HardReviews 5
by Martin Popoff

Stone Temple Pilots - Thank You
(Atlantic)

Still cracks me up, the horrified rebuttals you get from Dean and Rob when you call STP a grunge band. But there you are, and there they are, one of the best, offering all the bulldozing power chords, Seattle phrasings and seductive melodies you'd want, in a tight package of musicologists fronted by a lizard. Thank You is a 15 track hits pack, only non-album tracks being an acoustic version of Plush (yawn) and a massive, heroic rocker called All In The Suit That You Wear, a jagged bravado-steeped slasher worth the price of admission. Hard to believe so many pounding radio classics came from only five albums (and really, the first three), but yeah, that's been quite some career, one now up in the air as Weiland wanders.
Rating 7

Monster Magnet - Greatest Hits
(A&M)

This ain't so good, frankly. You can almost feel the thick glass corporate door closing shut on Scruff and his disappearing band. Nothing off of the non-A&M Spine Of God is featured, with God Says No and Powertrip (the hit album!), taking up most of the space - thank God actually, as these are the most song-oriented from the catalogue. Still, this is scant. Six panels of book are offered, one half being a poster, one panel comprising gibberished greeting from Dave, two being tiny type "liner notes" that offer all the necessary legalese and pointless details (mixed at blah blah blah) in spades, but say nothing in terms of contextual commentary or origin of the "hits," the bonus tracks (b-sides) or videos, which are CD-ROM and not DVD, I might add. Looks like Dave participated but just barely. Nevertheless, it's good to see this now, 'cos Wyndorf's an interesting guy, and he's coming up with a new album called Radiation Day shortly. Hopefully Greatest Hits will keep him in the spotlight, plus remind folks of what was/is a band with a unique drug rock (double) vision.
Rating 6.5