Customer Reviews

Rated R - Deluxe Edition

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In recent years, I've come to my senses and resisted blindly buying neatly-packaged reissues of albums I already own. "Remastering," particularly with albums that aren't very old, often consists of compressing the original album's dynamics and giving it a volume boost so it'll sound good on an iPod rather than a proper hi-fi. Also, in many cases, the bonus material isn't great enough to justify buying the album a second time. My love for Rated R, however, made me ignore my usual rules and take the double-dip.

As thrilled as I am to have the five b-sides, the live Reading Festival tracks are pretty average in terms of sound quality and performance. They're not bad, but I'll be surprised if I find myself really going out of my way to listen to them down the road. In fact, I kind of wish they had just thrown the b-sides at the end of disc one and released this as a cheaper single disc package. Now that would have been a great re-issue! As it stands, it comes off like they were stretching to fill a disc up. Additionally, the CD booklet is basically just a slightly altered (and uglier) variation of the original one. No new essays or photos. Pretty lazy. Hey, at least the Rated X vinyl edition has a bunch of porn pics in the gatefold.

Queens of the Stone Age arose in the 1990s out of desert storm created by the ashes of metal gods Kyuss, a band who featured both the dynamic presence of lead singer/guitarist Josh Homme and the wizard bearded bass fiend Nick Oliveri (if you have never heard "Gardenia" seek it out now). The special thing about QOTSA is that they are a unpredictable, super intelligent hard rock band who defy hard rock clichés. Homme maybe riff obsessed but they are classic riffs with interesting twists and turns, even on something as basic as the greatest steal of German "ommpah" music ever on the brilliant "No one knows". What other band could generate a debate currently raging on the Amazon music forum at the moment whether "Josh Homme is the sexiest musician alive"? Frankly I am rather agnostic about the point but its further proof that QOTSA have a cool credibility and remain the US's most vibrant heavy rock band not least of all in the ability to attract stellar "side musicians" like Dave Grohl and Mark Lanagan.

What a treat then to have their best album released (it was of course voted as the NME writers' album of the year in 2000) in this deluxe edition containing in addition a blistering performance from the Reading festival in 2000 and some wonderful curiosities including a sort of a cover of Carly Simon's "Your so vain" and a nice version of Romeo Void's new wave classic, "Never Say Never". It is the Rated Rx however that is the star of the show. In the ten years since its release it has aged wonderfully. Is there a better album opener on any stoner record than the stuttering "Feel good hit of the summer"? "In "Lost art of Keeping a secret" the band possess one of the funkiest rock songs ever recorded with Homme's scintillating vocal exclaiming "Leap of faith, do you doubt/Cut you in, I just cut you out" before the anthem like chorus explodes and a tight guitar solo follows. Then we have two songs that vie for the title "best song on the album" firstly the volcanic grower "In the fade" sung by Lanagan which reminds you of his scintillating work on Screaming Trees classic "Dust" album and the huge eight minute plus scuzz riff juggernaut "I think I lost my headache". The latter Sabbath like behemoth just steals it not least because of its one of the most epic songs to ever end with a 3 minute insidious avant garde horns infused solo. At a wider level the loud Olivieri punk rock screamer "Tension Head" is all controlled fury; then there is the trippy pop metal of "Monsters in your Parasol"; while finally the bongo driven and riff heavy "Better living through chemistry" is wonderfully sinister although some respite can be found in the gentle instrumental "Lightning song".

Homme and Oliveri were of course to bitterly part at a later stage when the bassist was fired prior to the recording of "Lullabies to Paralyze". Yet Rated R along with "Songs for the deaf" represents their finest work. Overall the extended Rated Rx is hugely welcome visitor to our shores, it is incredibly focused, exhilarating and one of the most storming albums committed to vinyl. Thus please feel free to join me in the reprise. Altogether now "Nicotine, valium, vicodin, marijuana, ecstasy, and alcohol....".

Rated R is such an amazing c.d. The new deluxe edition is a lot better with live tracks and bonus music on the second disc. If you are a fan of QOTSA and have not listened to their earlier work then this is a must have. Also get the first self titled c.d. cause it is my fave of all of them.

This is a very special QOTSA album for me in it's original release form and this 2 CD extended release set is a true QOTSA fans treat and an album that has stood the test of time. They never showed of their range like they did in this one album musical journey. It's got a real experimental vibe with a lundry list of A+ tracks that remain some of QOTSA's biggest hits.

Disc ONE - The original disc in it's original form. That's right, they didn't mess it up and why in the world would you remaster something that was mastered perfectly to start with? I don't get the complaints there??? She's crystal clear and hittin' on all cylinders!!

Disc TWO - If you collect QOTSA tracks as I do, you will appreciate what you have here. I dare say Ode to Clarissa is worth $20 on it's own. The live tracks are great and the sound quality is good enough for me and should be for most people as well. I like to play the track Quick and to the Pointless live where it ends and goes into a little Led Zeppelin and then right into Better Living Through chemistry, man that is so badA$$!!! There's a lot of great stuff here that can be appreciated by the QOTSA fan such as myself.

Born to Hula has been around in so many forms and is AWESOME!! I gotta say though, if you can find a reasonably priced copy of the Stone Aged Complication (EP) used here on Amazon, snatch it up quick because this is where Born to Hula really shines and is worth the price of admission all by itself. I love the Kyuss version as well. Easily one of Homme's best.

This is a really great CD set and I don't get the lack of reviews. For whatever reason QOTSA even though from here seem to have their biggest fanbase overseas. I'm not from the desert where these guys are known and known well, heck I'm from Delaware and even we know rock when we are hit over the head with it.

Drop the needle (I realize your ipod doesn't have a needle) on Ode to Clarissa and crank the volume to MAX PLEASURE!!! (disclaimer: listening to music at high levels for extended periods of time causes tinitus and even worse)

Speaking of Ode to Clarissa.. Is Nick Oliveri not the greatest bass player/wildman ever?

To sum it up: A must have for the QOTSA/Josh Homme/Hard Rock fan!

QOTSA fans will want this for the 2nd disc; if you bought this when it came out, you've already got the 1st disc. Why no remastering? Ten years is long enough, and this is a costly title, especially for a "dying" format. The four stars is for the music, with one deducted for the greedy fatcats at the label. If CD is dying, this is why.

This album is even better than their first. I love this album , you can hear it anytime very easily and the music is soft. It looks like an upbeat Pearl Jam album. With the exception of the last minute of the last songs which makes you a little bit angry , the rest 40 minutes are great. I highly recommend this album to anyone who likes hard rock and grunge or even alternative

This is exactly how i felt ten years ago when Queens of The Stone Age released their second album "Rated R", to understand why you have to go back to the year 2000 when the music world was all about Britney and boy bands and mainstream rock was dominated by loads of nu metal clones, so along with A Perfect Circle's "Mer De Noms", QOTSA's Rated R was a breath of fresh air, real rock played by real musicians! Now ten years later its being released as a two disc Deluxe Edition with a bonus disc of B sides and live performances.

Unlike their self titled debut album which was all written and performed by Josh Homme, "Rated R" was performed by a full by band with loads of guest spots as well. Most famously of course was the addition of Nick Oliveri on bass and vocals. Opening track Feel Good Hit Of the Summer starts of with Oliveri's driving bass and a name check of class A Drugs, and also has Judas Priest's Rob Halford on backing vocals, Josh has also stated this song was meant as a knife into the back of the neck of their stoner rock tag which he has always hated(totally agree with him on that one). The Lost Art Of Keeping A Secret follows next and if anything shows the band's softer side! Former Screaming Trees vocalist Mark Lanegan makes his first appearance on lead vocals on the brilliant In The Fade, he also appears on the tracks "Auto Pilot", "Leg Of Lamb" and "I Think I Lost My Headache" providing backing vocals on those tracks, Lanegan has since of course gone on to appear on every QOTSA album since then, and even performed with the band on tour of this album as well as it's follow up "Songs For The Deaf", One of the real stand out tracks is "Better Living Through Chemistry" which is a song that takes the listener on a magical journey as it twists from mellow to heavy, the influence of Black Sabbath is there for everyone to hear!! The brilliant "Monsters In The Parasol" Which of course originally appeared on Desert Sessions 3&4(A Josh Homme side project where he heads out to the desert for a week with various musicans to record an album worth of material, many QOTSA songs began life as a Desert Sessions track)and features the brilliant line "Paul's sister an alien" and for even better effect listen to it through a pair of ear phones as you can hear Nick Oliveri vocal in the backround better.

Nick Oliveri plays a big part on this album singing on three songs(autopilot,quick and the pointless and tension head) and offers something different from Homme and Lanegan,His take of "The Quick & The Pointless" was famously done in one take and the song "Tension Head" was originaly titled "13th Floor" and appears on Nicks Band Mondo Generators debut album "Cocaine Rodeo" of course those of us that were lucky to see him perform with QOTSA before he got kicked out will testify to the fact that he gave the band a bit of danger, and his vocal performances are missed.

The second disc is made up of B sides that you may or may not own already, there is some good stuff here like the brilliant "Ode To Clarissa" as well as cover versions Never Say Never(romeo void) and Who'll be the next in line(the kinks) as well as the clever You're So Vague which is their version of Carly Simon's You're So Vain(not a cover version). There is also a live recording from Reading 2000 which features songs from their debut self titled album as well, and will have you wishing to see QOTSA live as soon as possible!

This Deluxe Edition comes at a great time(They play Reading festival 10 years after their 1st appearance) and of course it shows that despite alot of line up changes QOTSA were built to last and just beginning on their journey as most of the other fads from 2000 died away quickly. The album might be Rated R but shouldn't be restricted from anyone, if you don't own the original get this now!!

This is a great album for any Queens of the Stone Age fans who didn't buy it 10 years ago, plus it comes with many extra tunes and live cuts. Not only is The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret a great name for a tune, it is by far my favorite song on the album, but there are plenty of other great jams. Feel Good Hit of the Summer (Nicotine, Valium, Vicodin, Marijuana, Ecstasy, and Alcohol - CCCCCCCOCAINE), Autopilot, and Monsters in the Parasol are all great guitar heavy tunes. Disc 2 has some Bsides and some great live stuff too - kinda funny to hear the english audience clapping together and not keeping rhythm on the live version of Quick and to the Pointless also get a kick out of the live Ode to Clarissa (it's about a girl named Michelle, LOL!!). Anyway if you like/love Queens of the Stone Age - BUY THIS!!

What can I say?
Well first of all I would have given this five stars if I hadn't already listened to the original album. (yes, I call this an album)
But that's just my personal opinion.
The added extra's on the second disc are awesome and is a collection of b-sides, un-released tracks and also doubles as a live album.
I know some have said that the tracks have not been remastered but they sound great to me, regardless.
And yes, I am also an audiophile.
I love the live tracks because unlike whats usually done in the studio, sometimes you get to hear some improv work on the guitars.
If QOTSA were to release a deluxe version of anything, I would buy it.
But for newcomers, this is the version you should get because it has the original album and then some.
The added tracks might not be new to hardcore QOSTA collectors but are still awesome anyways.
I kinda hoped there would have been a DVD but things being as they are, I am not disappointed in the least.
So yeah, being a fan in the first place, I highly recommend that you and everyone you know, go out and spend your hard earned money on this and enjoy!
I will be listening to this until the cows come home, which is cool because I know they ain't never coming home.
I have nothing to complain about and after hearing this, neither should you.

Nothing new done to Disc 1, it's just a copy of Rated R. Disc 2 is a compilation of B-sides and a Live Recording of Qotsa's performance at the Reading Festival in 2000. A total of 5 b-sides and 10 live tracks. one of the B-sides "Born to Hula" is a re-recording and is one of Qotsa's first songs which had appeared on the Kyuss/QOTSA split EP in 1997, sounds great by the way. I recommend this to any fan or non-fan.