Stone Temple Pilots: Admittedly, I was not a fan of grunge in the early '90s. I like only a handful of songs by Nirvana and Pearl Jam, plus Soundgarden's "Black Hole Sun." But Stone Temple Pilots, originally branded Pearl Jam wannabes, turned out to be a solid rock band that shrewdly utilized Scott Weiland's powerful, brooding voice. Their 1992 CD Core featured the dark "Sex Type Thing"—it may have disturbing lyrics, but the hypnotic crunching guitars almost mimic Weiland's gravelly voice.
The album also spawned the hit "Plush," which I did not fully appreciate until I heard an "unplugged" version. Weiland's soaring vocals and the band's ability to transform the hard rocker into a quiet ballad convinced me of the band's authenticity. 1994's Purple showed a band that had transcended its "wannabe" status, with hard-hitting songs like "Vasoline" and "Interstate Love Song." The followup, Tiny Music...Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop, injected some pop melodies into their hard rock sound, with catchy tracks like "Big Bang Baby" and "Trippin' on a Hole in a Paper Heart." Unfortunately Weiland's drug problems sidelined the band, although they released a fourth album, aptly titled No. 4, in 1999. Successful singles such as "Sour Girl" proved that the band had staying power. But due to Weiland's issues, the band broke up in 2003; Weiland then experienced success with another band, Velvet Revolver. After leaving that group, he then reunited with his Stone Temple Pilots bandmates in 2008, eventually releasing their self-titled comeback album in 2010.
Mary J. Blige: Often dubbed this generation's Aretha Franklin, Blige possesses an astounding voice that can adapt to rock, soul, hip hop, and gospel. She incorporates her personal struggles with drugs and abusive relationships into her work, forging a strong bond with her audience. The 1990s saw her transform from an edgy hip hop artist into a mature, multifaceted one. Her debut, 1992's What's the 411?, established her as what producer P. Diddy called "The Queen of Hip Hop Soul," with singles such as the pounding "Real Love." At the same time, her cover of Rufus and Chaka Khan's "Sweet Thing" displayed her reverence for old school soul. Her followup, 1994's My Life, emerged from her struggles with depression and a souring romance, and is one of her strongest efforts to date. The title track, which samples Roy Ayers' "Everybody Loves the Sunshine" effectively, contains one of Blige's greatest vocal performances, where she convincingly details her life struggles: "If you looked in my life/And see what I've seen," she croons, pleading for understanding. "Be Happy" continues this narrative, stating that, "All I really want/Is to be happy/And to find a love that's mine." Who can't identify with those sentiments? 1997's Share My World was her most polished album to date, featuring collaborations with various producers, including Babyface and Rodney Jerkins. "Love Is All We Need" signaled more positive changes in her life, with lyrics like "so let's make a new beginning and have some fun" exuding optimism. "Seven Days" and "Not Goin' Cry" (the latter being featured in the film Waiting to Exhale) showed her ability to wring every last drop of emotion out of a ballad. 1999's Mary solidified her reputation as a first-class singer, and saw her collaborating with Eric Clapton and Elton John, among many other artists. This album began her full crossover appeal, and she continues to record critically acclaimed work today.
Article comments
1 - Donald Gibson
Great article, Kit. Off the top of my head, I'd add Radiohead, Tori Amos, the Counting Crows, Oasis, & Liz Phair.
And then Jeff Buckley is a curious case, as his output was so limited, but his music has only gained stature since Grace was released.
2 - Jordan Richardson
Well done.
I would also add Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Smashing Pumpkins, Rage Against the Machine, Boyz II Men, Toni Braxton, Destiny's Child, TLC, Missy Elliot, Moby, and Shakira. Those are just some of the more "mainstream" artists, too.
3 - Jaim
Elliot Smith, Ani Difranco, PJ Harvey to name a few.
4 - El Bicho
That referenced article really missed the boat on a lot of great music, and I don't get the reasoning behind limiting it to artists who started in 1990s.
Some who started earlier had very noteworthy releases during the decade. I can't imagine any article that covered the '90s or the following musicians' careers that would leave out: R.E.M.'s "Out of Time", U2's "Achtung Baby", Metallica's "Metallica", Eric Clapton's "Unplugged" Dylan's "Time Out of Mind"...I could keep going
5 - Kit O'Toole
All very true--I'll be discussing some artists you've all mentioned in my next "Cutout Bin" article. El Bicho, I totally agree that some incredible releases by "'80s artists" came out in the nineties. Perhaps that's a future column! In any case, I figured I'd abide by the writer's own rules, which proved to be an interesting exercise. Thanks for commenting, everyone!
6 - Jordan Richardson
Janet Jackson's janet and Madonna's Erotica come to mind.
Do they ever.
7 - Anna Creech
How about Lisa Loeb, Jill Sobule, Alanis Morissette, Ben Folds, Cake, The Breeders, Collective Soul, Counting Crows, Dar Williams, Dixie Chicks, Enya, Green Day, Luscious Jackson, Sarah McLachlan, Sixpence None the Richer, just to name a few of my favorites.
8 - Connie Phillips
Really nice article, Kit. I look forward to your future discussions on this topic.
9 - Dan
I'm not sure you can characterize long standing bands like U2 as a 90's band, but they did change their sound in the 90's. I thought Achtung Baby! was a fantastic new sound.
If you measured the 90's against U2, I'd say it was a disappointing decade though. Lemon? Zooropa and Pop were follow-up losers, I'd say.
10 - Christopher Rose
Although there was obviously some great music in the 90s, if you look at the six post war decades starting with the 50s, the 90s doesn't really compare that well to any of the others expect possibly the 50s.
11 - El Bicho
Artists: Black Crowes, Diana Krall, The White Stripes, Smashing Pumpkins, Madeleine Peyroux
Albums:
RHCP - Blood Sugar Sex Magic
Johnny Cash - American Recordings
12 - Michael
The 90s were still much better than the pirate-plagued '00s (and beyond, sadly), Christopher Rose. The Internet wasn't quite widespread yet in terms of promoting, and word of mouth was still the primary method (most people didn't get home Internet until 1998-99), so it was the last decade in which radio/television/word of mouth communication could market items. Not the best decade, but not the worst either. What good music you find by indies in the 21st Century is sadly obscure and easy to lose over time.
13 - Christopher Rose
Michael, I don't see the connection between the quality of music and music pirates or the internet and the rest of your point is similarly incoherent. This last decade has been a major resurgence of great music compared to its predecessor.