New album rankings (including Butterfly)

[Long Way Home]

Tiny Music: yeah I said it. This album is way down the list now. It used to be No. 2. Love love love this album. “BBB” or “7 Caged Tigers” are in running for my fav STP song of all time. I would pay $100 for a 20 minute version of Press Play. Now all it does is remind of Scott’s downfall.

12BB: See Tiny Music. “Lady...”, “Desperation...” and “Divider” are so good though.

Wow, I'm really glad I don't make those sorts of connections between my feelings about life and music.  I love Tiny Music and 12BB far too much to let Scott's fate spoil my enjoyment of them. Two of the best rock albums ever made. I could never conceive of marking them down because they remind me of bad memories.

Incidentally, if you get the Music On Vinyl release of Tiny Music, they forgot to fade Press Play out and it goes on for 4 minutes.

Good points. But is 12BB really one of the greatest rock albums ever made or just a drugged out (albeit unique sounding) mess? Mind you, I spun that CD non-stop my freshman year in college. It was really nice at the time, but it just seems kinda like a joke now.

Thanks for the reminder on the vinyl release.

[CoconutBackwards]

OK, let’s do this for real. Rank all STP Type Things, including primary other bands the guys were in. You can get a sense of my STP album rankings by combing through. This is clearly done with the advantage of hindsight:

Purple: clearly number 1. Wouldn’t think of anything else.

Core: way too many hits to be elsewhere and, as a plus, has some interesting art (No Memory and Wet My Bed).

Contraband: this time, early Purple Tour and the No. 4 period were peak Scott, especially at live shows. I argued at the time on this board that Scott should stay in VR and AoA keep going. I thought that was better for them and STP fans. Not sure I was wrong post SLDD.

I see you not only have Contraband as 3rd overall which is mind-boggling, but you also have it on your list twice.  Great list.

[Pingfah]

Given that Libertad is missing, I would imagine one of them was supposed to be that. Probaby the second instance, considering the Rick Rubin statement (he was fired from that LP).

[CoconutBackwards]

Given that Libertad is missing, I would imagine one of them was supposed to be that. Probaby the second instance, considering the Rick Rubin statement (he was fired from that LP).

I don't understand the love for Velvet Revolver around here.  I would love to forget that ever happened.


Cheesy radio rock.

[Pingfah]

Libertad was OK, but it had Scott & Brendan's fingerprints all over it. Really not a big fan of Contraband, as you say, cheesy rock, but also just a horrible grating sounding album.

I never thought they were a particularly good fit for each other, Slash and Duff's style of songwriting doesn't mesh with Scott's at all, IMO. Scott is a very nuanced writer, everything Slash does is like being hit in the face with a brick, even the ballads.

[Down-Plush]

Given that Libertad is missing, I would imagine one of them was supposed to be that. Probaby the second instance, considering the Rick Rubin statement (he was fired from that LP).

I don't understand the love for Velvet Revolver around here.  I would love to forget that ever happened.


Cheesy radio rock.

Man, we don't agree on much. I'd say it's the best thing Scott did outside of STP, myself. Songs like "You Got No Right", "Slither", "Fall To Pieces", and "Suckertrain Blues" are among his best work, lyrically and vocally.


Contraband was a mildly brilliant album, especially for being from a supergroup. Libertad, on the other hand, is mostly bad in my opinion. I'd say it's much more in line with something I'd rather forget ever happened.

[CoconutBackwards]

Given that Libertad is missing, I would imagine one of them was supposed to be that. Probaby the second instance, considering the Rick Rubin statement (he was fired from that LP).

I don't understand the love for Velvet Revolver around here.  I would love to forget that ever happened.


Cheesy radio rock.

Man, we don't agree on much. I'd say it's the best thing Scott did outside of STP, myself. Songs like "You Got No Right", "Slither", "Fall To Pieces", and "Suckertrain Blues" are among his best work, lyrically and vocally.


Contraband was a mildly brilliant album, especially for being from a supergroup. Libertad, on the other hand, is mostly bad in my opinion. I'd say it's much more in line with something I'd rather forget ever happened.

Yea, we apparently don't agree on much. 

I never thought they were a particularly good fit for each other, Slash and Duff's style of songwriting doesn't mesh with Scott's at all, IMO. Scott is a very nuanced writer, everything Slash does is like being hit in the face with a brick, even the ballads.

Yes.  That is a great way to put it.

[stontemplpilot]

Contraband: this time, early Purple Tour and the No. 4 period were peak Scott, especially at live shows. I argued at the time on this board that Scott should stay in VR and AoA keep going. I thought that was better for them and STP fans. Not sure I was wrong post SLDD.

I'll be in the minority with you and also say that I thoroughly enjoy Contraband and could also rank it somewhere around the first 5 STP albums.  It is by far the best STP member related release post SLDD IMO.  I  saw VR 13 times between 2004-2007 and I also would agree that the Contraband era of touring was a continuation of the peak Scott era(ie 1999-2002 STP tours).  The 2004-2005 Scott still had the magical/larger than life(whatever words you want to use) stage presence.

Libertad is an okay album, I personally put it somewhere in the secondary tier of Scott releases, somewhere around Self-Titled(2010) maybe.  Scott's vocals were far superior on Libertad vs. Self-Titled, as well as his touring performances, but the actual quality of the songwriting on that album I always felt was generally a bit bland/boring(much like self-titled).

If we weren't able to have STP regardless during those years, I am happy that VR happened and I had a lot of enjoyment and good memories at those shows as well as with listening to Contraband.

[DankoJones]

I think I'm one of the few that like Libertad more then Contraband.  Contraband does have more of the hits but Contraband is overall stronger IMO

[Slither]

I think I'm one of the few that like Libertad more then Contraband.  Contraband does have more of the hits but Contraband is overall stronger IMO

Agreed. All this talk about everybody being in the same room at once to record an album, that was the difference between Contraband and Libertad. Most of the songs were already written for Contraband by the time Scott arrived, whereas Libertad was an album they all wrote together, and you can hear it. It sounds more like Velvet Revolver and less like Guns 'N Roses Featuring Scott Weiland.

Gravedancer is one of my all time favorite songs.

[loungefly611]

I think I'm one of the few that like Libertad more then Contraband.  Contraband does have more of the hits but Contraband is overall stronger IMO

Agreed. All this talk about everybody being in the same room at once to record an album, that was the difference between Contraband and Libertad. Most of the songs were already written for Contraband by the time Scott arrived, whereas Libertad was an album they all wrote together, and you can hear it. It sounds more like Velvet Revolver and less like Guns 'N Roses Featuring Scott Weiland.

Gravedancer is one of my all time favorite songs.

X3
I prefer Libertad to Contraband all day every day. It's much more noticeable that Scott's fingerprints are on that album. Not disliking Contraband at all (I LOVE You Got No Right), but you can tell in that instance he was a 'gun for hire,' no pun intended :-)

[stontemplpilot]

Gravedancer and Messages are 2 of my favorites from VR.  Messages came on my ipod the day after Scott died and that was a difficult one to listen to on that day.

[Pingfah]

Very much prefer Libertad. Much more depth to the songs, and the album is really well performed and recorded. Scott got more of what he needed to do his thing effectively. Contraband is an aggressive outburst, Libertad is far more considered.

Although, I haven't listened to either album in several years at least.

[Slither]

Just remembered, by the way. You know who Rick Rubin was replaced with during the recording of Libertad, helping the band achieve that more cohesive, considered sound?

Mr. Brendan O'Brien. Hmm.

[Down-Plush]

My ranking for everything STP-related/solo projects/adjacent/etc. Pretty much everything after 10 I could easily live without.


1. Core
2. Purple
3. No. 4
4. Contraband
5. Butterfly
6. Tiny Music
7. SLDD
8. Peace
9. Delta Deep
10. Blaster
11. Libertad
12. Happy In Galoshes
13. Talk Show
14. 12 Bar Blues
15. Army Of Anyone
16. Art Of Anarchy