| Queens of the Stone Age | ||||
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| Studio album by Queens of the Stone Age | ||||
| Released | September 22, 1998 March 4, 2011 (Australia) March 7, 2011 (UK) May 17, 2011 (US) |
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| Recorded | April 3, 1998 – April 21, 1998 | |||
| Genre | Alternative metal, hard rock, heavy metal, stoner rock, alternative rock[1] | |||
| Length | 46:27 | |||
| Label | Domino/Liberator/Loosegroove/Man's Ruin/Roadrunner | |||
| Queens of the Stone Age chronology | ||||
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| Alternative covers | ||||
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Cover of the LP release
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | [2] |
| Rolling Stone | [3] |
Queens of the Stone Age is the self-titled debut album by American rock band Queens of the Stone Age. Following the collapse of negotiations with Roadrunner Records,[4] the album was released on September 22, 1998 on Loosegroove Records, operated by Pearl Jam guitarist Stone Gossard. The album was primarily written and recorded by founding member Josh Homme and former Kyuss drummer Alfredo Hernández, and features a riff-oriented songwriting style that Homme subsequently dubbed "robot rock". Regarding this aesthetic, Homme has stated that: "I just wanted to start a band that within three seconds of listening people knew what band it was."[5]
The album was re-released on March 4, 2011 in Australia through Liberator Music and March 7, 2011 in the UK through Domino Records. The US release occurred on May 17th and is available through Homme's own label, Rekords Rekords. The release includes relevant b-sides embedded within the track listing, and was accompanied by a tour in support of the album.
Contents |
After releasing a "deluxe edition" of the band's second studio album, Rated R, in 2010, Josh Homme stated that the band would re-release its debut, Queens of the Stone Age.[6] On January 11, 2011, initial distributors, Ipecac, announced that the re-release has been postponed on their official Twitter page.[7] On January 13, Domino Records subseqeuntly took over re-issue duties after a deal with Joshua Homme's Rekords Rekords label.
In February 2011, Homme stated that the reasons for its reissue was because the album: "was impossible to get. It'd been outta' print for so long. I’m not very nostalgic by nature so it wasn’t like 'Guys, remember the days,' it was more like in the internet age this record should be able to get got, you know? [...] I’m just glad that it's not like some bad haircut when I listen to it. I've listened to it and I love that record and it’s been really fun to try and put myself back in that headspace where I was just obsessed with trying to trance out on guitar."[5]
The current line-up of the band (Homme, Van Leeuwen, Castillo, Shuman & Fertita) have scheduled a tour in support of the album's reissue. Homme states that the inspiration for the tour comes from the band, Cheap Trick: "They were doing shows where they were playing their first three records, three nights in a row, and so we started talking [...] what if we just focused on the first record? I dunno' if that means we’re going to play it exactly start-to-finish; we haven’t really decided. It's kind of a cool idea."[5]
Queens of the Stone Age was certified silver in the UK on February 6, 2006 with sales exceeding 60,000 copies.[8] Critically, the album did very well. Both Allmusic and Rolling Stone gave the album four stars out of five. The album was the only one by Queens of the Stone Age to feature in the reference book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[9]
All tracks written by Alfredo Hernández and Joshua Homme, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Regular John" | Hernandez, Homme, John McBain | 4:35 |
| 2. | "Avon" | Homme | 3:22 |
| 3. | "If Only" | Homme | 3:20 |
| 4. | "Walkin' on the Sidewalks" | 5:03 | |
| 5. | "You Would Know" | 4:16 | |
| 6. | "How to Handle a Rope" | 3:30 | |
| 7. | "Mexicola" | Homme | 4:54 |
| 8. | "Hispanic Impressions" | 2:44 | |
| 9. | "You Can't Quit Me Baby" | 6:34 | |
| 10. | "Give the Mule What He Wants" | 3:09 | |
| 11. | "I Was a Teenage Hand Model" | 5:01 | |
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Total length:
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46:27 | ||
All tracks written by Alfredo Hernández and Joshua Homme, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Regular John" | Hernandez, Homme, McBain | 4:38 |
| 2. | "Avon" | Homme | 3:25 |
| 3. | "If Only" | Homme | 3:23 |
| 4. | "Walkin' on the Sidewalks" | 5:02 | |
| 5. | "You Would Know" | 4:19 | |
| 6. | "The Bronze" | Homme | 3:45 |
| 7. | "How to Handle a Rope (A Lesson in the Lariat)" | 3:31 | |
| 8. | "Mexicola" | Homme | 4:56 |
| 9. | "Hispanic Impressions" | 2:47 | |
| 10. | "You Can't Quit Me Baby" | 6:37 | |
| 11. | "These Aren't the Droids You're Looking For" | Homme | 3:07 |
| 12. | "Give the Mule What He Wants" | 3:09 | |
| 13. | "Spiders and Vinegaroons" | Homme | 6:27 |
| 14. | "I Was a Teenage Hand Model" | 5:02 | |
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Total length:
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60:00 | ||
Tracks 6, 11 & 13 are tracks that were included in the re-release. "The Bronze" & "These Aren't the Droids You're Looking For" were included in the 1998 EP The Split CD with the band Beaver. "Spiders and Vinegaroons" was originally released on the album Kyuss/Queens of the Stone Age.
"Avon" is a re-recording from the Desert Sessions' Volume 3: Set Coordinates For The White Dwarf!!!. It is the first of six Desert Sessions songs to appear on a Queens of the Stone Age album. The song has been a staple of the majority of live sets since the album's release and is still occasionally played by the band on the Era Vulgaris tour.
"If Only" is a re-recording of "If Only Everything", which Queens of the Stone Age originally recorded on the Kyuss / Queens of the Stone Age split CD. It is the sole song from the album which was released as a promotional single. Alongside "You Can't Quit Me Baby", "If Only" has also made an appearance on the soundtrack for the 2003 horror film Wrong Turn.
"Mexicola" is a fan favorite and frequently performed in live settings. In 2007, it was released as a downloadable single on iTunes for people who had bought tickets for Queens of the Stone Age concerts through Ticketmaster.
"Hispanic Impressions" is an instrumental track. The song is jerky and unfluent, with abrupt halts and starts. It features a complex time signature similar to the Jimi Hendrix Experience song "Manic Depression".
"You Can't Quit Me Baby" is considered to be a fan favorite, having recently won a poll conducted on the official Rekords Rekords message board. The song is still played infrequently live by the band today as part of the Era Vulgaris tour, often lasting longer than the album version due to extended jams. A good example of this is the version from Rock in Rio in 2001, lasting more than 15 minutes, also known as the show in which bassist Nick Oliveri played some tracks naked. To date the song has made two appearances on the soundtracks for movies, namely the 2003 horror film Wrong Turn (alongside "If Only") and the 2002 action Highway (alongside many bands similar to Queens of the Stone Age, including multiple tracks from the Desert Sessions).
"Give the Mule What He Wants" is a re-recording of an early recording session known as "The Gamma Ray Sessions." The song was not, however, released until it was recorded for this album.
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