Stone Temple Pilots – No. 4 (Mobile Fidelity 45RPM, 2026) Review

There’s something fitting about No. 4 getting the full Mobile Fidelity treatment in 2026. For years, this album felt slightly overlooked in the Stone Temple Pilots catalog. Core had the cultural impact. Purple had the hits. Tiny Music... Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop became the musician’s favorite. But No. 4 was always the record where the band sounded dangerous again.

Released in 1999, the album arrived during a chaotic period for the band. Scott Weiland’s addiction struggles were escalating, internal tensions were high, and there was uncertainty surrounding the group's future. Yet somehow, that instability translated into a record that felt raw, aggressive, melodic, and strangely focused all at once. Brendan O’Brien’s production pushed the band back toward heavier territory while still leaving room for the glam, psychedelic, and melodic influences that made Stone Temple Pilots far more interesting than many of their post-grunge contemporaries.

Tracks like “Down,” “No Way Out,” and “MC5” hit with real force, while “Sour Girl” and “Atlanta” showcased the band's versatility and songwriting depth. Even at its loudest, No. 4 always carried an underlying sense of atmosphere and space that separated it from many hard rock records of the era.

That atmosphere is exactly what this new Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab pressing seems determined to uncover.

According to Mobile Fidelity, this edition was sourced from the original analog master tapes using a DSD256 transfer chain before being cut to lacquer, pressed at Fidelity Record Pressing, and spread across two 45RPM discs. Whether someone loves or hates the digital-step debate at this point almost feels secondary once the needle drops. The bigger question is simple: does it sound better?

In my system, yes. Clearly.

One of the most revealing moments came when I switched back to the high-resolution Qobuz stream after spending time with the Mobile Fidelity pressing.

On its own, the digital version still sounds good. In fact, if I hadn't done a direct comparison, I probably wouldn't have thought much about it. But after listening to the vinyl, the differences became difficult to ignore.

The stream sounded more compressed. The presentation pulled inward between the speakers, instrument separation became less distinct, and the overall soundstage lost some of the scale and dimensionality that the vinyl had been delivering.

The Mobile Fidelity pressing doesn't reinvent the recording. What it does is allow the album to breathe. The soundstage extends well beyond the speakers, individual instruments occupy more clearly defined spaces, and dense passages feel less congested. Instead of sounding like a wall of late-90s hard rock, the music gains depth, texture, and a greater sense of realism.

Eric Kretz’s drums are probably the biggest revelation here. The detail retrieval is excellent. Cymbal decay hangs naturally in space, snare hits have real body and texture, and kick drums carry greater definition without becoming bloated. The increased separation throughout the presentation makes it easier to appreciate just how much is happening in these arrangements.

Dean DeLeo’s guitar work also benefits tremendously from the 45RPM format. On streaming, some of the denser sections can smear together slightly. Here, individual guitar textures become easier to follow, especially during the heavier moments where Stone Temple Pilots intentionally stacked distortion, harmonics, and layered instrumentation on top of one another.

What impressed me most, though, was the pressing quality itself.

This is an exceptionally quiet record.

The black backgrounds help quieter passages emerge naturally, especially on tracks like “Atlanta” and “Sour Girl.” The low noise floor creates more contrast between the music and the silence around it, allowing subtle details to come forward without effort.

Importantly, this reissue does not sterilize the album.

No. 4 should still sound gritty, aggressive, and a little rough around the edges. That’s part of its identity. The mastering simply removes some of the haze that has always lived over the recording. You get more clarity without sacrificing the attitude.

That balance matters.

Some audiophile reissues unintentionally smooth over what made the original album emotionally effective. This one largely avoids that trap. The energy remains intact, but now there is greater insight into the performances themselves.

What surprised me most is that this reissue changed my perception of the album.

I always considered No. 4 one of the stronger entries in the Stone Temple Pilots catalog, but this Mobile Fidelity Stone Temple Pilots No. 4 release revealed layers of detail and nuance that I hadn't fully appreciated before. That's ultimately what the best audiophile reissues do. They don't simply make a record sound better. They help you hear the music differently.

If anything, this pressing reinforces just how strong No. 4 really was. Beneath the late-90s hard rock production and radio singles was a genuinely well-crafted album filled with layered arrangements, dynamic performances, and far more nuance than many people gave it credit for at the time.

For longtime Stone Temple Pilots fans, this may end up being one of the best ways to experience the record. And for anyone who only knows the streaming version, this pressing makes a compelling argument that there was always more hidden inside these recordings than digital versions fully revealed.

Mobile Fidelity didn't just reissue No. 4. They reminded me why it deserves a place among the strongest albums in the Stone Temple Pilots catalog.

Mobile Fidelity reissue of Stone Temple Pilots - No. 4 is now available to order.

Click here to view the reference system used in this review.