Is No. 4 the best representation of STP's scope?

[Slither]

Eh, I think it has to be SLDD. It kicks off with the super heavy Dumb Love, segues immediately into Days of the Week which is basically a pop song, and then 5 tracks later you get Hello, It's Late. In between you get both Coma and Wonderful.

STP has always demonstrated how versatile they can be on each of their albums, but I think SLDD dominates in this sense.

[loungefly90]

Eh, I think it has to be SLDD. It kicks off with the super heavy Dumb Love, segues immediately into Days of the Week which is basically a pop song, and then 5 tracks later you get Hello, It's Late. In between you get both Coma and Wonderful.

STP has always demonstrated how versatile they can be on each of their albums, but I think SLDD dominates in this sense.

YES. 100% agree.

[Blue]

Agree that SLDD is the best represebtation of their range. It's not just about lighter and heavier songs, its about genres. SLDD has pop, pop punk, hard rock, new metal, samba nova... it even has a waltz in it.


No. 4 obviously has great range, too, but SLDD proved they could write anything they want.

[CritterTypeThing]

I go SLDD.  It's my favorite all time album.  No.4 is 99.999999999% there for me.

Wonderful's lyrics, vocals, and music all line up and match in a perfectly simple way.  Atlanta has much more depth and layers and certainly edges out in the vocal performance.  Two rather different songs but both so beautiful.

No 4 I think has more "single worthy" songs in it, and it does certainly go from some of their dirtiest to cleanest sounds in their catalogue, but I personally think SLDD just has a little more cohesiveness and an essence I can't specifically define.

[loungefly611]

Eh, I think it has to be SLDD. It kicks off with the super heavy Dumb Love, segues immediately into Days of the Week which is basically a pop song, and then 5 tracks later you get Hello, It's Late. In between you get both Coma and Wonderful.

STP has always demonstrated how versatile they can be on each of their albums, but I think SLDD dominates in this sense.

YES. 100% agree.

X3

[Down-Plush]

Eh, I think it has to be SLDD. It kicks off with the super heavy Dumb Love, segues immediately into Days of the Week which is basically a pop song, and then 5 tracks later you get Hello, It's Late. In between you get both Coma and Wonderful.

STP has always demonstrated how versatile they can be on each of their albums, but I think SLDD dominates in this sense.

YES. 100% agree.

X3

See, that's where I diverge. I've never been a big fan of SLDD and have always found it to be a weaker amalgam of what had already been accomplished with albums previous, No. 4 and Tiny Music in particular. Had we gotten the double album it was intended to be, maybe it would've done more from a creative standpoint for me. I will give SLDD credit for featuring "Hello It's Late", which is like a beautiful fusion of "Sour Girl" and "Press Play". Other than that, it's still No. 4 for me because the quality is just miles ahead of SLDD in my opinion.

[loungefly90]

Eh, I think it has to be SLDD. It kicks off with the super heavy Dumb Love, segues immediately into Days of the Week which is basically a pop song, and then 5 tracks later you get Hello, It's Late. In between you get both Coma and Wonderful.

STP has always demonstrated how versatile they can be on each of their albums, but I think SLDD dominates in this sense.

YES. 100% agree.

X3

See, that's where I diverge. I've never been a big fan of SLDD and have always found it to be a weaker amalgam of what had already been accomplished with albums previous, No. 4 and Tiny Music in particular. Had we gotten the double album it was intended to be, maybe it would've done more from a creative standpoint for me. I will give SLDD credit for featuring "Hello It's Late", which is like a beautiful fusion of "Sour Girl" and "Press Play". Other than that, it's still No. 4 for me because the quality is just miles ahead of SLDD in my opinion.

One of the greatest things about this group is the diversity of opinion. Not only that, people liking different albums proves the vast range of music this band is capable of delivering.

A year or so back, I made a thread about "STP's Missed Opportunities." To this day, the whole double album never happening REALLY bothers me. Not only because we could have basically gotten another full album of material, but because the band really, really wanted it based off of everything I have heard and read. They were in a wonderful place then relationship-wise and it's sad Atlantic doused the flame just because they felt double albums sell poorly. While this could historically be true and probably is, to stifle the band's creativity seems like a far worse offense than a poor selling album.

[Down-Plush]

One of the greatest things about this group is the diversity of opinion. Not only that, people liking different albums proves the vast range of music this band is capable of delivering.

A year or so back, I made a thread about "STP's Missed Opportunities." To this day, the whole double album never happening REALLY bothers me. Not only because we could have basically gotten another full album of material, but because the band really, really wanted it based off of everything I have heard and read. They were in a wonderful place then relationship-wise and it's sad Atlantic doused the flame just because they felt double albums sell poorly. While this could historically be true and probably is, to stifle the band's creativity seems like a far worse offense than a poor selling album.

I would completely agree with that.

[DankoJones]

I think SLDD is a bit more "diverse" which I think hurts it as an album.  There's some real great tunes but with the ranges of songs effects its flow of an album IMO.

№4 is a and album while showing musically range flows smoother and work better as a whole than Shangri

[EyesOfDisarray]

To be clear, I personally like SLDD a little more than No. 4, but I still think No. 4 is the better "representation of the full scope of STP's ability." I don't think those concepts are mutually inclusive.

In other words, if I had to pick only one of these two to take to a desert island, I'd pick SLDD. But if I had to pick one to give to a casual rock fan to give them a demonstration of STP's capabilities, I'd pick No. 4.

It's close though; both are diverse albums that show off a broad range of genres and influences, and both have some incredible songwriting.

[Stop That Pigeon]

In other words, if I had to pick only one of these two to take to a desert island, I'd pick SLDD. But if I had to pick one to give to a casual rock fan to give them a demonstration of STP's capabilities, I'd pick No. 4.

Agreed.

[loungefly611]

In other words, if I had to pick only one of these two to take to a desert island, I'd pick SLDD. But if I had to pick one to give to a casual rock fan to give them a demonstration of STP's capabilities, I'd pick No. 4.

Agreed.

That's how I feel in regards to Purple and Tiny Music. TM is my desert island album, but if I want to introduce someone who has never heard of STP, Purple is my no. 1 choice.

[stontemplpilot]

In other words, if I had to pick only one of these two to take to a desert island, I'd pick SLDD. But if I had to pick one to give to a casual rock fan to give them a demonstration of STP's capabilities, I'd pick No. 4.

Agreed.

That's how I feel in regards to Purple and Tiny Music. TM is my desert island album, but if I want to introduce someone who has never heard of STP, Purple is my no. 1 choice.

Purple is definitely the album I would pick to turn someone on to STP if I could only pick one album.  No. 4 would definitely showcase a strong example of how they can shine with many different styles if I wanted to show someone that, but not necessarily the album I would pick to turn someone on to the band.  SLDD would be my desert island album.

[MAJOR METAL]

I've been listening to a lot of No. 4 lately, and man is this one underrated album!

[Crush85]

I don't define a "great album" by the number of hits it has, but I define it by how many times I want to revisit it. I may be a little biased (as this was my first STP album) but I think this is their best album. I've been listening to this since 2000 and, just in terms of energy and variety, I still feel that none of their other albums top this.