Customer Reviews

Volume 5 & 6

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The word "stoner rock" may be a cliche, and Desert Sessions' ringleader Josh Homme may indeed hate the term, but it's hard to imagine that music this odd could be drawn from the minds of men who don't indulge in one form of chemical experimentation or another. Volumes 5 and 6 of the Desert Sessions adventure find Homme and his cronies poking their noses into the punk-rock realm, with results that may infuriate stoner-rock devotees, but also are quite commendable on their own merits. The riffs tend to be crass, fuzzed-out affairs, complimented with some of the most pleasantly disturbing lyrics about topics ranging from spousal abuse to capital punishment. It's music that may take some getting-used-to, especially for fans who prefer the smooth, heavy noodling of Homme's former outfit Kyuss. It is also, however, feircely original, mind-jarringly weird, and strangely catchy. Stoner rock? Who cares. It's good.

Josh Homme and cronies are back, eyes glazed-over, pounding out whatver music the desert tells them to. This is one of the better installments of the ongoing chemically-enhanced musical experiement. While Volumes One and Two were kraut-inspired minimal noodlery, and Three and Four were wonky, cut-and-paste death-hop (you kind of have to hear it to understand what that means), Five and Six are more straightforward rock-punk buffoonery. In a good way. "Goin' To A Hangin'" is the best thing to ever happen to eardrums. Only people who suck don't already own this album. That means you, ugly. Stop sucking and get it.

With an indistinguishable Queens of the Stone Age flavor, Volumes 5 &6 of the Desert Sessions series is of course a required purchase for your growing stoner rock library. Don't even bother to read the rest of my review. Just buy the CD because if you're already interested in it, you know you like it, and you must have it. Meanwhile, I'll tell you that Teens of Thailand has both Kyuss and QOTSA over(under)tones as it breaks from a 3 minute 30 second instrumental into a building rockout, threatening that you may turn into a toad if you misbehave. I'm listening to this as I type because my officemate will talk to me and distract me from my work if I don't have headphones on. And I have been successfully focused until Rickshaw (track 10) started. I was so pumped to hear it I jumped on Amazon to write this review, eager to make sure as many people as possible hear this song and revel in its magnificence. Your life is less without it.

The Desert Sessions, a collaboration of some of the finest musicians in the Stoner Rock-genre, takes another twist with vols. 5 & 6. And it sounds great! Having listened to volumes 1 to 4 I knew what these guys are capable of, but I must say I was positively surprised at how good this album is.

The kick-off track You Think I Ain't Worth A Dollar... (man, that's a long title!) sets the pace and mood for the rest to come, while Letters To Mommy is just a hilariously sad track. One of my favourites. Also, there are some pretty heavy punk-rock:ish (yet with that experimental, crazy feel to it) tunes, Punk Rock Caveman... being the most representative. Furthermore, a couple of regular, basic Stoner Rock tracks like A#1 and Rickshaw, both well crafted and catchy (listen to the twin-pounding on Rickshaw!).

As a conclusion, this album deffinitely lives up to its reputation and my expectations. Fans of this type of music should not hesitate, this album delivers!

Get it right away!

The Desert Sessions series, which does have Josh Homme (Kyuss/ Queens of the Stone Age), were NOT recorded in Palm Desert as one reviewer wrote, but instead, were recorded in Joshua Tree, California at a studio belonging to Fred Drake. "the Rancho" www.ranchodelaluna.com This series also happened to have the likes of Dave Grohl and PJ Harvey dropping in as well as Fred Drake himself playing on many songs. Once you visit the rancho website you'll be amazed at how many really talented artists were connected to Fred and his studio.

The seeds for the `revolving door' line-up method that Queens of the Stone Age has become famous for were originally sown in another related project, the Desert Sessions. Dating back to the `80s, guitarist Josh Homme and his pals would throw what would become known as `generator parties' - consisting of live music played for a bunch of friends out in a secluded part of California's Palm Desert, the electricity for the amplifiers being supplied by a power generator. Between his exit from stoner rock groundbreakers Kyuss and the formation of Queens, Homme found himself with plenty of free time on his hands, and he decided to start up these get-togethers "once more." ~http://www.methodshop.com/mp3/. The only difference was that this time, Homme would record the proceedings - dubbing them `the Desert Sessions' - while a rotating list of quite recognizable names of hard rock would be invited to participate.

Yup, this album rocks like hell. 6 stars. Not much more to say about it really. They sing about cavemen too! RRAAAARGH!!!!