Stone Temple Pilots' first album, Core, was released in a very lucky time. Only a year earlier, Nirvana's hit single Smells Like Teen Spirit was released, and by this time it had reached pop stations everywhere
Pearl Jam's singles also fared incredibly well on rock radio and everyone was completely hooked on the 'grunge' trend. Enter Core, STP's debut album. It became an instant hit, and would eventually sell up to 8 million albums. The leading single, Sex Type Thing, became a popular video on MTV, helping them enter into stardom. When the singles "Plush" and "Creep" were released, they spent a lot of time at the top of the rock charts. Everyone knew who these guys were after just a few months, and they proved to be one of the most popular bands in the grunge movement(behind only Pearl Jam and Nirvana). Despite this, they were attacked by numerous critics for being 'Grunge imitators'. Even to this day, some people still consider them a second rate grunge band. I would consider them even better than the artists they were claimed to have ripped off of.
The album, Core, is a definite rock classic. Despite its commercial success, most critics would not include it in a list of essential albums. It is dangerously underrated, and I think every fan of rock music in general, whether they liked Grunge music or not, needs to give this album a good listen.
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