Music Monday: Stone Temple Pilots “Tiny Music… Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop” Turns 25

STP Tiny Music
Stone Temple Pilots’ Third Album, released on March 26, 1996

Most people that know me know that I am a big Stone Temple Pilots fan and have been since their debut album “Core” released in 1992 [which means that album will turn 30 next year] so when each new album came out, I embraced it regardless of how good or how mediocre it was [their self-titled 6th album comes to mind]. Most only know a few songs that were big hits from their catalog. With this third album, things were pretty rough in the lead up to recording it, mostly due to Scott Weiland’s drug addiction taking precedence. But the album came out and proved that they still knew how to make some great songs together.

Track Listing

  1. “Press Play” (Instrumental)
  2. “Pop’s Love Suicide”
  3. “Tumble in the Rough”
  4. “Big Bang Baby”
  5. “Lady Picture Show”
  6. “And So I Know”
  7. “Trippin’ on a Hole in a Paper Heart”
  8. “Art School Girl”
  9. “Adhesive”
  10. “Ride the Cliché”
  11. “Daisy” (Instrumental)
  12. “Seven Caged Tigers”

Third Time Around

Unlike the heavy grunge with “Core” and the mainstream pop/rock sound on “Purple”, “Tiny Music” had all four members firing on all cylinders with a focus that gave us some great songs – which are still played on radio today. “Big Bang Baby” is in regular rotation on SiriusXM Lithium channel as well as “Lady Picture Show” with it’s Beatle-esque style. But it was “Trippin’ On A Hole In A Paper Heart” that ended up being the bigger hit and mostly well known to those of us that have seen the band live the last 10 years, where the song ends the set. Experienced live, it is so well done and the power chords that reverberate through the venue that I am thinking of the song right now as I type this from the last three shows I attended.

The rest of the album is evident STP sound with Dean DeLeo lead guitar being very prominent. Dean strums like Jimmy Page and George Harrison in many of the songs. Seems like this album should have been more popular, but as mentioned above, Scott’s addiction issues kept the band from doing much promotion and had cancelled tour dates.

Personally, as a long time fan, this album still gets played often here. Even the instrumentals on tracks 1 and 11 are nice tunes. So if it’s been a while since you have heard this album, give it a digital spin or two and see if it still sounds just as good as it did 25 years ago.

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