''No. 4'' (officially stylized as ''№ 4'') is the fourth studio album by the American rock band

Stone Temple Pilots Stone Temple Pilots, commonly abbreviated as STP, is an American Rock music, rock band formed in San Diego, California, in 1989. Originally consisting of lead vocalist Scott Weiland, guitarist Dean DeLeo, bassist Robert DeLeo, and drummer :Songs ...

, released on October 26, 1999, by

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

. The album was a return to the band's earlier

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...

roots, while also blending elements of heavy metal,

psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...

and

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

. Despite the lack of promotion, due to singer

Scott Weiland Scott Richard Weiland (, ; né Kline; October 27, 1967 – December 3, 2015) was an American singer and songwriter. He was best known as the lead vocalist of the rock band Stone Temple Pilots from 1989 to 2003 and again from 2008 to 2013, r ...

's one-year jail sentence shortly before the album's release, ''No. 4'' was certified

Platinum Platinum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...

by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

on August 7, 2000, and by the

CRIA A ''cria'' (pronounced ) is a juvenile llama, alpaca, vicuña, or guanaco. Etymology The term comes from the Spanish word , meaning "baby". Its false cognate in English, ''crya'' (pronounced ), was coined by British sailors who explored Chil ...

in August 2001. The song " Down" was nominated for

Best Hard Rock Performance The Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance was an award presented to recording artists at the Grammy Awards from 1990 to 2011. The academy recognized hard rock music artists for the first time at the 31st Grammy Awards in 1989. The category ...

at the

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

. The album also produced one of STP's biggest hits, " Sour Girl", which charted at No. 78 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, their only song to appear on that chart.

Musical style

''No. 4'', one of the last big-budget

grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock Music genre, genre and subculture that emerged during the in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, particularly in Seattle and Music of Olympia, Washington, O ...

and

albums of the 1990s, combines the

-oriented sound of ''

Core Core or cores may refer to: Science and technology * Core (anatomy), everything except the appendages * Core (laboratory), a highly specialized shared research resource * Core (manufacturing), used in casting and molding * Core (optical fiber ...

'' and ''

Purple Purple is a color similar in appearance to violet light. In the RYB color model historically used in the arts, purple is a secondary color created by combining red and blue pigments. In the CMYK color model used in modern printing, purple is ...

,'' with the

glam Glam is a shortened form of the word glamour. Glam or GLAM may also refer to: Film * ''Glam'' (film), a 1997 experimental drama film Institutions * University of Glamorgan, founded in 1913 and merged into the University of South Wales in 2013 ...

and

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...

influences of ''Tiny Music... Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop''. Italian authors Daniele Follero and Luca Masperone, described the album as "very heavy", as Stone Temple Pilots "veer clearly towards

alternative metal Alternative metal (also known as alt-metal) is a genre of heavy metal music that combines heavy metal with influences from alternative rock and other genres not normally associated with metal. Alternative metal bands are often characterized by ...

," in their book ''La storia di Hard Rock & Heavy Metal.''

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and former senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of multiple artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance ...

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

considered the album the band's "hardest effort" since ''Core'', remarking that "even the ballads and neo-psychedelic pop have none of the swirling production that distinguished ''Tiny Music,''" adding that it "consolidates all f STP'sstrengths." Benjamin Ray of ''The Daily Vault'' opined that ''No. 4'' is the band's "most

garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock music that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The style is ...

disc to date," and that it alternates between "grunge rockers, pop songs and ballads."

Critical reception

'' critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine rated the album four out of five stars, praising the opening tracks " Down" and " Heaven & Hot Rods". ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

'' critic Rob Brunner graded it "C", calling the album "generic and phoned in" and mostly "unexciting and obvious". Brunner deemed the track "Down" as "dour", "No Way Out" as "dated", and "Atlanta" as "pretentious". Brunner further deemed the tracks "Sex & Violence" and "Pruno" as "hardly original" and having resemblances to

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

but also as "well-crafted". ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' critic Lorraine Ali rated it three out of five, calling the songs "strong

pop-rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...

pieces but without the self-consciousness of previous efforts". ''

CMJ New Music Monthly CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events, online media company and a distributor of up and coming music CDs, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music ...

'' critic M. Tye Comer called the album "powerful and cohesive", recommending readers to listen the tracks "Heaven & Hot Rods", "Church on Tuesday", "Sour Girl", and "No Way Out". Critics noted similarities between "Atlanta" and " My Favorite Things" from the 1959 musical ''The Sound of Music''.

Album cover

The cover art for ''No. 4'' generated some brief controversy because it strongly resembled the cover of the debut EP from

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

–based band Power Lloyd. The Power Lloyd CD ''Election Day'' had been released in 1998, and the cover was a white five-point star on a black field under the band's name; STP's ''No. 4'' also featured a white five-point star on a black field under the band's name. Power Lloyd co-founder Gene Diotalevi explained that after their band had given a song to

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

to be used on the soundtrack of ''

Celebrity Deathmatch ''Celebrity Deathmatch'' is an adult stop-motion claymated series created by Eric Fogel and produced by John Worth Lynn Jr. for MTV. A parody of sports entertainment programs, ''Celebrity Deathmatch'' depicted various celebrities engaging ...

'', someone at MTV with an advance copy of ''No. 4'' noticed that the covers were nearly identical, and alerted the band. Diotalevi stated that no one from STP's camp would return their calls or letters, until his band mailed a cease-and-desist letter to STP's record company. STP's legal team then "made an offer to settle that was unacceptable to us", according to Power Lloyd's lawyer Will Shill.

Track listing

Personnel

Stone Temple Pilots *

– vocals, organ on "Heaven & Hot Rods" *

Dean DeLeo Dean DeLeo (born August 23, 1961) is an American guitarist known for his work with rock band Stone Temple Pilots. DeLeo is also known for his role in the short-lived bands Talk Show and Army of Anyone. He is the older brother of Robert DeLeo ...

– electric and acoustic guitars, lap steel and six-string bass on "I Got You" *

Robert DeLeo Robert Emile DeLeo (born February 2, 1966) is an American musician, best known as the bassist for rock band Stone Temple Pilots. He is part of Delta Deep and he has also played in Talk Show and Army of Anyone. He is the younger brother of Sto ...

– bass, backing vocals, percussion on "Church on Tuesday" and "Sour Girl", guitar on "Sex and Violence", "Glide", and "I Got You", fuzz bass and zither on "Glide" * Eric Kretz – drums, percussion on "No Way Out" and "Atlanta" Additional personnel * Brendan O'Brien – producer, mixing, backing vocals on "Pruno" and "I Got You", keyboards on "Church on Tuesday", percussion on "Church on Tuesday", "Sour Girl", "Sex & Violence" and "I Got You", backing vocals on "Sour Girl", piano on "Glide" and "I Got You" * David Campbell – string arrangement on "Atlanta" * Suzie Katayama – contractor and

cello The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

* Joel Derouin – concertmaster * Evan Wilson –

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

* Larry Corbett – cello *

Barrett Martin Barrett Harrington Martin (born April 14, 1967) is an American drummer and record producer from Washington. He is perhaps best known for his work with the alternative rock bands Screaming Trees and Mad Season. He was also a member of Skin Yard ...

– bass

marimba The marimba ( ) is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars that are struck by mallets. Below each bar is a resonator pipe that amplifies particular harmonics of its sound. Compared to the xylophone, the mari ...

on "Atlanta" * Nick DiDia – recording engineer * Russ Fowler – recording engineer * Dave Reed – engineer * Allen Sides – engineer * Stephen Marcussen – mastering * Andrew Garver – digital editing * Erin Haley – production coordinator * Cheryl Mondello – production coordinator * Richard Bates – art direction * Andrea Brooks – art direction * Chapman Baehler – photography * Steve Stewart – management

Charts

"No. 4" and its singles made several appearances on the North American

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

charts.

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Singles

Certifications

In popular culture

The album and its entire tracklisting is displayed in S1E7 of

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

's ''

True Detective ''True Detective'' is an American Anthology series, anthology Crime fiction, crime Drama (film and television), drama television series created by Nic Pizzolatto for the premium cable network HBO. The series premiered on January 12, 2014, and ...

'', during a scene in which

Matthew McConaughey Matthew David McConaughey ( ; born November 4, 1969) is an American actor. He achieved his breakthrough with a supporting performance in the coming-of-age comedy '' Dazed and Confused'' (1993). After a number of supporting roles, his first su ...

and

Woody Harrelson Woodrow Tracy Harrelson (born July 23, 1961) is an American actor. He first became known for his role as bartender Woody Boyd on the NBC sitcom ''Cheers'' (1985–1993), for which he won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in ...

's characters converse in a diner.

References

{{Authority control 1999 albums Albums produced by Brendan O'Brien (record producer) Atlantic Records albums Stone Temple Pilots albums