Stone Temple Pilots release an expanded 25th-anniversary edition of the Purple album

I recall being rather shocked the day when Stone Temple Pilots’ Purple came into the radio station in the spring of 1994. The most-heard phrase uttered by the staff was “This is the same band that released Core?”

Core had been a powerful, straight-ahead grunge-style record with Scott Weiland singing in a style similar to that of Eddie Vedder. Purple was different, though. Weiland changed up his vocal delivery and the music shifted in a different direction. It wasn’t like it was bad or anything. Just different.

After listeners made the adjustment, the album was embraced and it’s now considered not only to be an essential part of STP’s canon but one of the better records of the 90s.

Today (June 7) is the 25th anniversary of Purple’s release. Come September 13, a new expanded version will appear. The first disc will be a remaster of the original. Disc two will feature a bunch of early demos, acoustic tracks, and live performances. Finally, there’s a live recording made in New Haven, Connecticut, in the summer of ’94.

But back to disc two. It includes this previously unreleased version of “Big Empty.”

See the full track listing here.