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Rating:
8.5 |
Queens Of The Stone Age - Songs For The Deaf
27 August 2002
01. You Think I Ain't Worth A Dollar, But I Feel Like A Millionaire
02. No One Knows
03. First It Giveth
04. A Song For The Dead
05. The Sky Is Fallin'
06. Six Shooter
07. Hangin' Tree
08. Go With The Flow
09. Gonna Leave You
10. Do It Again
11. God Is In The Radio
12. Another Love Song
13. A Song For The Deaf
14. Mosquito Song
15. Everybody's Gonna Be Happy [The Kinks cover]
[Bonus DVD]
16. Monsters In The Parasol [live]
17. No One Knows [live]
18. The Lost Art Of Keeping A Secret [live]
19. Quick And To The Pointless [live]
20. Ode To Clarissa [live]
The third installment of the quirky Queens Of The Stone Age saga is finally upon us. After the phenominal success of 2000's 'Rated R', the band have not only progressed, but surpassed all expectations required of the formers classic status.
After some imaginary radio station introductions (Which pops up between most of the songs on the album by a host of well known musician), Nick Oliveri literally annihilates the albums beginnings with the Mondo Generator like 'You Think I Ain't Worth A Dollar, But I Feel Like A Millionaire'. It's short, raucus and to the point(less)! While the track first appeared on Desert Sessions Volume's 7 and 8 ('Gypsy Marches' and 'Can't You See Under My Thumb? There You Are'), it's a newly reworked version.
The lead off single 'No One Knows' treads familiar ground, with temperary drummer Dave Grohl providing some excellent drum rolls to great effect. The 'A Day In The Life' orchestra effect certainly stands out and shows the band are not prone to repeating past success. 'First It Giveth' has that distinctive rambling riff that seems endless, before exploding in one of the catchiest choruses the Queens have come up with yet. One of the more progressive moments on the album comes in the form of 'A Song For The Dead' with Nick on vocals. It gives a feel more a kin to the first album.
The effortless monolith like riff to 'The Sky Is Fallin' brings to mind a clearly produced catchy Kyuss number, while the just over a minute long 'Six Shooter' is the idea vent for Nicks screaming talents. Another track salvaged from the Desert Sessions Volume 7 and 8 is the Mark Lanegan led 'Hangin' Tree'. The instrumentation is never overstated, and Mark's vocals are as sweet as they are rough. 'Go With The Flow' could well have been lifted off the Queens debut with it's simplistic riff and rock and roll piano backing. This could well be a potential single. 'Gonna Leave You' follows the simple blueprint set out with 'Go With The Flow', with the only variation being the absence of piano and a quirky solo added instead. With a combination of 'the riff' and sixties pop sensibilities comes 'Do It Again'. Taking it one step further is the 'Spirit In The Sky' sounding 'God Is In The Radio'. The Queens have given both songs thier own twist and come up with some inspired originals.
With a distict Pixies feel comes 'Another Love Song'. Dave Grohl puts in a hearty effort on the drums, while the lyrics are simply a crack up.
The complete opposing style of the last couple of tracks comes in the menacingly dark 'A Song For The Deaf'. There's some stunning guitar moments on display throughout the number, and Nick's howling over Josh's melodic vocal style disturbs the listener to stunning effect.
After an initial gap, 'Feel Good Haha Of The Summer' finally reveals itself. As you guessed, it's simply a very short laughing version of the song.
The acoustic flamenco/accordian stylings of 'Mosquito Song' is one aspect of the band rarely shown. And it's a real shame. This is one hell of a track.
The final song is a cover of The Kink's 'Everbody's Gonna Be Happy'. While it doesn't stray too far from the original, it does have a certain charm.
For a limited time (The first 200,000 pressings), the album comes with a bonus D.V.D. of the Queens rambling through some live versions of 'Monsters In The Parasol', 'No One Knows', 'The Lost Art Of Keeping A Secret', 'Quick And To The Pointless' and 'Ode To Clarissa'. The footage was shot over two shows and is preety cool for collectors.
Josh Homme, Nick Oliveri, Mark Lanegan, Dave Grohl and a host of friends have done well to go beyond the boundaries of what is essentially half of the now defunct Kyuss. Are Queens Of The Stone Age strange? Yes. Are they any good? Of course. Is this album as good as their old stuff? What are you, deaf!
written by Justin | 02.09.2003 |
Guest review disclaimer:
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
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 Syk - 01.07.2007 at 08:15
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This is one of my very favourite modern rock albums. A Song for the Dead is my pick of the crop, I totally love that drum intro which I think was originally by the Misfits... (who I don't listen to)
Something people should know is that in most proper CD players, and maybe some other formats (search the album on wikipedia.org) you can rewind for 1½ minutes from the start of the first track to hear "The Real Song for the Deaf" - which just makes this album even cooler! 10/10 (and I don't give out many of those  ) |
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Discover this band through the video clip of ''No One Knows'' on TV. They're pretty good, some songs really stick on our head  |
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