No. 4

No. 4
$36.99

№ 4 is the fourth album released by American grunge rockers Stone Temple Pilots, released in 1999. The album was a return to the band's earlier Hard Rock roots, while also blending elements of Heavy Metal, Psychedelic Rock, and Alternative Rock. Despite the lack of promotion due to singer Scott Weiland's one-year jail sentence shortly before the album's release, No. 4 was certified Platinum by the RIAA in 2000. The song “Down” was nominated for Best Hard Rock Performance at the Grammy Awards. The album also produced one of STP's biggest hits, “Sour Girl”, which charted at #78 on the Hot 100, their only song to appear on that chart. No.4 displays a deliberate effort by the band to return to a more Hard Rock-oriented sound featured on its first two albums. Allmusic cited the album as STP's “hardest effort” since Core, remarking that “it's as if STP decided to compete directly with the new generation of alt-metal bands who prize aggression over hooks or riffs.” Stephen Erlewine also wrote that No.4 “consolidates all [of STP's] strengths.” 180 Gram Audiophile Vinyl Insert & Die-Cut Outer Sleeve Available On Vinyl For The First Time! First Pressing Of 2000 Numbered Copies On White Vinyl Review It would be tempting to scour No. 4, Scott Weiland's reunion with Stone Temple Pilots, for insights into his troubles, yet the group consciously avoids this throughout the album. That's for the best, since it's their hardest effort since their debut, Core. “Down” and “Heaven & Hot Rods” provide a powerful, brutal opening for No. 4 – it's as if STP decided to compete directly with the new generation of alt-metal bands who prize aggression over hooks or riffs. With these two songs, the band's attack is as vicious as that of the new generation, but they retain their gift for gargantuan hooks. Much of the album hits pretty hard – most explicitly on “No Way Out,” “Sex & Violence,” and “MC5,” – and even the ballads and neo-psychedelic pop have none of the swirling production that distinguished Tiny Music. That sense of adventure is missed, because even if the album finds STP returning to the muscular hard rock that made them, they always sounded better when they concentrated on melodicism. No. 4's most effective moments have a variety of sonic textures and color – “Pruno” tempers its giant riffs with spacy verses; “Church on Tuesday” is a great pop tune, as are the trippy “Sour Girl” and “I Got You”; and the psychedelic “Glide” and closing ballad, “Atlanta,” have a sense of majesty. These songs anchor the heavier moments, instead of the other way around, and it all plays well together. As a matter of fact, No. 4 is as tight as Tiny Music. Even if it isn't as grandiose or sonically compelling as that effort, it's a record that consolidates all their strengths. Stephen Thomas Erlewine – Allmusic.com