Dave Chamberlain

Anyone who caught the Queens show at the Metro during their secret, pre-record-release club tour this summer already knows that, in terms of the live show, it doesn't really get much better than this. However, the band's latest, "Songs for the Deaf" (Interscope), damn near maps out a full circle of songwriting for the man behind the Queens, Josh Homme. Though "Songs" marks the most pop-oriented hard rock that Homme and partner-in-crime/bassist Nick Oliveri have collaborated on to date, of all the three Queens records, it represents a direct link to the duo's days in Kyuss, their first band and the entity behind terms like Stoner and Desert rock. Though Homme's guitar playing has become increasingly, if not obviously, more technical since he was a young man playing in Kyuss, some of the pop nuggets he wrote for that band are nearly Siamese twins to his contemporary tracks. For example, Kyuss' "Hurricane" or "Flip the Phase" could've found a place on "Songs," while "Do it Again" and "First it Giveth" would have sounded right at home on any of Kyuss' four records. None of that, of course, means shit--far more than "R," the Queens' last effort, "Songs for the Deaf" sets a high-water mark for heavy rock on the radio, and this time without an attention-grabbing laundry list of drugs. Melodic vocals, Homme's economical use of guitar and stretched-out distortion, and a knack for writing snap-crackle hooks into every single track makes "Songs" among the highest-caliber mass-audience records released this year. And on a side note, concert-goers should make an effort to catch the Burning Brides, a garage-stoner band from Philly who recently made the jump from File 13 Records to V2, and that puts 120-percent into every sweaty, long-haired, cross-genre song they play.

Queens of the Stone Age play September 15 at the Riviera Theatre, Broadway and Lawrence, (773)275-6800.

(2002-09-11)

Also by Dave Chamberlain

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Although Earthlings? share the same Joshua Tree, California hometown as Queens of the Stone Age, the terrestrial band's output in no way resembles Josh Homme's crew.
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We often preview shows based on a record, rather than previous shows. The flow of new bands, and the nature of the roads they travel makes this an unfortunate compromise, since the live show and the recorded product are two very distinct animals. But, like you, we do eventually see the shows themselves.
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At the age of 16, Damarcus Beasley officially became a member of the Chicago Fire--not bad for a junior in high school, and not bad for a kid from Fort Wayne, Indiana.
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(2002-08-21)

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Rock Tip of the Week
(2002-08-14)

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TIP OF THE WEEK
(2002-08-01)

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(2002-08-01)

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