Slither, I know you’re a fan of the album and I think that’s great. However, regarding the failure that I perceive the album to be, I hardly think my individual expectations are the problem. STP let tons of fans down with this record, so it can't be just me. You’re literally telling me to expect less from my favorite band and if I did that, they wouldn’t be my favorite. In fact, I refuse to take responsibility for STP’s poor decision making and them playing bad music. The songs are so poorly stitched together it sounds like everyone is doing something different.
Songs like Atlanta and Still Remains signify a band that was working together to complete a cohesive product. Peace is the complete opposite. I know Art of Anarchy isn’t too popular on these boards, but I find the music and melodies to be superior to Peace and Scott also phoned that work in. Let’s also please acknowledge the band has played literally nothing from the album since 2014.
While I can agree with the general disconnect the band had at the time, I had seen similar behavior with Tiny Music as well as No. 4. Just like with Peace, Scott was the issue on those albums as well. Plus, I’ve read interviews with Dean saying Purple almost never got finished, the band took a much needed break in 1995, and even in 1996 when I saw them, Scott said, “So, you thought STP had a new singer?” My point is that this band has broken up and been in career turmoil many times. However, it never stopped them from making great music later on.
STP’s inconsistency bothers me. We get several great albums, some not so great songs, some singer replacements, and some so-so songs. However, I believe the band still has the power to create terrific material as the strong working components still exist and holding them up against the bar of the past is the bar that they set, not me.