Recorded at Rumbo Recorders, Los Angeles.

"Plush" won the 1994 Grammy Award for "Best Hard Rock Performance With Vocal."

Stone Temple Pilots were positively vilified once their 1992 debut, Core, started scaling the charts in 1993, pegged as fifth-rate Pearl Jam copyists. It is true that the worst moments of Core play like a parody of the Seattle scene -- titles like "Dead and Bloated" and "Crackerman" tell you that much, playing like really bad Alice in Chains parodies, and the entire record tends to sink into gormless post-grunge sludge. Furthermore, even if it rocks pretty hard, it's usually without much character, sounding like cut-rate grunge. To be fair, it's more that they share the same influences as their peers than being overt copycats, but it's still a little disheartening all the same. If that's all that Core was, it'd be as forgettable as Seven Mary Three, but there are the hits that propelled it up the charts, songs that have remarkably stood the test of time to be highlights of their era. "Sex Type Thing" may have a clumsy anti-rape lyric that comes across as misogynist, but it survives on its terrifically lunk-headed riff, while "Wicked Garden" is a surprisingly effective piece of revivalist acid rock. Then, there's the slow acoustic crawl of "Creep" that works as well as anything on AIC's Sap and, finally, "Plush," a majestic album rock revival more melodic and stylish than anything grunge produced outside of Nirvana itself. These four songs aren't enough to salvage a fairly pedestrian debut, but they do find STP to be nimble rock craftsmen when inspiration hits. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

The group that put San Diego on the musical map, Stone Temple Pilots released their debut album with no fanfare, and caught the public's eye only after touring for a year. CORE's sound--relentlessly pounding guitars, a heavy bottom and a singer whose vocal style bled with some unseen pain--played perfectly into the swell of grunge that had been building up in the mainstream for two years before its release. Topically, CORE went beyond the the usual sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll fare associated with hard rock. The drill instructor intro that singer Weiland chants off at the beginning of "Dead & Bloated" is a disgusted swipe at the rivers of apathy coursing through America. The enigmatic singer often donned a dress on stage to drive home the point of the anti-rape song "Sex Type Thing."

Guitarist Dean DeLeo's playing grinds and swirls, pulling the listener to and fro on a crunchy carpet of distortion. Brother Robert's bass rumbles and pops thunderously, as drummer Eric Kretz matches him with unbridled ferocity. STP click spectacularly on the consecutive tandem of "Sin" and "Naked Sunday," taking on the political hot-button of religion. "Sin" addresses the danger of blind piety that leaves no room for compassion, while "Naked Sunday" deals with the quest for God and the uncertainty of such spiritual pursuits. Pretty heavy stuff for a group that should be more concerned with living the stereotypical rock 'n' roll lifestyle.

The group that put San Diego, California, on the musical map, Stone Temple Pilots released their debut album with little fanfare, and caught the public eye only after touring for a year. CORE's sound--relentlessly pounding guitars, a heavy bottom, and a singer whose vocal style bled with some unseen pain--played perfectly into the swell of grunge that had been building up in the mainstream for two years before its release. Topically, CORE went beyond the the usual sex, drugs, and rock & roll fare associated with hard rock. The drill-instructor intro that singer Scott Weiland chants at the beginning of "Dead & Bloated" is a disgusted swipe at the rivers of apathy coursing through America. The enigmatic singer often donned a dress onstage to drive home the point of the anti-rape song "Sex Type Thing."

Guitarist Dean DeLeo's playing grinds and swirls, pulling the listener to and fro on a crunchy carpet of distortion. Brother Robert's bass rumbles and pops thunderously, as drummer Eric Kretz matches him with unbridled ferocity. STP clicks spectacularly on the consecutive tandem of "Sin" and "Naked Sunday," taking on the political hot-button topic of religion. "Sin" addresses the danger of blind piety that leaves no room for compassion, while "Naked Sunday" deals with the quest for God and the uncertainty of such spiritual pursuits. Pretty heavy stuff for a group presumed to be living the stereotypical rock & roll lifestyle.