noted how the song sounded different depending on the type of instruments used to play it. "It's amazing how, if you were to present that opening riff on a Tele really clean, it's almost a country riff. But if you present it with a Les Paul through a Marshall, it takes on this whole different thing."
Weiland's lyrics were unique to previous albums, which had been solely focused on himself and his drug addictions. He studied lyricists to learn how to write differently. "[In] the '90s, I was so overwhelmed with my heroin addiction, and so a lot of the stuff was just from my point of view. Now, I tend to look at some of the greats like Leonard Cohen
and Bob Dylan. I look at their storytelling [and] I try to tell stories. Every song doesn't have to be narcissistically written about how I feel on that day." Stone Temple Pilots became the third album Weiland had ever recorded sober, after Velvet Revolver
's Libertad and Stone Temple Pilot's first album, Core
. Weiland was also influenced by his ex-wife, Mary Forsberg, about whom he specifically wrote on "Cinnamon". Weiland's inspiration for "First Kiss on Mars" came from the music itself. He explained his lyrics succinctly: "When I first heard [the song], it sounded intergalactic." Critics and interviewers of the band noticed that Weiland's vocalizations were drawn from David Bowie
.
's Rose Bar in New York City. Among those in attendance were Stone Temple Pilots, journalists from several venues, and Craig Kallman, Chairman and CEO of Atlantic Records. Stone Temple Pilots opened an early-2010 tour on March 18 at the South by Southwest
music festival, where four new songs were premiered: "Between the Lines", "Huckleberry Crumble", "Bagman", and "Hickory Dichotomy". On March 27, the band was filmed performing live at the Riviera Theatre
in Chicago
, Illinois. The footage appeared on VH1
's Friday Night Alright series two months later on May 21, which included a performance of "Between the Lines".
Beginning in late April, Amazon.com
advertised that they would be streaming a new song in its entirety each week leading up to the release of the album. Four songs total were streamed, including "Between the Lines", "Hickory Dichotomy", "Bagman", and "Huckleberry Crumble". On May 21, all twelve tracks of the album became available for streaming in their entirety on Billboards website. That same month, the band appeared on a radio talk show and two late night television
talk show
s. On May 18, Stone Temple Pilots was the guest on the Howard Stern Show
. The following night, May 19, Stone Temple Pilots performed "Between the Lines" on the Late Show with David Letterman
. The band performed two mini-concerts for two episodes of Jimmy Kimmel Live!. The first concert was recorded at the Gramercy Theater
in Manhattan, New York, and aired on the evening of May 26. The second concert was performed the following night and aired on May 27. Stone Temple Pilots became Artist of the Month for American cable television
network ESPN
during June, though the network began featuring the band's music during the month of May. Songs from previous releases, as well as "Fast As I Can", "Cinnamon", "Dare If You Dare", and "Take a Load Off", were played during the network's television programming and were listed on the network's website, which included links to purchase the songs.
Stone Temple Pilots was released worldwide over a period of a week. Several foreign markets released the album on May 21, including Australia, Germany, and the Netherlands. The U.S. released the album on May 25, and countries like Sweden, Finland, and Japan released the album on May 26. Different versions of the album were released, including retailer-specific versions. The standard 12-track album was released on CD and vinyl. Deluxe and Japanese versions of the album included a second disc with four bonus tracks. Target stores sold a deluxe edition version that included gold foil on the artwork and an 18-panel poster, and iTunes
included a music video, an interview video, and a pre-order bonus track.
On June 1, "Between the Lines" was released, along with two other songs, as part of a Stone Temple Pilots pack for the rhythm video game Guitar Hero
. On June 5, the band performed at the KROQ Weenie Roast
, hosted by the U.S. radio station
. For the duration of June, the band played at various festivals in Europe, beginning with the Nova Rock Festival
in Nickelsdorf
, Austria, on June 11 and completing on June 28 in Sesto San Giovanni
, Italy. The band returned to North America to perform at the rock festival
Rock on the Range
in Winnipeg
, Canada, on August 7. They launched their headline tour on August 10 at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre
in Morrison, Colorado
.
page on March 22, later peaking at No. 1 on the Billboard Rock Songs
chart.The music video for "Between the Lines", directed by Christopher Sims, was shot on April 11 in Los Angeles, California, and premiered on Fuse TV
's Top 20 Countdown on May 7.The song was written by Robert, with a guitar solo written by Dean. Robert was inspired by the '60s rock groups, The Zombies and The Animals, and who had been picturing "a '60s go-go beat and a girl in a miniskirt" before Weiland changed the song's meaning with his lyrics. Dean commented on how Weiland had turned "Between the Lines" into a love song: "Sometimes we don't feel musically what Scott does lyrically. He took it to an exciting place. It's pretty twisted." Weiland's lyrics reflected on his relationship with his ex-wife, Mary Forsberg, and his history with drug abuse. Speaking of the at-times strange lyrics, Weiland cited The Beatles' "I Am the Walrus
" as an inspiration. "Sometimes you throw together random words that phonetically sound good with the melody and then you get to the meat of the song in the chorus.""Between the Lines" was originally the working title of the song, which Weiland incorporated into his lyrics.
"Take a Load Off" was the band's second single, which was released on June 15, and the accompanying music video was released in September. The video is a culmination of clips edited together, including moments with the band—both on and off stage—, samples of cartoons, and "all-American imagery". "Take a Load Off" topped the Alternative Chart at No. 24.
"Cinnamon" was released as the band's third single, which debuted at No. 49 on the Alternative Chart. The first music video for the song was filmed in mid-2010, directed by Aggressive
(the combined efforts of directors Alex Topaller and Dan Shapiro), and produced by Anke Thommen, but the video was reshot. Kretz said simply that the first video had "the wrong director". The second music video was filmed in December 2010, directed by Dennis Roberts and photographed by Adam Bricker, however this video was also shelved in May 2011 without ever being released.
. The album dropped to No. 16 in its second week and to No. 45 in its third week. The album also peaked at No. 1 on Billboards Hard Rock and Rock Albums charts, as well as No. 1 on the Alternative Songs chart. The album reached the top 10 in two countries, Canada (No. 2) and New Zealand (No. 6); the top 40 in three countries, Australia (No. 21), Finland (No. 35) and Switzerland (No. 36); and the top 100 for two countries, Austria (No. 54) and Germany (No. 52). Sales for the album dropped 70% in its second week, selling 18,601 copies, and continued to drop another 44% in its third week, selling 10,473 copies. The fourth week saw sales drop 18%, with 8,538 copies sold.
. Several members of the audience described the songs as "Beatles-esque
" and the album "a natural, melodic progression for Stone Temple Pilots." Robert DeLeo cautioned against the overuse of the "Beatles" label. "I think there's always going to be a sense of Beatles on whatever anybody does. I mean, the Beatles have been such a huge influence and inspiration on music in general. The Beatles, they're ingrained in everybody's mind.... The Beatles are like our nursery rhymes for all of us; it's the planet's nursery rhymes."
William Goodman of Spin described the album as a "signature blend of tuneful melodies and rock guitar crunch, psychedelic solos and impressive crooning courtesy of Scott Weiland," adding that two songs in the second half of the album were slower and performed with acoustic guitar. Rick Florino of ARTISTdirect.com extolled the album as "the rock record of the decade," calling it "a masterpiece that will officially solidify STP alongside the Beatles, Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones
as one of the greatest rock 'n' roll bands of all time."
called the music "cheap and easy pop-rock mimicry". He noted that Weiland sounded "effervescent" now that the singer was drug free, but Dolan still found his lyrics to "weigh him down".
Brad Wheeler, writing for The Globe and Mail
, wondered if the eponymous title was an allusion to the Atlantic Records contractual dispute. He went on to remark on the music's combination of 90s era "guitar flash and crunch" and The Beatles. Wheeler did not think the album moved the band or its sound forward, calling it "a quasi-comeback album that neither defiles nor builds upon the band’s legend." Amirose Eisenbach of IGN
wrote that the music was not "anything especially unique". Eisenbach analyzed several tracks, observing that some songs "start off promising" only to result in "uninspired, generic hooks," while other songs struggle with their musical direction. Despite this, Eisenbach felt the album had "enough going on inside the album's 41 minutes that it's worth a listen."
Newsday
s Glenn Gamboa praised the band for "not reliving the past", but he found enough similarities to the band's previous releases to appeal to listeners. He considered the album successful because the band had been "reflecting their time apart and their work with Velvet Revolver and Army of Anyone." Mike Schiller, writing for PopMatters
, called the album's title an appropriate fit with the band's apparent ease of writing with "obvious" influences. He described the title as, "more homage than it is subconscious plagiarism," before listing Nirvana
, Aerosmith, Joy Division, John Lennon
, David Bowie
, and even the band's Purple
as having intentionally shaped the album. Schiller decided the album was a "bonus" because, in the near-decade gap since the band's last release, "people have moved on". He concluded that Stone Temple Pilots is "a far more fitting epilogue" than the last album, before considering it, "perhaps, [the] next chapter".
Ronnie Kerswell of Rock Sound
said that the album "does not disappoint", describing it as having "heady guitar trips and crunching grooves". She found Weiland's voice to be improved in part due to his sober lifestyle and wrote that the band was "back in action". USA Today
s Jerry Schriver praised the band for releasing a "cohesive, self-produced reunion album", but admitted the tracks were not "timeless". The songs were found to be "pleasant" but "disposable" and inoffensive. Schriver commended Dean DeLeo for keeping the "well-constructed tunes" moving forward, despite Weiland's lyrics. Allison Stewart, writing for The Washington Post
, decided the album was a "small victory" and "respectable" but ultimately "a weirdly mild, tension-free outing." Like other critics, Stewart noticed the influences on the album, including country and "psych-rock", and thought the band was "better at mixing their influences in novel ways than at actually being novel themselves."
Production
Stone Temple Pilots
Stone Temple Pilots is an American rock band from San Diego, California that consists of Scott Weiland , brothers Robert DeLeo and Dean DeLeo , and Eric Kretz ....
. The album was released worldwide from May 21 through May 27, 2010, and is the band's first album since Shangri-La Dee Da
Shangri-La Dee Da
-Personnel:*Scott Weiland - vocals, keyboards *Dean DeLeo - guitars*Robert DeLeo - bass, percussion , guitar , acoustic guitar , keyboards , piano , autoharp , electric sitar *Eric Kretz - drums, percussion , keyboards , banjo -Additional personnel:*Brendan...
(2001). The album is the result of the band's reunion, which occurred in April 2008 with their North American tour
2008 Stone Temple Pilots Reunion Tour
The 2008 Stone Temple Pilots Reunion Tour was a 75-date reunion tour for the popular American rock band Stone Temple Pilots, who originally disbanded in 2003. The tour, which kicked off on May 17, 2008 in Columbus, Ohio at the Rock on the Range festival, ran throughout the summer and ended on...
. After Stone Temple Pilots had begun playing together, the band decided to record again, but a lawsuit filed by Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
on June 12, 2008, made the sixth album an uncertainty, and led vocalist Scott Weiland
Scott Weiland
Scott Weiland is an American musician, lyricist, and vocalist, most notable for his work with Grammy Award-winning rock band Stone Temple Pilots. Weiland is also known for his five-year career with supergroup Velvet Revolver as well as his own solo career...
to release statements expressing his disapproval of working with a major record label. Atlantic eventually withdrew the lawsuit, and the band's attorney called the legal situation a "misunderstanding".
Robert DeLeo
Robert DeLeo
Robert Emile DeLeo is an American bass player, songwriter, and harmony vocalist for the rock band Stone Temple Pilots. He has also played in Talk Show and Army of Anyone...
, against Atlantic Records's wishes, insisted that he and his brother Dean DeLeo
Dean DeLeo
Dean DeLeo is an American guitarist for the rock band Stone Temple Pilots.He is also known for his role in the short-lived bands Talk Show and Army of Anyone, which featured his younger brother Robert DeLeo, Filter frontman Richard Patrick, and session drummer Ray Luzier...
produce the record themselves, which began production in early 2009. Because recording took place during breaks in the band's touring schedule, production took nearly ten months to complete. Three studios were used simultaneously, including Robert's home studio and Eric Kretz
Eric Kretz
Eric Kretz is an American musician and producer, known as the drummer for the rock band Stone Temple Pilots, one of the most successful rock bands of the 1990s and early 2000s that reunited in 2008. He has also played for Talk Show, and most recently Spiralarms...
's Bomb Shelter Studios. Scott Weiland recorded vocals at his own Lavish Studios. Don Was
Don Was
Don Was is an American musician, bassist and record producer.-Life and career:Was was born in Detroit, Michigan. He graduated from Oak Park High School in the Detroit suburb of Oak Park, then attended the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor but dropped out after the first year...
was brought in as an additional producer to help keep the band's separate recording sessions in sync, as well as to work closely with Weiland during the recording of his vocals. The album was completed in December 2009, and mixing and mastering were finished by February 2010.
The album received generally favorable reviews. Most critics agreed that Stone Temple Pilots was heavily inspired by country and rock music from the '60s and '70s. The band confirmed these assertions and, in interviews, discussed their influences, which included country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
, lyricists like Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
, and guitarists like Speedy West
Speedy West
Wesley Webb West , better known as Speedy West, was an American pedal steel guitarist and record producer. He frequently played with Jimmy Bryant, both in their own duo and as part of the regular Capitol Records backing band for Tennessee Ernie Ford and many others...
and Brad Whitford
Brad Whitford
Bradford Ernest Whitford is the rhythm guitarist for the hard rock band Aerosmith. He graduated Reading Memorial High School in 1970.-Career:...
. The album was promoted during the band's performances at music festival
Music festival
A music festival is a festival oriented towards music that is sometimes presented with a theme such as musical genre, nationality or locality of musicians, or holiday. They are commonly held outdoors, and are often inclusive of other attractions such as food and merchandise vending machines,...
s and headlining concerts, as well as in interviews with music websites and magazines, including Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
and Spin
Spin (magazine)
Spin is a music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr.-History:In its early years, the magazine was noted for its broad music coverage with an emphasis on college-oriented rock music and on the ongoing emergence of hip-hop. The magazine was eclectic and bold, if sometimes haphazard...
, and radio and television talk shows. "Between the Lines
Between the Lines (song)
"Between the Lines" is the first single from the American rock band Stone Temple Pilots's sixth studio album, Stone Temple Pilots. The single was released on March 22, 2010. The song set the record for largest positional gain on Billboards Rock Songs chart, jumping from number 40 to 2, later...
" was the first single, released on March 22. The second and third singles, "Take a Load Off
Take a Load Off
"Take a Load Off" is a song by American rock band Stone Temple Pilots. "Take a Load Off" is the second track off the band's sixth studio album, Stone Temple Pilots, released in 2010. The song was the album's second single, after the #1 hit "Between the Lines." A music video for "Take a Load Off"...
" and "Cinnamon
Cinnamon (song)
"Cinnamon" is a song by American rock band Stone Temple Pilots. "Cinnamon" is the sixth track off the band's sixth studio album, Stone Temple Pilots, released in 2010...
", were released later in the year. Stone Temple Pilots sold 62,000 copies in its first week and peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
.
Background
After separating in 2003, Stone Temple Pilots reunited in April 2008 for a 75-date North American tour. Scott Weiland would hear new material from Robert and Dean DeLeo while the band performed sound checks during the tour, but he would not collaborate in the songwriting process until he was through promoting his solo album, "Happy" in Galoshes"Happy" in Galoshes
"Happy" in Galoshes is the second solo album by American rock singer Scott Weiland. Weiland, known for his roles as the lead singer in Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver, released his first album, 12 Bar Blues in 1998. Two versions have been released, a single disc and double disc deluxe...
.
Despite the band's intent, a future album from the group was uncertain. On June 12, 2008, Atlantic Records filed a lawsuit against Weiland and Eric Kretz, claiming the two had threatened to terminate their contract unless changes were made. Stone Temple Pilots had delivered six albums (five studio records and the compilation, Thank You
Thank You (Stone Temple Pilots album)
-Charts:Album - Billboard Singles - Billboard -References:...
) and Atlantic wanted a seventh album with an option for two more. In a statement made by email, the band said they were surprised and disappointed by the lawsuit.
Stone Temple Pilots stressed that a new album would be recorded as long as both parties in the lawsuit acted in good faith, but in November 2008, Weiland would comment, "I was told, and I was told for years, that we were free from Atlantic.... I have no interest in making a record for a major label." Weiland expressed interest in exploring distribution options after the band's reformation. Commenting on his idea, he said, "[O]ther bands, they make more money doing things in an unconventional fashion as opposed to doing it... with the major labels." Dean was curious about Weiland's idea but was aware that the band was contractually obligated to release two more albums. Increasing the uncertainty in the future of a new album, Weiland added, "I'm proud of everything we've written. But to make another record would mean another couple of years of my life dedicated to that, and I just don't know if that's where I see myself going."
The band's attorney, Gary Stiffelman, clarified that the complaint was a result of a "misunderstanding" during contract negotiations, and a representative for Atlantic stated the lawsuit had been voluntarily dismissed. The final negotiation details between Atlantic and the band remain unknown. Weiland later clarified, "I didn't want to record for Atlantic because I didn't know anybody there anymore, except for Craig Kallman
Craig Kallman
Craig Kallman is Chairman and CEO of Atlantic Records.Craig Kallman signed the legendary lyricist Percee P and released his sought after 12" "Puttin' Heads To Bed" on his imprint Big Beat in the early 1990s. He joined the company in 1991, when Atlantic acquired Kallman's independent Big Beat...
. Since then I've gotten to know Craig much better, and I've gotten to know the Atlantic staff pretty extensively."
Recording a new album was, according to Robert, a "natural progression" after the band began playing together again. "The thing that kind of introduces us back together is all those memories of the songs, and once you start playing those songs... it always takes us back to... 18 years now. It can take us back to our past and think about where we were when we were writing these songs, and that's a bond, I think, [that] will always keep us together as four people.... It just progressed into, 'Maybe it's time to make a new record.
Production
Stone Temple Pilots marks the first time Robert and Dean have written together since Army of AnyoneArmy of Anyone
Army of Anyone was a supergroup formed by Filter frontman Richard Patrick with two of the then-former members of rock band Stone Temple Pilots. In addition to Patrick on vocals, the band featured Dean DeLeo and Robert DeLeo on guitars and bass, respectively, and Ray Luzier on drums...
's only release
Army of Anyone (album)
Army of Anyone was the debut and lone album by Army of Anyone, an American rock band featuring Richard Patrick of Filter, the DeLeo brothers from Stone Temple Pilots , and David Lee Roth's former drummer, Ray Luzier of KoRn. The album was released on November 14, 2006 in America, December 4, 2006...
in 2006; some of Dean's contributions date from this period, but "Dare If You Dare" was written while Talk Show
Talk Show (band)
Talk Show was an American alternative/hard rock band consisting of Dave Coutts , Dean DeLeo , Robert DeLeo , and Eric Kretz...
was touring. Robert and Dean began writing new material by November 2008, but, except for clips played during the tour sound checks, Weiland would not hear anything new until after February 2009. The recording process took place over a period of ten months, due largely to the band's touring schedule, but the majority of actual studio time was spent experimenting with different instruments and miking techniques. Pre-production for the album took place at Kretz's Bomb Shelter Studios and consisted mainly of Dean, Robert, and Kretz sifting through musical ideas.
Robert insisted, against Atlantic Records's initial wishes, that he and Dean produce the album together. This freed the band from the constraints of any outside producer's schedule. The recording process could then be intertwined with tour dates, which, Dean said, resulted in improved performances on the record. Dean admitted they had been spoiled by working with producer Brendan O'Brien
Brendan O'Brien (music producer)
Brendan O’Brien is a record producer, mixer, engineer, and musician.At age 14, O'Brien played guitar for the Atlanta-based cover band Pranks. In the late 1970s, he moved on to writing, performing and recording with the Samurai Catfish band...
on previous releases. "I'm not so good at walking around the control room with a pen and clipboard in my hands, marking down what takes are the best. It's a lot of work. But I like being the very best I can be, and when you're producing, you are taking on everyone's performances and wanting it to be the best it can be."
The DeLeos often worked off each other when writing the songs. Robert's primary instrument for composing was the bass, and Dean complimented his achievements: "It's probably easier to tell a story through a piano or a guitar, but when [someone] can tell a story with a bass, that's pretty remarkable." Robert recognized the important roles each of the band members played in bringing his songs to life.
CDs were submitted to Weiland containing music in completed demo form, including scratch melodies, which Weiland had the option to use or discard. Dean did not mind when his melodies were not accepted by Weiland. "[W]hen I write a song, I know what I want it to be melodically. But Scott always... knocks my melodies out of the water." Weiland worked on the lyrics using these demo arrangements, often making suggestions for musical phrases to be doubled or moved. Weiland was credited for the lyrical melodies, but Robert pointed out, "This record was made in a way that Scott wasn't really there for the creation of these songs, musically." However, both Dean and Robert would be surprised at the direction Weiland would take the songs, which could have been composed with an entirely different vision. Robert found this to be a strength within the band. "People always have this misconception that a band all need to think alike... [There are] so many different ways of looking at songs and [how they're] put together, and that's really the beauty of a great band".
Working as an additional producer, Don Was helped keep Weiland's and the rest of the band's separate recording sessions in sync by bringing them together to perform live. When the band performed together, they would do so acoustically, so each member could hear the nuances of the songs. Weiland credited Was for helping Stone Temple Pilots re-learn how to play together again. Was also worked closely with Weiland during the recording of the vocals.
By June 2009, the band had written eighteen songs, twelve of which were planned to be released on the album, with B-sides for Japan, the United Kingdom, and Europe selected from the remaining songs. Recording began in early 2009, at times taking place in three studios simultaneously. Bass lines and overdubs were recorded at Homefry Studio, located in the basement of Robert's house. The majority of "Cinnamon" and "First Kiss on Mars", including drums, were recorded in Robert's home studio. Dean's guitars were recorded at Kretz's Bomb Shelter Studios, and Weiland's vocals were recorded at his Lavish Studios. By early December, nine songs had been finished, and the entire record was completed later that month. Mixing began in January 2010 with Chris Lord-Alge, and mastering for the album was completed in February by Ted Jensen
Ted Jensen
Ted Jensen is an American recording engineer. Jensen is the chief mastering engineer at Sterling Sound. He started his career as a mastering engineer in 1976 and is currently the most active Mastering Engineer in the industry...
at Sterling Sound. Robert described the overall feel of the album as having a " '60s
1960s in music
For music from a year in the 1960s, go to 60 | 61 | 62 | 63 | 64 | 65 | 66 | 67 | 68 | 69This article includes an overview of the major events and trends in popular music in the 1960s....
vibe." Though previous albums explored new sounds, Weiland acknowledged that the new album would be a "back-to-basics rock record."
Album title and artwork
Several titles were considered before the band settled on the eponymEponym
An eponym is the name of a person or thing, whether real or fictitious, after which a particular place, tribe, era, discovery, or other item is named or thought to be named...
ous name. Kretz explained, "We've always tried to come up with very witty and interesting names for our records and we just felt that it was time, 18 years into the Stone Temple Pilots career, to put out a self-titled album." Robert agreed that the new title was a testament to the "new chapter" in the band's career. Weiland also felt the band was starting over and thought the music expressed this on its own. "We don't need to come up with some major conceptual title. The image on the cover and the music speak for themselves."
The album cover incorporates the artwork Peace Fingers Red, designed by Shepard Fairey
Shepard Fairey
Frank Shepard Fairey is an American contemporary graphic designer, and illustrator who emerged from the skateboarding scene. He first became known for his "André the Giant Has a Posse" sticker campaign, in which he appropriated images from the comedic supermarket tabloid Weekly World News. His...
. According to Kretz, "It was just something to kind of symbolize more of our attitude right now.... We definitely are in a really good place right now as a band and really want to spread some peace and love across the world as much we can. We're going to do it through music and the celebration of rock and roll." The artwork on the deluxe edition released in Target
Target Corporation
Target Corporation, doing business as Target, is an American retailing company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the second-largest discount retailer in the United States, behind Walmart. The company is ranked at number 33 on the Fortune 500 and is a component of the Standard & Poor's...
stores added gold foil to the patterns.
Musical styles and influences
The music on Stone Temple Pilots was influenced by various styles, most notably country music and 1960s and 1970s rock. Various amps and vintage guitars from Dean's and Robert's personal collections were used to produce the desired sounds. Dean's guitars included two '70s Gibson Les PaulGibson Les Paul
The Gibson Les Paul was the result of a design collaboration between Gibson Guitar Corporation and the late jazz guitarist and electronics inventor Les Paul. In 1950, with the introduction of the Fender Telecaster to the musical market, electric guitars became a public craze. In reaction, Gibson...
s, a '56 Stratocaster
Fender Stratocaster
The Fender Stratocaster, often referred to as "Strat", is a model of electric guitar designed by Leo Fender, George Fullerton, and Freddie Tavares in 1954, and manufactured continuously by the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation to the present. It is a double-cutaway guitar, with an extended top...
, three Telecasters dating between '65 and '66, and a '60s double-cut Danelectro
Danelectro
Danelectro is an American manufacturer of musical instruments and accessories, specializing in rock instruments such as guitars, bass guitars, amplifiers and effects units.-History:...
. An assortment of amps were used, including 10-, 15-, and 20-watt Valco
Valco
Valco was a manufacturer of guitars, guitar amplifiers, and other musical instruments from the 1940s through 1968. Only other relatives alive today live in Staffordshire England.- History :...
speakers and late '60s 18- and 20-watt Marshall
Marshall Amplification
Marshall Amplification is a British company, founded by drummer Jim Marshall, that designs and manufactures music amplifiers, brands personal headphones/earphones , and, after acquiring Natal Drums, drums and bongos. Marshall amplifiers, and specifically their guitar amplifiers, are among the most...
combos. Robert recorded the bass lines to "First Kiss on Mars" with a 1950s six-string Danelectro Longhorn bass, and Weiland used Robert's collection of vintage microphones for some of his vocals. Dean exclaimed, "Most bands do a retro thing and apologize for it. We’re unapologetically retro here. That was the whole idea!"
Leading up to the recording process, Dean had been listening to country, drawing inspiration from '60s guitarists like Jimmy Bryant
Jimmy Bryant
Jimmy Bryant was a prominent American session guitarist. He was billed as "The Fastest Guitar in the Country".-Biography:Ivy J. Bryant, Jr. was born in Moultrie, Georgia, the oldest of 12 children...
, Speedy West
Speedy West
Wesley Webb West , better known as Speedy West, was an American pedal steel guitarist and record producer. He frequently played with Jimmy Bryant, both in their own duo and as part of the regular Capitol Records backing band for Tennessee Ernie Ford and many others...
, Hank Garland
Hank Garland
Walter Louis Garland , better known as Hank Garland, was a Nashville studio musician who performed with Elvis Presley, Patsy Cline, Roy Orbison and many others.-Biography:...
, Pete Drake
Pete Drake
Pete Drake , born Roddis Franklin Drake, was a major Nashville, Tennessee-based record producer and pedal steel guitar player....
, Hank Snow
Hank Snow
Clarence Eugene "Hank" Snow was a Canadian-American country music artist. He charted more than 70 singles on the Billboard country charts from 1950 until 1980...
and Aerosmith
Aerosmith
Aerosmith is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "The Bad Boys from Boston" and "America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based hard rock, has come to also incorporate elements of pop, heavy metal, and rhythm and blues, and has inspired many...
's Brad Whitford
Brad Whitford
Bradford Ernest Whitford is the rhythm guitarist for the hard rock band Aerosmith. He graduated Reading Memorial High School in 1970.-Career:...
. Songs like "Hickory Dichotomy" gave Weiland and Kretz a "Down South
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
" and "swampy kind of feeling". Although it was recorded in standard tuning, "Hickory Dichotomy" features a slide guitar
Slide guitar
Slide guitar or bottleneck guitar is a particular method or technique for playing the guitar. The term slide refers to the motion of the slide against the strings, while bottleneck refers to the original material of choice for such slides: the necks of glass bottles...
solo performed in open G. Both "Cinnamon" and "Maver" were recorded with a Telecaster set up for Nashville tuning
E9 tuning
E9 tuning is a common tuning for steel guitar necks of more than six strings. In particular, it is the most common tuning for the far neck on a two-neck table steel guitar or pedal steel guitar, most often combined with C6 tuning for the near neck, and also a popular tuning for single neck...
, and Dean described "First Kiss on Mars" as having a "down-home country kind of feel", but noted Weiland's influence on the song: "That title takes it to this whole other plateau."
Several of the songs were inspired by '60s and '70s rock bands. "Between the Lines" was written with The Animals
The Animals
The Animals were an English music group of the 1960s formed in Newcastle upon Tyne during the early part of the decade, and later relocated to London...
, The Zombies
The Zombies
The Zombies are an English rock band, formed in 1961 in St Albans and led by Rod Argent, on piano and keyboards, and vocalist Colin Blunstone. The group scored a UK and US hit in 1964 with "She's Not There"...
and Paul Revere & the Raiders
Paul Revere & the Raiders
Paul Revere & the Raiders is an American rock band that saw considerable U.S. mainstream success in the second half of the 1960s and early 1970s with hits such as "Kicks" , "Hungry" , "Him Or Me - What's It Gonna Be?" and the 1971 No...
in mind, and Weiland considered "Cinnamon" to be a combination of '60s British pop and Ian Curtis
Ian Curtis
Ian Kevin Curtis was an English singer and lyricist, famous for leading the post-punk band Joy Division. Joy Division released their debut album, Unknown Pleasures, in 1979 and recorded their follow-up, Closer, in 1980...
(of Joy Division
Joy Division
Joy Division were an English rock band formed in 1976 in Salford, Greater Manchester. Originally named Warsaw, the band primarily consisted of Ian Curtis , Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris .Joy Division rapidly evolved from their initial punk rock influences...
). "Huckleberry Crumble" was inspired by Aerosmith
Aerosmith
Aerosmith is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "The Bad Boys from Boston" and "America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based hard rock, has come to also incorporate elements of pop, heavy metal, and rhythm and blues, and has inspired many...
, specifically "Same Old Song and Dance
Same Old Song and Dance
"Same Old Song and Dance" is a song by American hard rock band Aerosmith. The song was written by lead singer Steven Tyler and guitarist Joe Perry. It was released on March 19, 1974 as the lead single of their second studio album, Get Your Wings...
". Dean admitted to the similarities: "The arrangement is almost the same: riff, solo, verse, chorus, solo, back to a second verse—it’s pretty much the same setup." He also noted how the song sounded different depending on the type of instruments used to play it. "It's amazing how, if you were to present that opening riff on a Tele really clean, it's almost a country riff. But if you present it with a Les Paul through a Marshall, it takes on this whole different thing."
Weiland's lyrics were unique to previous albums, which had been solely focused on himself and his drug addictions. He studied lyricists to learn how to write differently. "[In] the '90s, I was so overwhelmed with my heroin addiction, and so a lot of the stuff was just from my point of view. Now, I tend to look at some of the greats like Leonard Cohen
Leonard Cohen
Leonard Norman Cohen, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, poet and novelist. Cohen published his first book of poetry in Montreal in 1956 and his first novel in 1963. His work often explores religion, isolation, sexuality and interpersonal relationships...
and Bob Dylan. I look at their storytelling [and] I try to tell stories. Every song doesn't have to be narcissistically written about how I feel on that day." Stone Temple Pilots became the third album Weiland had ever recorded sober, after Velvet Revolver
Velvet Revolver
Velvet Revolver is an American hard rock supergroup consisting of former Guns N' Roses members Slash, Duff McKagan, and Matt Sorum, alongside Dave Kushner formerly of punk band Wasted Youth. Stone Temple Pilots vocalist Scott Weiland was Velvet Revolver's lead singer from their formation until...
's Libertad and Stone Temple Pilot's first album, Core
Core (Stone Temple Pilots album)
The album was released on September 29, 1992 on Atlantic, the same day Alice in Chains released Dirt, another important album of the grunge era. Despite high sales, the album received mixed to negative reviews. Critics blasted the band as "rip-offs" of grunge bands such as Pearl Jam and Alice in...
. Weiland was also influenced by his ex-wife, Mary Forsberg, about whom he specifically wrote on "Cinnamon". Weiland's inspiration for "First Kiss on Mars" came from the music itself. He explained his lyrics succinctly: "When I first heard [the song], it sounded intergalactic." Critics and interviewers of the band noticed that Weiland's vocalizations were drawn from David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
.
Promotion and release
Stone Temple Pilots was promoted through various media outlets, including the Internet, radio, and on television, with live performances and interviews by the band. The earliest reported premiere of the album was on February 23, 2010, when the new album was played in its entirety at a private listening party held at Gramercy Park HotelGramercy Park Hotel
Gramercy Park Hotel is a luxury hotel located at 2 Lexington Avenue, in the Gramercy Park neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, adjacent to Gramercy Park. It is known for its rich history.-History:Gramercy Park Hotel was designed by Robert T...
's Rose Bar in New York City. Among those in attendance were Stone Temple Pilots, journalists from several venues, and Craig Kallman, Chairman and CEO of Atlantic Records. Stone Temple Pilots opened an early-2010 tour on March 18 at the South by Southwest
South by Southwest
South by Southwest is an Austin, Texas based company dedicated to planning conferences, trade shows, festivals and other events. Their current roster of annual events include: SXSW Music, SXSW Film, SXSW Interactive, SXSWedu, and SXSWeco and take place every spring in Austin, Texas, United States...
music festival, where four new songs were premiered: "Between the Lines", "Huckleberry Crumble", "Bagman", and "Hickory Dichotomy". On March 27, the band was filmed performing live at the Riviera Theatre
Riviera Theatre
The Riviera Theatre is a concert venue in the north side of Chicago, Illinois. The Riviera Theatre is capable of holding some 2,500 spectators. Built in 1917, it was designed by Rapp and Rapp for the Balaban & Katz theatre chain run by A. J. Balaban, his brother Barney Balaban and their partner Sam...
in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois. The footage appeared on VH1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
's Friday Night Alright series two months later on May 21, which included a performance of "Between the Lines".
Beginning in late April, Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
advertised that they would be streaming a new song in its entirety each week leading up to the release of the album. Four songs total were streamed, including "Between the Lines", "Hickory Dichotomy", "Bagman", and "Huckleberry Crumble". On May 21, all twelve tracks of the album became available for streaming in their entirety on Billboards website. That same month, the band appeared on a radio talk show and two late night television
Late night television
Late night television in the United States is the block of television programming airing after 11:00 pm and usually through 2:00 am. Traditionally, this type of programming airs after the late local news and is most notable for being the daypart used for a particular genre of programming that falls...
talk show
Talk show
A talk show or chat show is a television program or radio program where one person discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host....
s. On May 18, Stone Temple Pilots was the guest on the Howard Stern Show
Howard Stern Show
The Howard Stern Show is an American radio show hosted by its namesake Howard Stern. It gained wide recognition in the 1990s when it was nationally syndicated on terrestrial radio from 1986 to 2005...
. The following night, May 19, Stone Temple Pilots performed "Between the Lines" on the Late Show with David Letterman
Late Show with David Letterman
Late Show with David Letterman is a U.S. late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and is produced by Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants Incorporated. The show's music director and band-leader of the house band, the CBS Orchestra, is...
. The band performed two mini-concerts for two episodes of Jimmy Kimmel Live!. The first concert was recorded at the Gramercy Theater
Gramercy Theater
Gramercy Theatre is a music venue in Manhattan.-History:Built in 1937 and designed by architect Charles A. Sandblom in the Streamline Moderne style, the theatre is located at 127 E...
in Manhattan, New York, and aired on the evening of May 26. The second concert was performed the following night and aired on May 27. Stone Temple Pilots became Artist of the Month for American cable television
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
network ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
during June, though the network began featuring the band's music during the month of May. Songs from previous releases, as well as "Fast As I Can", "Cinnamon", "Dare If You Dare", and "Take a Load Off", were played during the network's television programming and were listed on the network's website, which included links to purchase the songs.
Stone Temple Pilots was released worldwide over a period of a week. Several foreign markets released the album on May 21, including Australia, Germany, and the Netherlands. The U.S. released the album on May 25, and countries like Sweden, Finland, and Japan released the album on May 26. Different versions of the album were released, including retailer-specific versions. The standard 12-track album was released on CD and vinyl. Deluxe and Japanese versions of the album included a second disc with four bonus tracks. Target stores sold a deluxe edition version that included gold foil on the artwork and an 18-panel poster, and iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
included a music video, an interview video, and a pre-order bonus track.
On June 1, "Between the Lines" was released, along with two other songs, as part of a Stone Temple Pilots pack for the rhythm video game Guitar Hero
Guitar Hero
Guitar Hero is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems and published by RedOctane for the PlayStation 2 video game console. It is the first entry in the Guitar Hero series. Guitar Hero was released on November 8, 2005 in North America, April 7, 2006 in Europe and June 15, 2006 in...
. On June 5, the band performed at the KROQ Weenie Roast
KROQ Weenie Roast
KROQ Weenie Roast is a multi-artist alternative rock concert, presented annually in June by the Los Angeles, California, USA radio station KROQ-FM. Since its beginning in 1993, the event has been traditionally held on a Saturday in June, except from 2005 to 2009 when it occurred in May.Every year...
, hosted by the U.S. radio station
KROQ-FM
KROQ-FM — branded 106.7 KROQ — is a commercial modern rock radio station licensed to Pasadena, California serving the Greater Los Angeles. The call sign is pronounced "kay rock." It is the flagship station of Loveline hosted by Dr...
. For the duration of June, the band played at various festivals in Europe, beginning with the Nova Rock Festival
Nova Rock Festival
The Nova Rock Festival, also just Nova Rock, is a music festival that has existed since 2005 and takes place each year in June. It is Austria's biggest rock music festivals, and also one of the largest in Europe. It is located in Burgenland, the easternmost federal state of Austria, near...
in Nickelsdorf
Nickelsdorf
Nickelsdorf is a town in the district of Neusiedl am See in Burgenland in Austria.- Geography :Nickelsdorf is the only town in the municipality...
, Austria, on June 11 and completing on June 28 in Sesto San Giovanni
Sesto San Giovanni
Sesto San Giovanni is a comune in the Milan metropolitan area, located in the province of Milan and region of Lombardy in Italy. Its railway station is the northernmost stop on the Milan Metro M1 line. The city is informally referred to as "Sesto"...
, Italy. The band returned to North America to perform at the rock festival
Rock festival
A rock festival, or a rock fest, is a large-scale rock music concert, featuring multiple acts.The first rock festivals were put on in the late 1960s and were important socio-cultural milestones. In the 1980s a minor resurgence of festivals occurred with charity as the goal.Today, they are often...
Rock on the Range
Rock on the Range
Rock on the Range is an annual rock festival featuring mostly mainstream rock bands, with a classic band usually headlining the show. The festival is held at two venues; Columbus Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio and Canad Inns Stadium in Winnipeg, Manitoba...
in Winnipeg
Winnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
, Canada, on August 7. They launched their headline tour on August 10 at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre
Red Rocks Amphitheatre
Red Rocks Amphitheatre is a rock structure near Morrison, Colorado, where concerts are given in the open-air amphitheatre. There is a large, tilted, disc-shaped rock behind the stage, a huge vertical rock angled outwards from stage right, several large outcrops angled outwards from stage left and a...
in Morrison, Colorado
Morrison, Colorado
The historic Town of Morrison is a Home Rule Municipality in Jefferson County, Colorado, United States. The population was 430 at the 2000 census...
.
Singles
"Between the Lines" became the album's first single; it was released digitally on the band's TwitterTwitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
page on March 22, later peaking at No. 1 on the Billboard Rock Songs
Rock Songs
Rock Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks the airplay of songs on alternative, mainstream rock and triple A radio stations. The first chart was published in the issue dated June 20, 2009. "Know Your Enemy" by Green Day was the first number-one song. The Rock Songs...
chart.The music video for "Between the Lines", directed by Christopher Sims, was shot on April 11 in Los Angeles, California, and premiered on Fuse TV
Fuse TV
Fuse is an American national television network dedicated exclusively to music. It features original series and specials, exclusive interviews, live concerts and video blocks....
's Top 20 Countdown on May 7.The song was written by Robert, with a guitar solo written by Dean. Robert was inspired by the '60s rock groups, The Zombies and The Animals, and who had been picturing "a '60s go-go beat and a girl in a miniskirt" before Weiland changed the song's meaning with his lyrics. Dean commented on how Weiland had turned "Between the Lines" into a love song: "Sometimes we don't feel musically what Scott does lyrically. He took it to an exciting place. It's pretty twisted." Weiland's lyrics reflected on his relationship with his ex-wife, Mary Forsberg, and his history with drug abuse. Speaking of the at-times strange lyrics, Weiland cited The Beatles' "I Am the Walrus
I Am the Walrus
"I Am the Walrus" is a 1967 song by The Beatles, written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. Lennon claimed he wrote the first two lines on separate acid trips. The song was in the Beatles' 1967 television film and album Magical Mystery Tour, and was the B-side to the #1 hit "Hello,...
" as an inspiration. "Sometimes you throw together random words that phonetically sound good with the melody and then you get to the meat of the song in the chorus.""Between the Lines" was originally the working title of the song, which Weiland incorporated into his lyrics.
"Take a Load Off" was the band's second single, which was released on June 15, and the accompanying music video was released in September. The video is a culmination of clips edited together, including moments with the band—both on and off stage—, samples of cartoons, and "all-American imagery". "Take a Load Off" topped the Alternative Chart at No. 24.
"Cinnamon" was released as the band's third single, which debuted at No. 49 on the Alternative Chart. The first music video for the song was filmed in mid-2010, directed by Aggressive
Aggressive (film director)
Aggressive is a New York based Grammy Award-winning music video directing team of Alex Topaller and Daniel Shapiro.To date, Aggressive has directed music videos for Michael Jackson, Stone Temple Pilots, Juanes, Megadeth, Bloc Party, The Click Five, Kerli, Black Label Society, Hoobastank, Killswitch...
(the combined efforts of directors Alex Topaller and Dan Shapiro), and produced by Anke Thommen, but the video was reshot. Kretz said simply that the first video had "the wrong director". The second music video was filmed in December 2010, directed by Dennis Roberts and photographed by Adam Bricker, however this video was also shelved in May 2011 without ever being released.
Chart performance
Stone Temple Pilots peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 61,933 copies its first week. The album was prevented from reaching No. 1 by the television soundtrack Glee: The Music, Volume 3 ShowstoppersGlee: The Music, Volume 3 Showstoppers
-Sales and chart performance:The album debuted at number one on the American, Australian, Canadian, and Irish charts. It sold 136,000 copies in its first and 63,000 in its second week of release in the US, and saw the Glee cast beat the record previously set by The Beatles in 1966, for shortest...
. The album dropped to No. 16 in its second week and to No. 45 in its third week. The album also peaked at No. 1 on Billboards Hard Rock and Rock Albums charts, as well as No. 1 on the Alternative Songs chart. The album reached the top 10 in two countries, Canada (No. 2) and New Zealand (No. 6); the top 40 in three countries, Australia (No. 21), Finland (No. 35) and Switzerland (No. 36); and the top 100 for two countries, Austria (No. 54) and Germany (No. 52). Sales for the album dropped 70% in its second week, selling 18,601 copies, and continued to drop another 44% in its third week, selling 10,473 copies. The fourth week saw sales drop 18%, with 8,538 copies sold.
Early critical reception
On February 23, 2010, the album was previewed in its entirety during a private listening party at Gramercy Park Hotel's Rose Bar in New York City. Craig Kallman, Chairman and CEO of Atlantic Records, delivered a speech praising the members of the band and their influence on the music industry, comparing them to Led ZeppelinLed Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
. Several members of the audience described the songs as "Beatles-esque
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
" and the album "a natural, melodic progression for Stone Temple Pilots." Robert DeLeo cautioned against the overuse of the "Beatles" label. "I think there's always going to be a sense of Beatles on whatever anybody does. I mean, the Beatles have been such a huge influence and inspiration on music in general. The Beatles, they're ingrained in everybody's mind.... The Beatles are like our nursery rhymes for all of us; it's the planet's nursery rhymes."
William Goodman of Spin described the album as a "signature blend of tuneful melodies and rock guitar crunch, psychedelic solos and impressive crooning courtesy of Scott Weiland," adding that two songs in the second half of the album were slower and performed with acoustic guitar. Rick Florino of ARTISTdirect.com extolled the album as "the rock record of the decade," calling it "a masterpiece that will officially solidify STP alongside the Beatles, Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
as one of the greatest rock 'n' roll bands of all time."
Professional reviews
Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic suggested that Stone Temple Pilots proved the band members, after nearly a decade of side-projects, needed each other. The album's sound picked up where Shangri-La Dee Da left off, but the lack of Brendan O'Brien's production, which Erlewine believed was a "key ingredient" to the previous albums, was evident. "[W]ith another set of ears in the studio... perhaps the entire set would be sharpened." Jon Dolan's brief review in Entertainment WeeklyEntertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
called the music "cheap and easy pop-rock mimicry". He noted that Weiland sounded "effervescent" now that the singer was drug free, but Dolan still found his lyrics to "weigh him down".
Brad Wheeler, writing for The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail is a nationally distributed Canadian newspaper, based in Toronto and printed in six cities across the country. With a weekly readership of approximately 1 million, it is Canada's largest-circulation national newspaper and second-largest daily newspaper after the Toronto Star...
, wondered if the eponymous title was an allusion to the Atlantic Records contractual dispute. He went on to remark on the music's combination of 90s era "guitar flash and crunch" and The Beatles. Wheeler did not think the album moved the band or its sound forward, calling it "a quasi-comeback album that neither defiles nor builds upon the band’s legend." Amirose Eisenbach of IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
wrote that the music was not "anything especially unique". Eisenbach analyzed several tracks, observing that some songs "start off promising" only to result in "uninspired, generic hooks," while other songs struggle with their musical direction. Despite this, Eisenbach felt the album had "enough going on inside the album's 41 minutes that it's worth a listen."
Newsday
Newsday
Newsday is a daily American newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties and the New York City borough of Queens on Long Island, although it is sold throughout the New York metropolitan area...
s Glenn Gamboa praised the band for "not reliving the past", but he found enough similarities to the band's previous releases to appeal to listeners. He considered the album successful because the band had been "reflecting their time apart and their work with Velvet Revolver and Army of Anyone." Mike Schiller, writing for PopMatters
PopMatters
PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...
, called the album's title an appropriate fit with the band's apparent ease of writing with "obvious" influences. He described the title as, "more homage than it is subconscious plagiarism," before listing Nirvana
Nirvana (band)
Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...
, Aerosmith, Joy Division, John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
, David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
, and even the band's Purple
Purple (album)
-Notes:The opening of track 3, "Lounge Fly", was used as the theme for MTV News's short MTV News Break segments for several years in the mid-1990s....
as having intentionally shaped the album. Schiller decided the album was a "bonus" because, in the near-decade gap since the band's last release, "people have moved on". He concluded that Stone Temple Pilots is "a far more fitting epilogue" than the last album, before considering it, "perhaps, [the] next chapter".
Ronnie Kerswell of Rock Sound
Rock Sound
Rock Sound is a British magazine which champions rock music. The magazine aims at being more "underground" and less commercial, whilst also giving coverage to more well known acts.-History:...
said that the album "does not disappoint", describing it as having "heady guitar trips and crunching grooves". She found Weiland's voice to be improved in part due to his sober lifestyle and wrote that the band was "back in action". USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
s Jerry Schriver praised the band for releasing a "cohesive, self-produced reunion album", but admitted the tracks were not "timeless". The songs were found to be "pleasant" but "disposable" and inoffensive. Schriver commended Dean DeLeo for keeping the "well-constructed tunes" moving forward, despite Weiland's lyrics. Allison Stewart, writing for The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
, decided the album was a "small victory" and "respectable" but ultimately "a weirdly mild, tension-free outing." Like other critics, Stewart noticed the influences on the album, including country and "psych-rock", and thought the band was "better at mixing their influences in novel ways than at actually being novel themselves."
Track listing
Personnel
Band- Scott WeilandScott WeilandScott Weiland is an American musician, lyricist, and vocalist, most notable for his work with Grammy Award-winning rock band Stone Temple Pilots. Weiland is also known for his five-year career with supergroup Velvet Revolver as well as his own solo career...
– lead vocals - Robert DeLeoRobert DeLeoRobert Emile DeLeo is an American bass player, songwriter, and harmony vocalist for the rock band Stone Temple Pilots. He has also played in Talk Show and Army of Anyone...
– bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music... - Dean DeLeoDean DeLeoDean DeLeo is an American guitarist for the rock band Stone Temple Pilots.He is also known for his role in the short-lived bands Talk Show and Army of Anyone, which featured his younger brother Robert DeLeo, Filter frontman Richard Patrick, and session drummer Ray Luzier...
– guitars, producer - Eric KretzEric KretzEric Kretz is an American musician and producer, known as the drummer for the rock band Stone Temple Pilots, one of the most successful rock bands of the 1990s and early 2000s that reunited in 2008. He has also played for Talk Show, and most recently Spiralarms...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
Production
- Chris Lord-AlgeChris Lord-AlgeChris Lord-Alge is a mixer who has worked on various albums. He is the brother of Tom Lord-Alge, another audio engineer. Chris Lord-Alge is known for his extreme use of dynamic range compression in both hardware and software plug-in versions....
– mixingAudio mixing (recorded music)In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may... - Don WasDon WasDon Was is an American musician, bassist and record producer.-Life and career:Was was born in Detroit, Michigan. He graduated from Oak Park High School in the Detroit suburb of Oak Park, then attended the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor but dropped out after the first year...
– additional producer - Ted JensenTed JensenTed Jensen is an American recording engineer. Jensen is the chief mastering engineer at Sterling Sound. He started his career as a mastering engineer in 1976 and is currently the most active Mastering Engineer in the industry...
– masteringAudio masteringMastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced... - Russ Fowler – engineerAudio engineeringAn audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
- Bill Appleberry – engineer and all keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
- Doug GreanDoug GreanDoug Grean is an American record producer, audio engineer, and guitarist based in Los Angeles. He has worked with many major artists, including Sheryl Crow, Ricki Lee Jones, Glen Campbell, Scott Weiland, Slash, Velvet Revolver, Stone Temple Pilots, The Crystal Method, Tim McGraw, Cyndi Lauper,...
– engineer - Mike Gerlach – assistant engineer
- Jared Hirshland – assistant engineer
- Arik Garcia – assistant engineer
- Keith Armstrong – assistant mixer
- Nik Karpen – assistant mixer
- Brad Townsend – additional engineering
- Andrew Schubert – additional engineering
- Shepard FaireyShepard FaireyFrank Shepard Fairey is an American contemporary graphic designer, and illustrator who emerged from the skateboarding scene. He first became known for his "André the Giant Has a Posse" sticker campaign, in which he appropriated images from the comedic supermarket tabloid Weekly World News. His...
– cover imageCover artCover art is the illustration or photograph on the outside of a published product such as a book , magazine, comic book, video game , DVD, CD, videotape, or music album. The art has a primarily commercial function, i.e... - Mark Obriski – art directionArt directorThe art director is a person who supervise the creative process of a design.The term 'art director' is a blanket title for a variety of similar job functions in advertising, publishing, film and television, the Internet, and video games....
& design - David J. Harrigan III – additional design
- Chapman BaehlerChapman BaehlerChapman Baehler is a photographer and director primarily working with musicians.His photographs have been featured on more than 160 albums since the mid-1990s, covering artists including Brooks & Dunn , Iggy Pop , Nine Inch Nails, Kelly Clarkson, Stone Temple Pilots, John Mayer, Fishbone,...
– photographyPhotographyPhotography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film... - Dana DuFine – management
Charts
| Chart (2010) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums Chart | 21 |
| Austrian Albums Chart | 54 |
| Canadian Albums Chart Canadian Albums Chart The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Wednesday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen Soundscan, and published every Thursday by Jam! Canoe and Billboard, along with its sister charts the Canadian Singles Chart and the Canadian BDS... |
2 |
| Finnish Albums Chart | 35 |
| German Albums Chart | 52 |
| New Zealand Albums Chart | 6 |
| Swiss Albums Chart | 36 |
| US Billboard 200 Chart Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
2 |
| US Digital Albums Chart | 2 |
| US Rock Albums Chart | 1 |
| US Hard Rock Albums Chart | 1 |
Release history
| Region | Date | Format | Refs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area... |
May 21, 2010 | CD Compact Disc The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,... , digital download Music download A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment... |
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| Germany Germany Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate... |
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| Netherlands Netherlands The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders... |
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| United Kingdom United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages... |
May 24, 2010 | ||
| New Zealand New Zealand New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga... |
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| United States United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
May 25, 2010 | CD, vinyl Gramophone record A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove... , digital download |
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| Canada Canada Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean... |
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| Norway Norway Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million... |
CD, digital download | ||
| Sweden Sweden Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund.... |
May 26, 2010 | ||
| Finland Finland Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside... |
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| Japan Japan Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south... |
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| Brazil Brazil Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people... |
May 27, 2010 |