Core

• Track Listing

A quarter century ago, the sound of early-’90s alt-rock merged with the hooks and grandeur of arena rock on this 1992 LP, STP’s #3 smash debut that went on to achieve eight-times-platinum sales. Even though this album—the band’s biggest commercial triumph—sounds very much of its time, it has outlasted its contemporaries due to the pure gold of the songwriting here. Their first big hit, "Plush," and all-time fan favorites "Sex Type Thing," "Wicked Garden" and "Creep" return here in newly remastered form, along with demos of all of the above and of "Where the River Goes," "Dead and Bloated," "Sin" and more in the deluxe edition (which also adds alternate versions and other bonus tracks). Big fans of these grunge-era stars and of the late, great Scott Weiland should go super deluxe; you’ll get all of the above plus a CD of 1993 live recordings, a disc of their 1993 MTV Unplugged performances, the original album on vinyl and a DVD boasting the smashing-sounding 5.1 surround-sound mix of the album plus the videos of the album’s four singles. This deluxe set—limited to 15,000 copies—comes in a richly detailed 12" x 12" hardcover book full of rare and unseen photographs. It’s a lavish expansion on one of the quintessential rock albums of the early ’90s. Atlantic/Rhino.