Personnel: Josh Homme (vocals, guitar, drums, percussion); Nick Oliveri (vocals, bass); Mark Lanegan (vocals); Dave Catching (electric, 12-string & lap steel guitars, piano, Hammond B-3 organ); Scott Mayo (baritone saxophone); Fernando Pullum (flugelhorn); Reggie Young (horns); Chris Goss (piano, bass, percussion, background vocals); Barrett Martin (vibraphone, steel drum, percussion); Gene Trautmann, Nick Lucero (drums); Marek (sound effects); Rob Halford, Wendy Ray Moan, Nick Eldorado, Mike Johnson, Pete Stahl (background vocals).
Recorded at Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, California between December 1999 & February 2000.
Josh Homme's creation Queens Of The Stone Age, although they remain close to their rock roots, are a complex amalgam of atmosphere and textures. RATED R is a retro-sounding album, recorded on two 16-track machines by producer Chris Goss (Masters Of Reality) and GRAMMY award winning engineer Trinia Shoemaker.
The band's name pokes fun at the homophobic rednecks that Homme says used to attend Kyuss (his former band) shows. Some of the album's highlights are "The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret," "Feel Good Hit of the Summer" and "Better Living Through Chemistry." Former Screaming Trees vocalist Mark Lanegan has some sublime moments on a few tracks, including "In the Fade." RATED R is a unique, eclectic album.
What the critics say...
Rolling Stone (1/4/01, p.114) - Included in Rolling Stone's "Top 50 Albums of 2000".
Rolling Stone (6/22/00, pp.127-8) - 3.5 stars out of 5 - "...A strange, category-evading rock record, a mystery disc of gravity and low humor, of punk aggression and love-bead contentment....improving on the strengths of [their] first album and shooting into areas that you wouldn't expect..."
Spin (1/01, p.73) - Ranked #8 in Spin's "Top 20 Albums of the Year [2000]" - "...Mysteriously beautiful, smartly stoopid psychedelic jams, complete with jet planes and monsters..."
Q (1/01, p.93) - Included in Q's "50 Best Albums of 2000".
Q (9/00, p.111) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...[A] mighty record....[They] may well have a sleeper hit on their hands..."
Uncut (10/00, p.88) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...A revved-up jet engine of twisted Sabbath riffs and taut Krautrock rhythms..."
Magnet (8-9/00, p.88) - "...Sublime....there's sufficient skronk'n'wail to keep your bong well-stuffed..."
CMJ (5/29/00, p.3) - "...Continues to broaden [their] scope while introducing some experimental chutzpah to their sound....Fuzz guitar hero Josh Homme keeps listeners on their toes....successfully employing pop-flavored enhancements....markedly different from [their] debut..."
Melody Maker (6/27/00, p.75) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...No mess. No fuss. Just 12 songs of good, solid rock. Rock with all the [b.s.] stripped away....100 per cent unapologetic metal..."
Kerrang (Magazine) (p.52) - "[A]n 11-step guide to hedonistic heaven..."
Mojo (Publisher) (p.61) - Ranked #47 in Mojo's "100 Modern Classics" -- "[M]aking their unique sound -- as relentless as metal, as eerily groovy as Can -- one of the world's most envied."
Mojo (Publisher) (9/00, p.91) - "...[They] can really kick it like The Stooges did, like Black Flag, The MC5 and Nirvana....you can't help but be smitten..."
NME (Magazine) (12/30/00, p.77) - Rated #1 in NME's "Top 50 Albums Of The Year".
NME (Magazine) (6/3/00, p.40) - 9 out of 10 - "...A heady mix of speed-addled punk rock, huge, sky-filling psychedelic majesty and sex-crazed black humor....It's just the best, most important rock album for years....The new rock royalty have come to claim their throne..."
