Queens of the Stone Age (album)

Queens of the Stone Age
Studio album by Queens of the Stone Age
Released September 22, 1998
Recorded April 3–21, 1998 at Monkey Studios in Palm Desert, California
Genre
Length 46:27
Label
Producer
Queens of the Stone Age chronology
Kyuss/Queens of the Stone Age
(1997)		 Queens of the Stone Age
(1998)		 The Split CD
(1998)
Alternative covers
Cover of the LP release
Singles from Queens of the Stone Age
  1. "If Only"
    Released: 1998
  2. "I Was a Teenage Hand Model"
    Released: 1998 (promotional)
  3. "How to Handle a Rope (A Lesson in the Lariat)"
    Released: February 28, 2011

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,[7] 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 stated, "I just wanted to start a band that within three seconds of listening, people knew what band it was."[8]

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 17 and is available as a joint release through Homme's own label, Rekords Rekords with distribution from Ipecac Recordings. The release includes relevant b-sides embedded within the track listing, and was accompanied by a tour in support of the album.

Song information

"Avon" is a re-recording from the Desert Sessions' Volume 3: Set Coordinates for the White Dwarf!!!. It is the first of seven Desert Sessions songs to be re-recorded by Queens of the Stone Age. The song has been a staple of the majority of live sets since the album's release and was 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 under a different guise, Gamma Ray, and released on the Gamma Ray EP. Later the song was released 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.

"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.

"You Can't Quit Me Baby" is considered to be a fan favorite, having 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. 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 released until it was recorded for this album.

2011 re-release

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.[9] On January 11, 2011, initial distributors, Ipecac, announced on their official Twitter page that the re-release was postponed.[10] On January 13, Domino Records subsequently 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."[8]

The 2011 line-up of the band (Homme, Van Leeuwen, Castillo, Shuman & Fertita) scheduled a tour in support of the album's reissue. Homme stated that the inspiration for the tour came 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."[8]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
The A.V. ClubB−[11]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[12]
Entertainment WeeklyB−[13]
NME8/10[14]
Pitchfork Media8.0/10[2]
Q[15]
Rolling Stone[3]
Spin7/10[16]
Uncut[17]

Queens of the Stone Age was certified silver in the UK on February 6, 2006 with sales exceeding 60,000 copies.[18] 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 be featured in the reference book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[19]

Track listing

All tracks written by Alfredo Hernández and Joshua Homme, except where noted. 

No. TitleWriter(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
Total length:
 46:27

Re-release track listing

All tracks written by Alfredo Hernández and Joshua Homme, except where noted. 

No. TitleWriter(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
Total length:
 60:00

Tracks 6, 11 & 13 are tracks that were included in the re-release. "The Bronze" and "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.
"Mexicola"
Mexicola audio sample
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Personnel

Band

Additional appearances

Technical personnel

Certifications

Country Provider Certification
United Kingdom BPI Silver[20]

References

  1. 1 2 Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Queens of the Stone Age – Queens of the Stone Age". AllMusic. Retrieved May 11, 2016.
  2. 1 2 Berman, Stuart (March 8, 2011). "Queens of the Stone Age: Queens of the Stone Age [Reissue]". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved May 11, 2016.
  3. 1 2 Hunter, James (December 10, 1998). "Queens Of The Stone Age". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 11, 2016.
  4. ↑ Prato, Greg. "Normadic Pursuits - Yawning Man". Allmusic. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
  5. ↑ Vanhorn, Teri. "Queens Of The Stone Age At Home In Desert". mtv.com. MTV. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
  6. ↑ Breihan, Tom. "Domino Reissues Queens of the Stone Age Debut". Pitchfork. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
  7. ↑ "Blog Archive » EXCLUSIVE: Roadrunner Records' Monte Conner Talks Stoner Rock". The Obelisk. 2009-03-04. Retrieved 2011-08-13.
  8. 1 2 3 "Queens of the Stone Age - Interviews at Undertheradar". Undertheradar.co.nz. 2011-02-07. Retrieved 2011-08-13.
  9. ↑ "Interview with Them Crooked Vultures (part 2 of 2)". YouTube. 2010-02-03. Retrieved 2011-08-13.
  10. ↑ "Queens Of The Stone Age's Self-Titled Reissue Postponed". notPopular.com. 2011-01-11. Retrieved 2011-08-13.
  11. ↑ Ray, Austin L. (January 11, 2011). "Queens Of The Stone Age: Queens Of The Stone Age". The A.V. Club. Retrieved May 11, 2016.
  12. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-857-12595-8.
  13. ↑ Sinclair, Tom (November 13, 1998). "Queens of the Stone Age". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 11, 2016.
  14. ↑ Empire, Kitty (October 2, 1998). "Queens of the Stone Age – Queens of the Stone Age". NME. Archived from the original on August 17, 2000. Retrieved May 11, 2016.
  15. ↑ "Queens of the Stone Age: Queens of the Stone Age". Q (159): 126–27. December 1999.
  16. ↑ Gross, Joe (January 1999). "Queens of the Stone Age: Queens of the Stone Age". Spin. 15 (1): 119. Retrieved May 11, 2016.
  17. ↑ "Queens of the Stone Age: Queens of the Stone Age". Uncut (167): 94. April 2011.
  18. ↑ "QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE , QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE , Silver , Fri Feb 3 2006". British Phonographic Industry. 16 February 2001. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 11 June 2007.
  19. ↑ Robert Dimery; Michael Lydon (23 March 2010). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition. Universe. ISBN 978-0-7893-2074-2.
  20. ↑ "Certified Awards Search" (To access, enter the search parameter "Queens of the Stone Age", select "Search by Artist" and check the "Exact match" checkbox.). British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved April 15, 2013.
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