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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
On Songs for the Deaf, core Queens of the Stone Age members Nick Oliveri and Josh Homme, with the help of like-minded consorts Dave Grohl and Mark Lanegan, balance pure guitar-induced carnage with more complex, though no less aggressive, speed rock that whips by so fast it creates its own breeze. The disc explodes with "You Think I Ain't Worth a Dollar, But I Feel Like a Millionaire", a toxic squall of power chords and now-classic Oliveri death howls. It's here the album's recurring concept/conceit is introduced, as a generic-sounding announcer from LA's "Clone" radio spits out some psychobabble reinforcing the tired if true cliché that commercial radio stinks. Similar mock broadcasts surface elsewhere, but they're easily forgivable, given the bounty on offer.
Homme-powered tracks dominate--the lurching, weirdly springy single "No One Knows" is a kind of "Monster Mash" for grown-ups; the vocal harmony-driven "The Sky Is Falling" is almost dreamy until a small army of guitars surge to the front lines to begin firing. And a lyrically winking hidden track, "Mosquito Song", is either an in-joke of ridiculous proportions or a declarative statement about the level of musicianship lurking just beneath the quaking veneer of the Queens' sound. Either way, genuine excitement comes early and often on Songs for the Deaf. It's a remarkable achievement--a hard rock record so good that it immediately evokes a conspiratorial fervour that makes you want to tell everyone you can about it. Er, job done. --Kim Hughes
Review
Heavy? Yes, but in a clever, camp kind of way. Rock? Definitely.With Dave Grohl behind the drum kit and a bucket full of Sabbath style riffing, it certainly rocks.
2000's Rated R was one of the best post Nirvana american rock albums. It was an elusive, dark, slippery kind of record, a series of pastiches of rock styles past that seemed more real and cut deeper than the posturing of most grunge. Some of it sounded like Metallica, some of it like David Bowie circa The Man Who Sold the World. Lots of people voted it the best album of the year. But then as usual the ground shifted, along came The Strokes and "irony" and "bleak" became strictly last year.
The Queens have responded with typical perversity and produced a CD which is even bleaker than the last one. The shadow of death hangs firmly over its first 30 minutes. At times the wailing witches' chorus and unrelenting tales of hanging trees and murder gets a bit indigestible.
But there's still plenty of head shaking rock action. Nick Oliveri screams his head off in the groovy "Millionaire". Grohl's drum intro on "A Song For The Dead" is better than the rest of the song. "No One Knows" comes across like ZZ Top in a really, really bad mood. Slowly the mood doesn't exactly lighten but at least becomes less brutal, as the second half sets up a series of doomy love songs. "Do It Again" matches a Gary Glitter stomp with the best melody of the album while "Another Love Song" comes as a complete surprise, a perfect piece of gloomy late Sixties pop.
It all depends how you like your rock. If you like it with big airy spaces, lots of affirmation and a nice happy ending you should buy the Coldplay album. But if you like it tricky, claustrophobic but with plenty of swoons and thrills you should get to grips with this big, dense monster of a record.
(Since receiving your comments below, we have corrected the above review - Nick Oliveri screams in Millionaire, not Mark Lanegan - apologies, and thanks for your corrections! - ed)
Like This? Try These:
Foo Fighters - One By One
Vex Red - Start With A Strong And Persistant Desire --Nick Reynolds
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Moving to the top of the pile...,
By
This review is from: Songs For The Deaf (Audio CD)
Queens Of The Stone Age have seen their stock rise steadily over the last few years and with 'Songs For The Deaf' it seems set to reach new heights, the steady increases multiplying into an unstoppable force.Recruiting Dave Grohl and Mark Lanegan certainly helps. What band wouldn't be improved by these two talents. Grohl is back doing what he does best, adding a light and shade to the overall sound that isn't witnessed often enough from the drumming in most rock groups (including his own, overrated, Foo Fighters). Lanegan adds his considerable songwriting talent to three of the tracks on offer, including the superb single, 'No One Knows' with its jaunty guitar motif and all-too-hummable refrain. 'No One Knows' forms the centrepiece of the opening triumvirate of tracks, all three swept along on the kind of riffs most bands would kill for. 'First It Giveth' in particular gets the pulse racing and some consideration to likely speeding fines should be given by anyone planning to play this song whilst driving. The album takes on many moods after its high voltage opening, evoking 60s surf music ('Another Love Song'), 70s glam ('Gonna Leave You' and 'Do It Again'), Zeppelin-esque mystique ('The Sky Is Falling' and the awesome 'Mosquito Song') and the obligatory Black Sabbath homage ('God Is In The Radio'). There's even a Kinks cover version in there ('Everybody's Gonna Be Happy'). This may all make it sound like a record from another age. And in a way it is, no-one out there is making records like this at the moment. Yet there is still a very contemporary feel to the overall sound of the album. It's also refreshing to hear a band using influences to do just that - influence - rather than copying them wholesale. It adds a layer of texture to the sound that ensures you can't help but be drawn in. Nowhere is that more in evidence than on 'Mosquito Song', Josh Homme's warm yet weary vocal eating into your mind and soul with an intimacy most vocalists can't even imagine. The Queens Of The Stone Age: the kings of a new era.
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Moments of genius hidden in a thundering rock record,
By
This review is from: Songs For The Deaf (Audio CD)
On the surface this is a very strong rock record, packed with memorable tracks bearing QOTSA's loud, chugging hallmark sound. The album flows smoothly from one song to the next, helped by short intermissions between tracks by spoof radio DJs. It's hard to find one duff moment on this CD. What makes it truly worthy of all five stars, however, is the moments of genius that stick in the mind after repeated listenings; a sound here, a chord there, that reveal attention to detail and diverse influences that lift the record into a class of its own.I would recommend this CD to anybody who appreciates unique, engaging rock music.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best rock album in years...,
This review is from: Songs For The Deaf (Audio CD)
I've only recently started listening to 'Queens of the Stone Age'. After purchasing the exceptional 'Rated R', I thought I'd give their new album a listen... and I was amazed. This really is the best rock album in years. I don't mean nu-metal, i mean rock album. Queens of the stone age are tight, loud and catchy as hell. I read some reviews on this album which say the album needs a few listens, but I personally found this album instantly addictive, AND I'M NOT EVEN A 'ROCK' fan, prefering the likes of Jeff Buckley. Another thing to note is Dave Grohl's outstanding drumming. I always considered him to be 'average' but from this album you'll see he is far from. Finally, ignore reviews which say the album recording is 'flat' and 'compressed'. The first 10 seconds of track 1 sounds that way, but that soon changes... you'll see...
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