I'd beg everyone to read this post, if only to start a movement or campaign to remaster No. 4.
No. 4 would've probably beat out Core in every way if the production wasn't so crummy on it. The whole album has a hazy or otherwise muffled filter over it. If that album had the sound clarity of a late 80s CD, then it would've been STP's best compilation. Instead, clarity was exchanged for amplification, and the sound quality of No. 4 suffered for it.
Musically, I think it's incredible, and it really made me feel that STP was the hard rock band that I loved for years. On the other hand, I think Glide is one of the most ethereal, underrated STP tracks ever, and it really shows Weiland's vocal range. Good luck ever hearing that one played live now, though.
I also don't understand the hate that Pruno gets... I think it's an energetic rocker. Not the best track on the album by any means, but it's a solid song. Sour Girl was a great crossover hit and I think that song gave the band more cross-genre exposure in music than any other STP song, barring
maybe Interstate Love Song on country radio.
All of the STP albums are works of art with their own tone and vibe, but No. 4 was really the band at their peak. It's too bad the sound quality on the album is so pathetically terrible. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I'd love to see the No. 4 album remastered with the volume enhancement completely removed from the album. Remaster this album like it was a CD made in 1989 and you'd have a bonafide work of art right there.