Queens of the Stone Age – Rated Rx [Deluxe Edition] (ALBUM REVIEW)
Monday, 02 August 2010
Written by Rob Sleigh
It’s been an impressively hectic decade for Queens of the Stone Age frontman and primary player Josh Homme. Remarkably, he hasn’t taken a single year off during that period and has successfully achieved the feat of releasing an album each year: four with the aforementioned Queens, three with garage rockers Eagles of Death Metal, two with side project the Desert Sessions and, finally – just to show off - a hugely popular record with super supergroup Them Crooked Vultures. That’s quite an accomplishment by anyone’s standards and we haven’t even mentioned any of the numerous guest appearances that he has managed to squeeze in as well.
Back at the beginning of the decade, though, was the album that explosively kicked off the new millennium for Homme - QOTSA’s ‘Rated R’. Although this, their second LP, was not as commercially popular as its successor ‘Songs for the Deaf’, it was a critical success for the band and proved to be a major door-opener for them. It was also their first release to include Homme’s former Kyuss bandmate Nick Oliveri, who became one of the key songwriters and vocalists on both this and ‘Songs for the Deaf’.
Ten years and umpteen line-up changes later, Queens of the Stone Age are back for several European festival dates (including Reading and Leeds) and the band have chosen to coincide the performances with a 10th anniversary re-release of that breakthrough record. This deluxe edition, imaginatively-titled ‘Rated Rx’, includes the original album from 2000, plus a second CD of B-sides and some live tracks that were recorded at Reading Festival in the same year, when the group headlined the small Carling Premier Stage.
Those who were first introduced to QOTSA’s music through their third album ‘Songs for the Deaf’ and are yet to become acquainted with the band’s previous offerings have, so far, missed a treat in ‘Rated R’. Although the record lacks the inclusion of Dave Grohl, who played drums on the follow-up, it nonetheless manages to rival its successor in terms of musical excellence and contains some of QOTSA’s finest songs, including the single ‘The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret’.
From the moment the album begins, with a mean bass intro from Oliveri on the infectiously repetitive and humorously-named ‘Feel Good Hit of the Summer’, ‘Rated R’ immediately grabs any listeners by the throat and refuses to let go. Following the insane hard rock of the opener, Queens of the Stone Age go on an eclectic, guitar-fuelled journey that mixes some genuinely heavy music with strangely atmospheric, chilled-out rock. Homme displays his unique singing and guitar-playing style, which he utilised to great effect on the band’s self-titled debut, and takes them further still on ‘Rated R’. His voice, in particular, stands out to add an extra element of harmony and normality to the music, which occasionally veers into the realms of the noisy and experimental.
Elsewhere on the album, Nick Oliveri takes over on lead vocals to introduce a certain punk-rock edge to several of the songs. His contribution can be found most notably on chaotic tracks ‘Quick and To the Pointless’ and ‘Tension Head’. Oliveri isn’t the only present party to take the helm. Former Screaming Trees frontman Mark Lanegan is also featured as the singer on ‘In the Fade’, a role that he continued to a greater extent on ‘Songs for the Deaf’.
Now that the three members of Them Crooked Vultures are looking to move on from their short period of success, which may not have worked out as well as a lot of people expected, Homme seems particularly keen to get back to business with his main project. The re-release of this recent classic is a great way to remind fans what he is really capable of achieving. It may also prove to be a fantastic precursor to the upcoming shows which, if the rumours currently circulating are true, may include the return of Nick Oliveri. So, if you weren’t fortunate enough to catch ‘Rated R’ the first time around, but are a huge fan of QOTSA’s later releases, this new deluxe edition provides a brilliant second chance of obtaining their original masterpiece with some extra tracks thrown in for good measure.
Stereoboard Rating: 9/10
NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
We don't run any advertising! Our editorial content is solely funded by lovely people like yourself using Stereoboard's listings when buying tickets for live events. To keep supporting us, next time you're looking for concert, festival, sport or theatre tickets, please search for "Stereoboard". It costs you nothing, you may find a better price than the usual outlets, and save yourself from waiting in an endless queue on Friday mornings as we list ALL available sellers!
Those who were first introduced to QOTSA’s music through their third album ‘Songs for the Deaf’ and are yet to become acquainted with the band’s previous offerings have, so far, missed a treat in ‘Rated R’. Although the record lacks the inclusion of Dave Grohl, who played drums on the follow-up, it nonetheless manages to rival its successor in terms of musical excellence and contains some of QOTSA’s finest songs, including the single ‘The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret’. 
