Scott Weiland is clean and sober. So the heroin, crack cocaine, jail stint, DUI, domestic violence charges, 18-month alcohol program, most of his probation, and punch-ups with guitarist Dean DeLeo are in the past. But that doesn't mean 'Stone Temple Pilots' was easy to make.

Sued by the record company? Sure. Drawn out 10-month recording sessions thanks to touring commitments? You bet. A lead singer who insists on working completely separately from the rest of the group, in an entirely different studio all the way across town? Of course.

And yet the band's first album in almost a decade sounds positively effortless.

A long way from the quartet's '90s grunge roots ? i.e. ripping off Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Alice in Chains ? it picks up where 2001's 'Shangri La Di Da' left off ? i.e. ripping off Led Zeppelin, classic Aerosmith, and Bad Company.

With its refrain of "even when we used to take drugs", bluesy opener 'Between The Lines' (geddit?) is a breezy hand-clapping Rolling Stones knock-off. 'Hickory Dichotomy' takes the David Bowie Memorial Tour of '70s glam-rock, the sweetly slutty 'Huckleberry Crumble' sees DeLeo pulling off his most carefree Keith Richards poses, 'Hazy Daze' has little difficulty uniting a scuzzy guitar riff with a beautifully Beatlesque vocal melody, the suitably dreamy 'Dream If You Dare' scuffs up what could be a long-lost Lennon lullaby, and, with its repeated "come on, come on now, yeah", sunny album highlight 'Cinnamon' brings the summer lovin' without even breaking a sweat.

But, for all the benefits of sobriety and maturity, STP simply can't avoid excess in any form. While the lightweight 'First Kiss On Mars' and Elton John-inspired ballad 'Maver' drift way past laidback into lethargic, the sludgy, churning Eddie Vedderisms of 'Take A Load Off' and monotonously grinding 'Bagman' go in the opposite direction, simply trying too hard to revive the band's early sound.

You know the cliche: the more things change, the more they stay the same.