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Rated R (Queens of the Stone Age album)

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Untitled

Rated R (sometimes also referred to as R or Restricted) is a 2000 album by Queens of the Stone Age, containing the first appearance of former Screaming Trees vocalist Mark Lanegan, and the first significant appearance of Nick Oliveri, on a Queens of the Stone Age record. Oliveri appeared briefly on the band's previous album (Queens of the Stone Age) in a voice sample.

Ambiguity of title

There has been some confusion regarding the name of the album, since the CD inlay reads "Queens of the Stone Age Feel Good Hit of the Summer", the cassette version is labeled "RESTRICTED" and the All Music Guide refers to it as R [1]. However, in several interviews, Homme has called the album Rated R, as does the band's official homepage. Rolling Stone [2] also names the album Rated R. The front cover reads "R - restricted to everyone, everywhere, all the time" (where the "R" is replaced by the MPAA symbol for an R movie rating).

The album was originally to be called II, but was changed at the last minute. Promo and demo copies of the album are labelled Queens of the Stone Age II.

Musical style

Rated R found the band experimenting with a more relaxed and eclectic sound, that was less riff-oriented than the self-titled "Queens of the Stone Age".

Songs

"Monsters in the Parasol" is the sixth track on the album. The song originally appeared on The Desert Sessions, Volume 4: Hard Walls and Little Trips, under the shortened title "Monster in the Parasol". This marked the second time a Desert Sessions song was rerecorded and placed on a Queens of the Stone Age album, following on from Avon's usage on their self titled debut. Josh Homme recently revealed to XFM that the lyrics are about an incident when he took LSD with his friend Paul, who features in the song in the lyrics "Paul's dad is warped and bubbling, oh well" and "Paul's sister is an alien, oh well". Despite not being released as a single, "Monsters in the Parasol" had a video made for it. The promo itself depicts a man in drag on a mission to rescue a puppy from a gang who apparently stole it. The video was directed by Peter Care, who also made The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys, a film Homme produced songs for. "Better Living Through Chemistry" borrows a line from a Björk song, "Crying", off her album Debut (album) : "There's no one here and people everywhere."

Critical reception

Rated R received many accolades and favourable reviews. It was Metal Hammer and also NMEs album of the year in 2000. Rated R was certified silver in the UK on February 16, 2001 with sales excessing 60,000 copies. [3]

Track listing

  1. "Feel Good Hit of the Summer" (Homme/Oliveri) – 2:43
  2. "The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret" (Homme/Oliveri) – 3:36
  3. "Leg of Lamb" (Homme/Oliveri) – 2:48
  4. "Auto Pilot" (Homme/Oliveri) – 4:01
  5. "Better Living Through Chemistry" (Homme/Oliveri) – 5:49
  6. "Monsters in the Parasol" (Homme/Lalli) – 3:27
  7. "Quick and to the Pointless" (Homme/Oliveri) – 1:42
  8. "In the Fade" (Homme/Oliveri) – 4:25
    • Includes hidden track "Feel Good Hit of the Summer (Reprise)" on U.S. copies but separated into its own track in all other printings across the world. Nevertheless, the track is not listed on these editions, so the following songs have wrong track numbers, e.g. "Tension Head" listed as track 9 but would be track 10 on the disc.
  9. "Tension Head" (Homme/Oliveri) – 2:52
  10. "Lightning Song" (Catching) – 2:07
  11. "I Think I Lost My Headache" (Homme/Oliveri) – 8:40

The track "Ode to Clarissa" is included in the Japanese version, the Rated X vinyl, and the Canadian version labeled + (8:40).

The special edition of the album included a bonus disc with the video to "Feel Good Hit of the Summer" along with the tracks "Who'll Be the Next in Line" (a Kinks cover), "You're So Vague" (a spoof of Carly Simon's hit "You're So Vain") and "Never Say Never" (a Romeo Void cover). The bonus disc is entitled Rated U.

  • The track "Autopilot" from was later rerecorded on Nick Oliveri's 2004 Solo effort entitled Demolition Day.
  • Track 6 is a new recording of "Monsters in the Parasol" from The Desert Sessions Volumes 3 & 4.
  • Track 9 is a new recording of "Tension Head" previously entitled "13th Floor" from Mondo Generator's album Cocaine Rodeo.

Rated X

The Vinyl edition of the album is called Rated X and includes different art work. Homme himself was unhappy with the final artwork for Rated X. At the insistence of the record company, he had to remove hand drawn images of penises he had originally intended to include.[citation needed] The inner gatefold does include pornographic images, hence the "X" in the title. The cover art for Rated X is similar to the art for Rated R, only with a red background instead of blue, an "X" rating symbol instead of an "R", and without the "restricted" caption. Rated X features bonus track "Ode to Clarissa" as track 12.

Personnel

  • Robert Brunner – pre-production assistant
  • Dave Catching – electric piano, piano, B3, guitar, 12 string guitar, lap steel guitar
  • Bradley Cook – engineer
  • Dan Druff – guitar technician
  • Nick Eldorado – backing vocals
  • Chris Goss – bass, percussion, backing vocals, producer, grand piano, noise piano
  • Rob Halford – backing vocals
  • Josh Homme – vocals, guitar, percussion, drums, piano, backing vocals, producer, mixing, concept
  • Mike Johnson – backing vocals
  • Mark Lanegan – vocals, backing vocals
  • Nick Lucero – drums, percussion
  • Marek – noise, mixing
  • Barrett Martin – percussion, steel drums, vibes
  • Scott Mayo – horn, baritone sax
  • Nick Oliveri – bass, percussion, guitar, vocals, backing vocals, concept, art conception
  • Fernando Pullum – horn
  • Wendy Ray Moan – backing vocals
  • Francesca Restrepo – art direction
  • Martin Schmelzle – engineer, sequencing, assembly
  • Trina Shoemaker – engineer, mixing
  • Pete Stahl – backing vocals
  • Gene Trautmann – drums
  • Reggie Young – horn

Charts

Album

Year Chart Peak position
2000 US Top Heatseekers 16

Singles

Year Single Chart Peak position
2000 "The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret" US Mainstream Rock 21
2000 "The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret" US Modern Rock 36

References

  1. ^ "All Music Guide album entry". All Music Guide. Retrieved 2007-06-11.
  2. ^ "Queens of the Stone Age: Rated R review". Rolling Stone. 2000-06-22. Retrieved 2007-06-11. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ "QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE , RATED R , Silver , Fri Feb 16 2001". British Phonographic Industry. 2001-02-16. Retrieved 2007-06-11. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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