Tiny Music... Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop
| Tiny Music... Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by Stone Temple Pilots | ||||
| Released | March 26, 1996 | |||
| Recorded | October 1995 - January 1996 at Westerly Ranch, Santa Ynez, CA | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock, psychedelic rock, neo-psychedelia | |||
| Length | 41:55 | |||
| Label | Atlantic | |||
| Producer | Brendan O'Brien | |||
| Stone Temple Pilots chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Tiny Music... Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
| Entertainment Weekly | C [2] |
| Rolling Stone | [3] |
Tiny Music... Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop is the third album by American rock band Stone Temple Pilots, released on March 26, 1996, on Atlantic Records. After a brief hiatus in 1995, STP regrouped to record Tiny Music, living and recording the album together in a mansion in Santa Barbara, California.[4] The album had three singles reach #1 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, including "Big Bang Baby", "Lady Picture Show", and "Trippin' on a Hole in a Paper Heart".[5]
Musical style and reception
Tiny Music displays a drastic change in the band's sound, featuring music strongly influenced by '60s rock and bands such as The Beatles. Stephen Erlewine of Allmusic stated in his review of the album that "Tiny Music illustrates that the band aren't content with resting on their laurels" and "STP have added a new array of sounds that lend depth to their immediately accessible hooks," naming shoegaze and jangle pop as two examples of genres explored on the album. Erlewine also wrote that the album "showcases the band at their most tuneful and creative."[1] Rolling Stone also favored the album, regarding it as the group's best effort to date. They expressed surprise, however, at "the clattering, upbeat character of the music" given Weiland's much-publicized run-ins with drugs and the law. The magazine also featured STP on its cover of issue No. 753 in February 1997.[6]
David Browne of Entertainment Weekly, however, was less favorable of the album, writing that "none of it... has a distinct personality."[2]
One day before his death, on December 2nd, 2015, Scott Weiland told an interviewer that Tiny Music was the album he would most want to have with him if he were ever stranded on a desert island, saying "I think that's STP's most creative album."[7]
Conflict within the band
In early 1995, shortly after the band was forced to scrap two weeks worth of recorded material, lead singer Scott Weiland was arrested for heroin and cocaine possession and sentenced to one year's probation. In the months following this incident, Weiland formed his own side-band, the Magnificent Bastards, and recorded songs for the Tank Girl soundtrack and for a John Lennon tribute album.
During this time the rest of the band decided put together their own side project, which would later become the band Talk Show. In the fall of 1995, when Stone Temple Pilots regrouped to record again for Tiny Music, Robert and Dean got together to figure out which songs should be Tiny Music songs and which songs should be Talk Show songs. Dean would later say "Robert and I had about 30 songs, and we sat in the room one night and basically went down the list and marked next to every song: Scott, Scott, Dave, Scott, Dave, Dave, Scott.... It's really weird, because in all reality it was like 'Big Bang Baby' could've been on [the] Talk Show record and 'Everybody Loves My Car' could've been on Tiny Music."[8]
Issues with Weiland's drug use did not clear up after his sentence, and STP was forced to cancel most of their 1996-1997 tour for Tiny Music. Because of the tour cancellation, Tiny Music did not receive as much exposure as initially intended. The album was certified 2× platinum but was not as commercially successful as STP's first two albums.
Album cover
The album cover features a woman doll in a swimsuit standing before a pool with a crocodile in it and was created to resemble a 70’s-style LP cover.[9] The album was released on CD, LP, and CS. The cover was made by John Eder.[10]
Commercial performance
In the United States, the album debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 albums chart on the issue dated April 13, 1996,[11] with 162,500 copies sold.[12]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Press Play" (Instrumental) | Stone Temple Pilots | 1:21 (4:27 on LP) |
| 2. | "Pop's Love Suicide" | Dean DeLeo, Scott Weiland | 3:43 |
| 3. | "Tumble in the Rough" | S. Weiland | 3:18 |
| 4. | "Big Bang Baby" | Robert DeLeo, S. Weiland | 3:23 |
| 5. | "Lady Picture Show" | R. DeLeo, S. Weiland | 4:08 |
| 6. | "And So I Know" | R. DeLeo, S. Weiland | 3:57 |
| 7. | "Trippin' on a Hole in a Paper Heart" | Eric Kretz, S. Weiland | 2:57 |
| 8. | "Art School Girl" | R. DeLeo, S. Weiland | 3:35 |
| 9. | "Adhesive" | R. DeLeo, S. Weiland | 5:34 |
| 10. | "Ride the Cliché" | D. DeLeo, S. Weiland | 3:17 |
| 11. | "Daisy" (Instrumental) | R. DeLeo | 2:18 |
| 12. | "Seven Caged Tigers" | D. DeLeo, S. Weiland | 4:17 |
| Japanese edition bonus track | ||
|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
| 13. | "Meatplow (live)" | 3:34 |
Personnel
Stone Temple Pilots
- Stone Temple Pilots – art direction, design
- Scott Weiland – vocals, percussion (1)
- Dean DeLeo – guitars, bass guitar (1 and 4)
- Robert DeLeo – bass guitar, guitars (1, 6, and 11), backing vocals (4 and 5), vibraphone, electric harpsichord, percussion (6)
- Eric Kretz – drums, percussion (2, 5, 6, and 8), piano (9)
Additional Personnel
- Brendan O'Brien – producer, mixing, piano (1), tambourine (12), organ, clavinet, percussion (8)
- Dave Ferguson – trumpet (9)
- Nick DiDia – recording engineer
- Caram Costanzo – 2nd engineer
- Chris Goss – vocal engineer
- Tracy Chisholm – vocal engineer
- Stephen Marcussen – mastering
- Ron Boustead – digital editing
- Tom Carolan – A&R
- Steve Stewart – management
- John Caldwell – assistant management
- Joe Sofio – assistant management
- John Eder – photography
- John Heiden – art direction
Charts
Album
| Year | Album | The Billboard 200[11] | UK Albums Chart | CAN RPM Albums Chart |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Tiny Music... Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop | 4 | 31 | 5 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Mainstream Rock Tracks | Modern Rock Tracks | CAN Alternative 30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | "Big Bang Baby" | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| "Lady Picture Show" | 1 | 6 | 2 | |
| "Trippin' on a Hole in a Paper Heart" | 1 | 3 | 1 | |
| "Tumble in the Rough" | 9 | 36 | 23 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Sales/shipments |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[13] | Gold | 35,000 |
| Canada (Music Canada)[14] | Platinum | 100,000 |
| United States (RIAA)[15] | 2× Platinum | 2,000,000 |
References
- 1 2 Tiny Music... Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop at AllMusic
- 1 2 David Browne (1996-04-05). "Tiny Music...Songs From the Vatican Gift Shop Review | Music Reviews and News". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2012-03-12.
- ↑ Lorraine Ali (1996-05-02). "Stone Temple Pilots: Tiny Music... Songs From The Vatican... : Music Reviews". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2008-03-18. Retrieved 2012-08-23.
- ↑ "Kişiye Özel Hediyeler - Hediye Kolisi".
- ↑
- ↑ "Allposters". allposters.com. Retrieved October 18, 2008.
- ↑ "Allposters". rollingstone.com. Retrieved December 5, 2015.
- ↑ Graff, Gary. "Scott Free", Guitar World, October 1, 1997.
- ↑ "Tiny Music... Songs From The Vatican Gift Shop Review". rchseaglesnest.org. April 3, 2015. Retrieved December 5, 2015.
- ↑ "Billboard". books.google.com. March 30, 1996. Retrieved December 5, 2015.
- 1 2 "Billboard 200 - April 13, 1996". Billboard. 1996-04-13. Retrieved 2015-06-10.
- ↑ "Between the Bullets". Billboard (Nielsen Business Media, Inc) 108 (15): 104. April 13, 1996. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved June 10, 2015.
- ↑ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
- ↑ "Canadian album certifications – Stone Temple Pilots – Tiny Music... Songs From the Vatican Gift Shop". Music Canada.
- ↑ "American album certifications – Stone Temple Pilots – Tiny Music... Songs From the Vatican Gift Shop". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
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