A fan named The Vile Prince on Stone Temple Pilots’ Reddit has resurfaced a 1994 Guitar World quote from Robert DeLeo about “Plush” and haters calling it a Pearl Jam ripoff.
Dean said, “It’s just one of those Robert DeLeo things man. The guy comes up with great stuff. Like those chords to ‘Plush’ you know? But let’s not talk about ‘Plush,’ sorry.”
Guitar World asked, “Why? Is that a sore point?”
Robert DeLeo added, sarcastically, “‘Plush’ was such a big Pearl Jam song last year. Such a huge Pearl Jam song.”
Metalheadface commented on STP’s Reddit, “The worst part about this is that people still rip on them. I never really understood the comparisons, the only similarity was the singing style. But guess what, they were both trying to emulate Jim Morrison, and god Vedder was so much worse. Scott’s voice was richer and grittier and he had such a great innate sense of melody.
STP was rockin it before PJ and both bands never even crossed each other’s paths! Core was way harder heavier crunchier and more constructed than Ten. It’s one thing if you don’t like the music for the music itself, but don’t just hate on them and say that STP copied PJ when so much evidence says otherwise. It’s honestly immature and fucking stupid.
I remember reading Robert saying he was shunned by Chris Cornell and EV backstage in the early days when he introduced himself to them. I absolutely love Soundgarden and CC (RIP), but that still hurt me and pissed me off in a way. At least Chris paid tribute to Scott and dedicated Say Hello 2 Heaven to him when he died.”
