Core is the debut studio album by American rock band Stone Temple Pilots, released on September 29, 1992, through Atlantic Records. The album peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard charts and was certified 8x platinum by the RIAA, making it the band's best-selling album of their career.
Core | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | September 29, 1992 (1992-09-29) | |||
Recorded | December 1991 – January 1992 | |||
Studio | Rumbo Recorders (Los Angeles) | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 53:39 | |||
Label | Atlantic Records | |||
Producer | Brendan O'Brien | |||
Stone Temple Pilots chronology | ||||
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Singles from Core | ||||
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Core was recorded with producer Brendan O'Brien at Rumbo Recorders in Los Angeles over the course of three weeks.[4] The first recorded track for the album, "Wet My Bed", was from an improv session between vocalist Scott Weiland and bassist Robert DeLeo, who were alone in the studio. Producer O'Brien is heard at the end walking in saying "All right, now what?" After recording was done, the band named the album Core, named after the apple featured in the story of Adam and Eve in the Bible.
Core displayed the band's attempt to revive the album-oriented music approach of the 1970s. Striving to create an intense and emotional sound, Weiland said that the main theme of the album is that humanity is confused, with songs like "Sex Type Thing" and "Naked Sunday" dealing with social injustice. "Sex Type Thing", according to Weiland, deals with abuse of power, "macho" behavior, and humanity's attitude toward women, treating them as sex objects. Weiland stated that "Naked Sunday" "is about organized religion. About people who tell others what to do and what to believe. They switch off people's minds and control the masses. It gives me a feeling of isolation, when I think about it. Organized religion does not view everyone as equals."[5] Further explaining his lyrical style on Core, Weiland was quoted as saying:
I feel very strongly that all individuals, regardless of age, race, creed or sexual preference, should have the freedom to exercise their rights as human beings to enjoy life, pursue what they want and feel comfortable about who they are. I guess I tend to find the darker sides of life more attractive than the yellows and oranges. I know it's something that I relate to when I listen to music.
"You know how when you listen to a Led Zeppelin album, you listen to the entire album, not just the odd song? We wanted to make a record like that. We wanted to create a vibe which would run right through the whole album."
—Robert DeLeo
The lyrics of "Wicked Garden" deal with the loss of innocence and purity, while "Sin" addresses "violent and ugly" relationships. The song "No Memory," a musical interlude between "Wicked Garden" and "Sin", was written by guitarist Dean DeLeo.
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Daily Vault | A[7] |
Encyclopedia of Popular Music | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Entertainment Weekly | B[9] |
Kerrang! | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Q | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Select | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Village Voice | B−[14] |
Critics, audiences and many peers from the alternative scene had split opinions of the band. Music journalists accused the band of stealing their sound from other grunge acts, mostly notably Pearl Jam. The band also received hostile complaints about their first single “Sex Type Thing,” as many thought the song promoted date rape. Entertainment Weekly's Deborah Frost wrote that the first single, "Sex Type Thing", “could be Mike Tyson's rape defense transcribed into grunge rock. It's unclear whether STP, which sounds like it has crash-landed Pearl Jam into Alice in Chains, is condemning or identifying with its narrator. With a real point of view, this band could be bigger than an accident."[9] Paul Evans of Rolling Stone concluded that the "inner child of Stone Temple Pilots is Iron Maiden, and that kid just won't quit howling." Don Kaye of Kerrang! praised the band's "confidence and identity," unusual in debut albums.
The sharp divide between journalists and the bands fan base was present in a January 1994 issue of Rolling Stone, in which the magazine's readers and critics labeled the band as Best and Worst New Band respectively. In later years, Weiland showed sorrow about the mixed reactions that Core got, saying, "It was really painful in the beginning because I just assumed that the critics would understand where we were coming from, that these just weren't dumb rock songs."
Several of the album's songs remain rock radio staples in the United States.[15] In October 2011, Core was ranked number ten (preceded by Eric Clapton's acoustic live album Unplugged) on Guitar World magazine's top ten list of guitar albums of 1992.[16] In 2019, Rolling Stone ranked the album at No. 11 on its list of the "50 Greatest Grunge Albums."[17]
On September 29, 2017, a 25th anniversary edition of Core was released. The reissue includes a 25th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition (4CD/DVD/LP) box set, an exclusive Core 25th Anniversary T-shirt, and Core 25th Anniversary 16″ x 20″ lithograph. The Super Deluxe Edition's 4CDs present a remastered version of the album, previously unreleased demos and b-sides, and parts of three live performances from 1993 (Castaic Lake Natural Amphitheater, Reading Festival, and MTV Unplugged), alongside the remastered album on a single LP and a DVD including a 5.1 surround sound mix and videos for the album's three singles and Wicked Garden.[18]
All lyrics written by Scott Weiland, except where noted.
No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
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1. | "Dead & Bloated" | Robert DeLeo, Weiland | 5:10 | |
2. | "Sex Type Thing" | Dean DeLeo, Eric Kretz | 3:38 | |
3. | "Wicked Garden" | R. DeLeo, D. DeLeo | 4:05 | |
4. | "No Memory" (instrumental) | D. DeLeo | 1:20 | |
5. | "Sin" | R. DeLeo | 6:05 | |
6. | "Naked Sunday" | R. DeLeo, D. DeLeo, Kretz, Weiland | 3:49 | |
7. | "Creep" | Weiland, R. DeLeo | R. DeLeo | 5:33 |
8. | "Piece of Pie" | R. DeLeo | 5:24 | |
9. | "Plush" | Weiland, Kretz | R. DeLeo | 5:14 |
10. | "Wet My Bed" | R. DeLeo | 1:36 | |
11. | "Crackerman" | R. DeLeo, Kretz | 3:14 | |
12. | "Where the River Goes" | D. DeLeo, Kretz | 8:25 | |
Total length: | 53:37 |
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "Only Dying" (demo) | 5:20 |
2. | "Wicked Garden" (demo) | 3:49 |
3. | "Naked Sunday" (demo) | 3:42 |
4. | "Where the River Goes" (demo) | 7:17 |
5. | "Dead & Bloated" (demo) | 5:04 |
6. | "Sex Type Thing" (demo) | 3:24 |
7. | "Sin" (demo) | 6:15 |
8. | "Creep" (demo) | 5:40 |
9. | "Plush" (demo) | 5:05 |
10. | "Sex Type Thing" (Swing Type Version) | 4:23 |
11. | "Plush" (Acoustic Type Version) | 4:49 |
12. | "Creep" (New Album Version) | 5:34 |
13. | "Plush" (Acoustic from MTV Headbangers Ball (Take 1) | 5:28 |
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "Crackerman" (Live at Castaic Lake Natural Amphitheater July 2, 1993) | 3:30 |
2. | "Wicked Garden" (Live at Castaic Lake Natural Amphitheater July 2, 1993) | 4:41 |
3. | "No Memory" (Live at Castaic Lake Natural Amphitheater July 2, 1993) | 1:14 |
4. | "Sin" (Live at Castaic Lake Natural Amphitheater July 2, 1993) | 6:25 |
5. | "Plush" (Live at Castaic Lake Natural Amphitheater July 2, 1993) | 5:06 |
6. | "Where the River Goes" (Live at Castaic Lake Natural Amphitheater July 2, 1993) | 9:11 |
7. | "Sex Type Thing" (Live at Castaic Lake Natural Amphitheater July 2, 1993) | 4:12 |
8. | "Wet My Bed" (Live at Castaic Lake Natural Amphitheater July 2, 1993) | 2:49 |
9. | "Naked Sunday" (Live at Castaic Lake Natural Amphitheater July 2, 1993) | 4:21 |
10. | "Wicked Garden" (Live at the Reading Festival August 27, 1993) | 4:32 |
11. | "No Memory" (Live at the Reading Festival August 27, 1993) | 1:15 |
12. | "Sin" (Live at the Reading Festival August 27, 1993) | 6:58 |
13. | "Lounge Fly" (Live at the Reading Festival August 27, 1993) | 6:07 |
14. | "Dead & Bloated" (Live at the Reading Festival August 27, 1993) | 4:47 |
15. | "Sex Type Thing" (Live at the Reading Festival August 27, 1993) | 4:01 |
16. | "Naked Sunday" (Live at the Reading Festival August 27, 1993) | 4:15 |
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "Crackerman" | 4:05 |
2. | "Creep" | 5:49 |
3. | "Andy Warhol" (David Bowie cover) | 2:53 |
4. | "Plush" | 5:47 |
5. | "Big Empty" | 4:58 |
6. | "Wicked Garden" | 4:19 |
7. | "Sex Type Thing" | 4:29 |
Credits adapted from liner notes[19]
Stone Temple Pilots
Additional Personnel
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
Decade-end charts
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Title | Year | Peak chart positions | ||||||||||||
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US Pop [34] |
US Air [35] |
US Alt. [36] |
US Main. Rock [37] |
AUS [38] |
CAN [39] |
NLD [40] |
NZ [41] |
SWE [42] |
UK [43] | |||||
"Sex Type Thing" | 1992 | — | — | — | 23 | — | — | — | — | — | 55 | |||
"Plush" | 1993 | 18 | 39 | 9 | 1 | 47 | 21 | 15 | 23 | 18 | 23 | |||
"Wicked Garden" | — | — | 21 | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
"Creep" | — | 59 | 12 | 2 | 76 | 45 | — | 24 | — | — | ||||
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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Australia (ARIA)[44] | Platinum | 70,000^ |
Canada (Music Canada)[45] | 2× Platinum | 200,000^ |
New Zealand (RMNZ)[46] | Gold | 7,500^ |
United Kingdom (BPI)[47] | Silver | 60,000^ |
United States (RIAA)[48] | 8× Platinum | 8,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
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Studio albums | |
Extended plays | |
Compilations | |
Singles |
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Promotional singles |
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Other songs | "Dead & Bloated" |
Concert tours |
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Related articles | |
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