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Shangri-La Dee Da

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Shangri-La Dee Da
Studio album by
Stone Temple Pilots
ReleasedJune 19, 2001 (2001-06-19)
RecordedJanuary–April 2001[1]
StudioThe Malibu House
Malibu
Genre
Length47:25
LabelAtlantic
ProducerBrendan O'Brien
Stone Temple Pilots chronology
№ 4
(1999) 		Shangri-La Dee Da
(2001) 		Thank You
(2003)
Singles from Shangri-La Dee Da
  1. "Days of the Week"
    Released: January 1, 2001
  2. "Hollywood Bitch"
    Released: September 3, 2001

Shangri-La Dee Da is the fifth studio album by the American rock band Stone Temple Pilots. It was released on June 19, 2001, through Atlantic Records. Recording took place throughout the winter and spring of 2001 in a Malibu villa. It was the band's fifth and final album to be produced by Brendan O'Brien and their last before breaking up in 2003.

Originally planned to be a double album, Shangri-La Dee Da contains thirteen tracks which range from heavy, distorted songs to psychedelic-inspired rock and acoustic ballads. "Days of the Week" and "Hollywood Bitch" were released as singles, with the former becoming a rock radio hit.

While Shangri-La Dee Da was not as commercially successful as its predecessors, it still sold well, reaching the top ten in the US and the top five in Canada and being certified Gold in both countries.[3][4] The album received positive reviews from critics, with many praising the variety of moods across the album. The band toured throughout the rest of 2001 to promote the album, including embarking on The Family Values Tour with Linkin Park and others in October and November of that year.[5]

Background

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Shangri-La Dee Da was originally conceived as a double album dedicated to the memory of Andrew Wood.[6][7] Around the time of the album's release, vocalist Scott Weiland stated his belief that creating a double album would have been a way to "free ourselves from the habits we got into of making records in the past", adding that not having preconceived ideas about the outcome of the record would have allowed the band to "approach everything equally — not just the rock stuff, not just because the producer or the label or management think it's a hit."[7] According to Weiland, approximately 30 songs had been recorded for the album.[7] Bassist Robert DeLeo was optimistic about the project, stating at the time: "Scott's in a space right now where we're not cramming to just get a single record done — he's in a space where I think a double record is possible."[8] However, Atlantic and O'Brien were hesitant about the idea, and the project was reduced to a single album.[7][8]

Planned documentary and coffee table book

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Rock photographer Chapman Baehler filmed a behind-the-scenes documentary as the band recorded the LP in their beach villa-turned-recording studio.[8] According to Baehler, the documentary set out to be like a modern-day version of the 1970 Beatles documentary Let It Be.[8] The film would have followed the band through preproduction and creating new songs to putting those songs down on tape.[8] Baehler explained that the documentary included "beautiful" and "moody" shots and clips including "either Dean [DeLeo] or Robert" playing an old organ, Weiland and Dean playing acoustic guitars, and "rock-out live stuff" in the main recording area.[8]

Already an established photographer who had collaborated with the band for years, Baehler was in the midst of working with the band on a coffee-table book when they approached him with the documentary idea.[8] The film and book were both planned to come out in late 2001,[8] but neither saw release.

Recording

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To record the album, the band rented a mansion in Malibu, California (credited as "The Malibu House" in the album's liner notes) in which they, along with O'Brien, his staff, the band member's wives/partners, and the documentary crew lived for the duration of the process.[9][10] While the cramped atmosphere sometimes facilitated confrontations, Weiland would look back on the experience as "an interesting experiment" with both ups and downs.[10] However, drummer Eric Kretz called the period "the happiest five weeks of my life", saying the relationship between band members was "at its highest point in six years".[11]

Music and lyrics

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STP playing in Tampa, Florida in 2002 in support of Shangri-La Dee Da. From left to right: Scott Weiland, Eric Kretz, and Dean DeLeo.

Much of Shangri-La Dee Da alternates between hard rock and psychedelia-inspired pop rock.[12] In the liner notes, Weiland's wife and newborn son were credited as inspirations for a large portion of the album's songs.[9] Additionally, much of the material on the album revolves around what he called "the evil inertia" of substance abuse.[13] "Dumb Love", one of the album's heaviest tracks musically,[12][14][15] was interpreted by some critics as being one of these tracks lyrically revolving around Weiland's struggles with addiction.[16] "Days of the Week" is a more pop-oriented track which, according to Weiland, took a "Beatles–style approach" to its lyrics and melody.[17] Dean also credited Joe Walsh's "Indian Summer" as an inspiration on the track.[13] Weiland described the song's subject as an "assessment of my feelings coming straight out of jail and being hit with sensory overload and a lot of new insecurities."[10] While he would later state he felt the band "probably shouldn't" have chosen the track to be the album's lead single, Weiland did name it as one of his ten favorite tracks from his career.[17] The industrial–tinged "Coma" features processing applied to Weiland's vocals which PopMatters described as "imitating a scratchy guitar".[16] "Wonderful" was written by Robert and Weiland in a dressing room while on tour.[10] Weiland initially wanted the song to go in "a Nick Drake kind of direction", until going through multiple different arrangements and creating the finalized song.[10] Written as a love song to his wife, Weiland once called it his favorite ballad the band has made.[10] "Black Again" was written as a waltz, being played in 3
4.[13]

"Too Cool Queenie" tells a narrative of "a vindictive siren who prompts her musician-husband's suicide" which is widely thought to have been written about Courtney Love.[16][18] Described as a "day-in-the-life song", "Bi-Polar Bear" references Weiland's struggles with bipolar disorder.[10] In a June 2001 interview with VH1, he described its lyrics as a "snapshot" of a manic or depressive episode.[10] The song sees the band experiment with unusual instrumentation, with Robert playing autoharp and Kretz contributing banjo.[9] "A Song for Sleeping" is an acoustic ballad which was written about Weiland's newfound fatherhood.[15][16] The closing track "Long Way Home" sees Weiland return to the lower, "guttural growling" vocal style of the band's early work.[16]

Release and reception

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Commercial performance

[edit]

Shangri-La Dee Da became the band's fifth top ten album, peaking at number nine on the Billboard 200.[19] However, it would remain their lowest-charting album until Stone Temple Pilots (2018) and was their first to fail to go Platinum.[3] The album's highest chart placement was in Canada, where it peaked at number five.[19]

"Days of the Week", the album's first single, peaked at number four on the Mainstream Rock chart, number five on the Alternative Airplay (then named "Modern Rock Tracks") chart, and number one on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart.[19] The second single, "Hollywood Bitch", was not as successful, but did manage to reach numbers 25 and 29 on the Mainstream Rock and Modern Rock Tracks charts, respectively.[19]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic72/100[20]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[12]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[21]
Entertainment WeeklyC+[22]
Kerrang![23]
Mojo[24]
NME6/10[14]
PopMatters8/10[16]
Q[25]
Rolling Stone[26]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[27]

Shangri-La Dee Da received generally positive reviews from critics. PopMatters stated that the album "displays an earnestness and a level of comfort not heard on previous albums".[16] The review highlighted the band's fusions of different styles, referring to the album as a "complex and genre-bending joyride".[16] Writing for Rolling Stone, Greg Kot praised the album's lyrical themes and opined that "they give the album a weight and coherence lacking on previous STP releases."[26] Launch.com called it "another bombshell of an album", praising its "majestic" melodies, "muscular pop-metal" style, and the darker content of Weiland's lyrics.[20]

In a retrospective review for AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine believed that while some of the harder rock tracks on the album (namely "Dumb Love" and "Hollywood Bitch") "do take hold", the highlights of the album are the poppier tracks, saying that "they're not just better on the pop tunes, they're phenomenal on the pop tunes."[12] Ultimate Guitar placed the album at number five in their list of the "Top 10 Grunge Albums That Survived the '00s", praising the album's psychedelic elements and adventurous nature.[2]

Track listing

[edit]

All lyrics are written by Scott Weiland, except "Hollywood Bitch" by Weiland and Robert DeLeo

Shangri-La Dee Da track listing
No.TitleMusicLength
1."Dumb Love"Dean DeLeo2:52
2."Days of the Week"D. DeLeo2:35
3."Coma"
  • D. DeLeo
  • R. DeLeo
3:41
4."Hollywood Bitch"R. DeLeo2:44
5."Wonderful"R. DeLeo3:47
6."Black Again"
  • D. DeLeo
  • R. DeLeo
3:27
7."Hello It's Late"R. DeLeo4:22
8."Too Cool Queenie"D. DeLeo2:47
9."Regeneration"D. DeLeo3:55
10."Bi-Polar Bear"D. DeLeo5:04
11."Transmissions from a Lonely Room"R. DeLeo3:15
12."A Song for Sleeping"R. DeLeo4:15
13."Long Way Home"D. DeLeo4:33
Total length:47:25

Personnel

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Additional personnel

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  • Brendan O'Brien – producer, mixing, keyboards (2, 6, 7, 10), percussion (2, 4, 8, 11)
  • Nick DiDia – recording engineer
  • Doug Grean – engineer
  • Billy Bowers – engineer
  • Karl Egsieker – recording, mix assistant
  • Ryan Williams – mix assistant
  • Bob Ludwig – mastering
  • Erin Haley, Cheryl Mondello – production coordinators
  • Gregory Sylvester – art direction
  • Chapman Baehler – art direction, photography

Charts and certifications

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Weekly charts

[edit]
Weekly charts for Shangri-La Dee Da
Chart (2001) Peak
Position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[28] 35
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[29] 5
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[30] 72
Scottish Albums (OCC)[31] 99
UK Albums (OCC)[32] 105
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[33] 13
US Billboard 200[34] 9
Chart (2024) Peak
position
Hungarian Physical Albums (MAHASZ)[35] 29

Year-end charts

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Year-end chart performance for Shangri-La Dee Da
Chart (2001) Position
Canadian Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)[36] 191

Singles

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Singles - Billboard (North America)

Year Single Chart Position
2001 "Days of the Week" US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[37] 4
US Modern Rock Tracks (Billboard)[38] 5
US Bubbling Under Hot 100 (Billboard)[39] 1
"Hollywood Bitch" US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[37] 25
US Modern Rock Tracks (Billboard)[38] 29

Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[40] Gold 50,000^
United States (RIAA)[41] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ VanHorn, Teri (April 5, 2001). "Stone Temple Pilots Finish Recording, Preparing Documentary". MTV. Archived from the original on June 7, 2001. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  2. ^ a b JorgeM93 (February 2, 2022). "Top 10 Grunge Albums That Survived the '00s". Ultimate Guitar. Retrieved June 8, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ a b "Gold & Platinum – Stone Temple Pilots". RIAA. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  4. ^ "Gold/Platinum – Stone Temple Pilots". Music Canada. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  5. ^ VanHorn, Teri (September 19, 2001). "Family Values Tour Dates Announced". MTV. Archived from the original on August 13, 2022. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  6. ^ Dedman, Remfry (August 3, 2022). "Every Stone Temple Pilots album ranked worst to best". Louder Sound. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  7. ^ a b c d Billboard Staff (June 11, 2001). "Weiland: STP Wanted To Make Double Album". Billboard. Retrieved April 2, 2023.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h VanHorn, Teri (April 5, 2001). "Stone Temple Pilots Finish Recording, Preparing Documentary". MTV. Archived from the original on June 7, 2001. Retrieved April 2, 2023.
  9. ^ a b c Stone Temple Pilots (June 19, 2001). Shangri-La Dee Da (liner notes).
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h VanHorn, Teri (June 18, 2001). "Stone Temple Pilots: Long Way Home". VH1. Archived from the original on October 17, 2012. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  11. ^ Weiss, David (September 2001). "Rocking Straight and Hard with STP". Drum!.
  12. ^ a b c d Stephen Thomas Erlewine. "Shangri-La Dee Da". AllMusic. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
  13. ^ a b c Lanham, Tom (September 1, 2001). "Flying High Again". Guitar One.
  14. ^ a b Segal, Victoria (August 13, 2001). "Album Reviews - Stone Temple Pilots : Shangri-La Dee Da". NME. Retrieved August 24, 2012.
  15. ^ a b "Music Notes: STP's New Album". ABC News. June 19, 2001. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
  16. ^ a b c d e f g h Koba, Kirsten (June 18, 2001). "Stone Temple Pilots: Shangri La Dee Da". PopMatters. Retrieved August 24, 2012.
  17. ^ a b Brannigan, Paul (October 28, 2020). "Scott Weiland's 10 favourite Scott Weiland songs". Louder Sound. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
  18. ^ Anna Faris (August 23, 2016). "Courtney Love". Anna Faris is Unqualified (Podcast). Acast. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
  19. ^ a b c d "Stone Temple Pilots Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved April 2, 2023.
  20. ^ a b "Reviews for Shangri-La Dee Da". Metacritic. Retrieved August 24, 2012.
  21. ^ Larkin, Colin (2011). "Stone Temple Pilots". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
  22. ^ "Shangri La Dee Da review". Entertainment Weekly. June 22, 2001. Archived from the original on July 15, 2015. Retrieved August 24, 2012.
  23. ^ Winwood, Ian (August 4, 2001). "Albums". Kerrang!. No. 864. UK: EMAP. pp. 44–45.
  24. ^ "Stone Temple Pilots : Shangri-La Dee". Mojo: 114. September 2001.
  25. ^ "Stone Temple Pilots : Shangri-La Dee". Q: 130. October 2001.
  26. ^ a b Kot, Greg (June 11, 2001). "Stone Temple Pilots: Shangri-La Dee Da : Music Reviews". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on January 6, 2007. Retrieved August 24, 2012.
  27. ^ Sheffield, Rob (2004). "Stone Temple Pilots". The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 785. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  28. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Stone Temple Pilots – Shangri-La Dee Da". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  29. ^ "Stone Temple Pilots Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  30. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Stone Temple Pilots – Shangri-La Dee Da" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  31. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  32. ^ "Chart Log UK: DJ S - The System Of Life". www.zobbel.de. Retrieved March 10, 2021.
  33. ^ "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  34. ^ "Stone Temple Pilots Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  35. ^ "Album Top 40 slágerlista (fizikai hanghordozók) – 2024. 41. hét". MAHASZ. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
  36. ^ "Top 200 Albums of 2001 (based on sales)". Jam!. Archived from the original on November 6, 2003. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
  37. ^ a b "Stone Temple Pilots Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  38. ^ a b "Stone Temple Pilots Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  39. ^ "Stone Temple Pilots Chart History (Bubbling Under Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  40. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Stone Temple Pilots – Shangri-La Dee Da". Music Canada.
  41. ^ "American album certifications – Stone Temple Pilots – Shangri-La Dee Da". Recording Industry Association of America.
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