Serious fans will quibble about the song choices, as greatest hits does not equal best songs. (e.g., Only one song from "Shrangri-La"?!) But with any good band, reasonable ears/minds will differ, and besides, we make our own compilations anyway. Still, even for hardcore fans, there IS the decent new song, a harder edge tune titled "All in the Suit that You Wear", and the acoustic version of "Plush" from MTV Headbanger's Ball-1992 (which was a minor radio hit in an of itself).

I used to loathe this band back in 1992, when it seemed like they were just Johnny-come-latelies of Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Soudgarden, but I came to respect them more after I learned a little bit about the grunge scene (i.e., all the sonic similarities existed before any of these bands hit big). Plus I just can't get "Big Bang Baby" out of my head, and those chord changes on "Plush" and "Interstate Love Song" are truly infectious.


A great, but imperfect collection   April 16, 2005
 15 out of 18 found this review helpful

4.5 stars

Stone Temple Pilots certainly proved all their detractors wrong. Initially written off as nothing but Pearl Jam clones, Stone Temple Pilots proved to be one of the most creative and vital forces throughout the 1990s. Although they borrowed from the Seattle soundbook with their debut "Core" (1992), they found their own sound with subsequent albums. STP never stagnated or suffered a creative bust. They always put out quality albums. STP was always mixing it up with each new release. All five of their albums had their own unique sound and vibe. As previously stated, "Core" was the most grunge sounding album in the STP catalog. It was grunge music made as arena rock. "Purple" (1994) was more refined and the songs were more skillfully crafted. "Tiny Music...Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop" (1996) eschewed the grunge style of the earlier albums, and instead opted for retro, 70s glam meets 90s modern rock. "No4" (1999) was a combination of the first three albums, and was also somewhat more rough-around-the-edges. The highly underrated "Shangri-La-Dee-Da" (2001) was a more refined, polished follow-up.

The greatest hits album "Thank You," is flawed, but great nonetheless. If you listened to modern rock radio throughout the 90s, you will undoubtedly be familiar with all these songs, as they were all radio staples, and remain so to this day. By listening to this album, you will see why STP was one of the best rock bands of the 1990s. They just wrote killer, killer catchy songs with infectious hooks. This CD is really a comprehensive overview of all their radio-hits. This compilation does an excellent job of representing the bands first three albums.

The problem with "Thank You" is its treatment of the last two STP albums "No4," and "Shangri-La-Dee-Da." As STP rolled on through the late 90s and early 00s, their music always stayed consistently good, and these are two great albums, but they are underrepresented on "Thank You." Only two songs from "No4" and one song from "Shangri-La-Dee-Da" are included.

"Thank You" serves as a greatest hits, as opposed to a best-of. The problem is that a lot of their best songs from the later day albums were not huge radio staples, and were not hits, but were great nonetheless. A CD can hold 80 minutes of music, but this CD holds only 60. About four additional songs from the last two albums should have been included (five, if they left off the acoustic version of "Plush" which was a cool rendition, but a waste of space). It would have been a great way for fans of the earlier albums to get into the later day stuff. "Heaven & Hot Rods" from "No4" should have been included, as should have "Too Cool Queenie" and "Hello, it's Late" from "Shangri La Dee Da."

A real comprehensive best-of album from Stone Temple Pilots would really need to be two CDs in length, with not only the radio hits, but also essential album cuts from all five albums. In addition, it should include the awesome cover of Led Zeppelin's "Dancing Days" and the Beatles "Revolution."

Apart from these faults, this is still a great compilation. "All in the Suit that you Wear" (recorded in 2002) is a great song, unavailable elsewhere and should please fans of the band. If you don't own any STP albums, this is a good place to start. But then I'd still check out some of the later day albums.


Tried and True Hits   November 12, 2003
 5 out of 5 found this review helpful

The reason this album receives five stars is that an avid STP fan or even the casual radio listeners will know almost all of these songs easily. These are big, big radio hits. It's all too often that record companies stretch a band to get a greatest hits package. For example they package 3-4 hits that a band may have had and then base this around filler, that weren't even legitimate hits but rather what they think the best songs were whether succesful or not.

The case with STP, they are totally due for a best of collection. Almost all the songs were complete hits, even the ones that are supposed to be new or bonuses. Plush (acoustic) has been played on my local san francisco radio station for many many years. This is a great cd, and the record company couldn't screw this up. No one will be asking where is this song or that song? You can't go wrong with putting interstate love song, plush, big empty, creep, etc. all on one cd.

even all in the suit you wear is good, because it combines new stp ala shangriladeeda with older stone temple pilots so you would be hardpressed not to like it.


what a way to go out   November 13, 2003
 5 out of 10 found this review helpful

wished i would've bought the dvd/cd combo but oh well.

if you are a true stp fan like me and have been with them since their first album core you will agree with me on two things about the cd. First of all, they should have added dead and bloated. they do that song in every concert that i've seen them do and i've seen them 15 times. second, this cd is a savior to the fact that you have every major hit (single) from every album.

i never liked greatest hits albums that skipped over decent albums in their collections. if you don't have enough room for one, then do a double disc and add rarities or unreleased material or whatever.

they had to add the new song on the album i'm guessing to show what direction they were possibly headed or maybe they have no more unreleased songs to add. it's possible.

the cd tracklisting couldn't get much better. wished they could have done chronological to show how much they have matured as a band but oh well.

all i can say is that this cd is essential for newcomers who missed the party and essential for people like me who have all the cds and hate carrying them all around only to play 3 songs from each album. love all the songs. plush acoustic is damn good and extremely haunting. clarity on the album is great. what an amazing gift to the fans and what a way to go out. hoping for a live or rarities discs.


JawnaLee obviously knows nothing about music   August 20, 2005
 5 out of 12 found this review helpful

Anyone who could draw a comparison between STP and the Monkees obviously knows nothing about either 90's or 60's music. Should I start with the fact that the Monkees didn't even play their own instruments? Or perhaps I should mention that the Monkees (somewhat like Nirvana in some cases, sadly) were driven to a high degree by big record industry producers as far as their sound was concerned; their sound wasn't necessarily authentic, it was simply marketable. Now since Jawnalee has seen fit to make their grossly incorrect comparison chart of "90's" artists, allow me to debunk the entire thing seeing as it is completely inaccurate:
The White Stripes aren't a 90's artist, and linking them to The Who is tenuous at best. I have seen nothing from The White Stripes that goes anywhere beyond "Adult Contemporary" that is played on all those "at work" stations. They've been played to death and have shown us little beyond what we already know. Pearl Jam, while being highly influential in their early days, has fallen into this category as well after their rather large departure from the past releases with the likes of Vitalogy. Again, they have fallen into the "pop" category having abandoned their message and focused on the music industry politics that Eddie Vedder is now famous for. Even Green Day, to a point, has drifted into this category with some of their more meaningless songs. The mighty Green Day has, at least until American Idiot, decided that Top 40 stations might just be where they belong... Dookie was their last worthy contribution to music, but it seems they're trying to redeem themselves.
And how do you link Nirvana to Jimi Hendrix? You obviously know very little about either artist when you link the blues-driven, entrancing riffs of Hendrix with the 3-chord grunge rock licks of Nirvana. Hendrix was never told by his management to limit his songs to 3 chords... and if he had been, I'm sure that would have signalled a change of management. This is not to lessen the tremendous impact Nirvana had in the music we have today, but Kurt Cobain, while being ingenious, was no Hendrix. Furthermore, I think the entirety of the Pumpkins would be grossly offended to be linked up to a group so teeny and pop-driven as the Beach Boys. Granted both groups had a long discography, and perhaps had a number of hits across the spectrum of listeners, but there is little comparison beyond that.
Again, anyone who would take the Milli Vanilli likes of the Monkees and place them side-by-side with one of the most influential acts of 90's rock is obviously ill-versed in music. STP holds their place among the likes of Nirvana, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, and the other idols of the 90's music revolution. Now that I've debunked the painful ignorance of Jawnalee, let me spend a quick word on the albums:
Core: The quintessential STP. The first album, and arguably the best. You don't know STP unless you know this CD.
Purple: A departure from the harder likes of Core. Introduces Scott's haunting vocals in tracks such as Big Empty, Unglued, and Still Remains.
Tiny Music: More along the lines of Purple... argued to be one of their more weak albums.
No. 4: A powerful return to their old formula in Core but still with many of the lighter, almost Jim Morrison-esque stylings of Purple and Tiny Music all mixed in there for your enjoyment.
Shangri-la: More along the lines of No. 4. Again, the now-familiar sound of STP but now more mature. Shows the latest result of the band's progression over the years. A worthy addition.
Thank You: Their "Greatest Hits". For those who know STP from the radio and want to have a collection of their more popular tunes. Also perfect for the likes of Jawnalee who need a good primer into the music of STP.
So a final note to Jawnalee, where ever they may be: don't spam websites with your uninformed, ignorant babble... try to speak on a topic you know something about, like maybe Brittany Spears, Hanson, or Creed... leave the rock to those who know rock.