Review Summary: STP provides a well deserved farewell and the title of the greatest hits album says what they were basically saying to their loyal fans: Thank You.
In 2002, Scott Weiland would join Velvet Revolver as the band split after their farewell tour after Shangri-La Dee Da. But before the band would technically split, the tracklist to their greatest hits album, appropriately titled
Thank You, would be selected, and a new song would be recorded, otherwise known as
All In The Suit That You Wear. The band wrote and produced their final song, as a special DVD containing all STP music videos with some live performances, bootleg videos, and a slideshow of the band playing a weak song from Shangri that set the mood for the DVD,
Bi-Polar Bear.
After close examination of the tracks, I decided that everything except for one thing checked out: and that would be the creepy, nostalgiac, cacophonial, song released as a supposed "hit" from the band's worst album,
Down. While Scott delivers some of the creepiest, low, grungy vocals I've heard from him, along with the production on Eric's drums providing a squeaky clean and refreshing tone, Rob's bass is virtually non-existant, while Dean rarely changes his tabbing patterns and gives a half-hearted guitar solo in drop D. Not only that, the lyric choice from Scott is unbearable, as Down sounds more like Dead & Bloated part two.
All tracks on this compilation are louder, and it's saddening. Saddening that while the track production on Thank You sounds louder than ever, nothing is done to fix the sludgy producing of Brendan O' Brien, and yet somehow, Brendan CAN actually supply some wonderful production once in a while, like in the display of Scott's fading marriage with heartfelt lyrics and a refreshing yet unexpected pulsing bassline from Rob, or
Sour Girl, and the song that's perfect for a lounge while playing some pool or just sitting back having a brew or smoke, the band's most well known song amongst STP fans, excluding Sex Type Thing, otherwise known as
Plush.
The track listing was somewhat relevant, but could have been reworked. The masterful and catchy
Vasoline is first on list, and it was indeed the perfect opener for Thank You, especially with the quiet intro to the song before finally exploding with energy. However, songs like the catchy, Southern-rock like
Big Empty and the only song from Shangri, the song that gives pop rock bands a run for their money while talking about only four days of the week, simply titled as
Days of the Week should have traded places. Days of the Week would have been better off at the first half of the album, and Big Empty would have been perfect for the closing half of Thank You.
The two new songs on Thank You, All In The Suit That You Wear, and an acoustic version of Plush from MTV's Headbangers Ball, are actually quite good. Since I've made it my thoughts about Plush clear, I'm going to express my thoughts of All In The Suit That You Wear. The band actually produced their own song quite well and wrote a very decent song with relevancy that shames songs like Down and No Way Out from No.4. STP doesn't have anything up their sleeves here, it's just the band doing what they do best: giving the listener a straight forward hard rock song, and pulling it off with extravagant skill.
It is saddening that STP would disband, but they would give their fans a great sendoff before finally splitting to go their own ways in this reviewer/fan's opinion. After the release of Thank You, Scott Weiland would join ex-Gunners Slash, Duff McKagan, and Matt Sorum with former Wasted Youth guitarist Dave Kushner, the DeLeos Rob and Dean would join ex-Filter lead singer Richard Patrick and former drummer for David Lee Roth, Ray Luzier in Army of Anyone, and Eric Kretz would become a producer and open his own recording company, featuring his former band, SpiralArms. This compilation would truly send the band off in style and express what they were saying to their fans with this greatest hits: Thank You.
Pros:
_______________________
-The truly excellent songs that deserve a place on this album are featured
-Shows the band's highlights
-Louder sound
-The band did a good job on their own with All In The Suit That You Wear
-STP gives a well deserved sendoff to the public
Cons:
_______________________
-Down ***s up a classic compilation
-Despite the louder sound in the production, nothing was done to redress Brendan O' Brien's sludgy production
-Track listing while being relevant in some places, could have been reworked
-This fanboy is depressed that STP disbanded :'(
Song Choice: 4.75 out of 5
Band Skill: 4.5 out of 5
Song Structure: 4 out of 5
Track Order: 4 out of 5
Overall: 4.5 out of 5
