Rated R (Queens of the Stone Age album)

Rated R
Studio album by Queens of the Stone Age
Released	June 6, 2000
Recorded	December 1999 - February 2000 in Studio B at Sound City Studios in Van Nuys, California
Genre	Alternative rock[1] stoner rock[2] hard rock[3]
Length	42:10
Label	Interscope
Producer	Chris Goss, Joshua Homme (credited as The Fififf Teeners)
Queens of the Stone Age chronology
The Split CD (1998) Rated R (2000) Songs for the Deaf (2002)
Alternative covers
Cover of the LP release
Alternative covers
Cover of the 2010 Deluxe Edition
Singles from Rated R
"The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret" Released: August 7, 2000 "Feel Good Hit of the Summer" Released: November 27, 2000 "Monsters in the Parasol" Released: 2000 (promotional) "Never Say Never" Released: 2000 (promotional)

Rated R (also called R or Rated X on vinyl) is the second studio album by American rock band Queens of the Stone Age, released on June 6, 2000 on Interscope Records. Rated R was a critical and commercial success and became the band's breakthrough album. It peaked at number 16 on the Top Heatseekers and reached high positions on charts worldwide. The album has been certified gold in the United Kingdom. Three singles were released from it: "The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret", "Feel Good Hit of the Summer" and "Monsters in the Parasol", with the first helping Queens of the Stone Age reach mainstream popularity.

Rated R is the band's first album to feature bass guitarist Nick Oliveri and vocalist Mark Lanegan.

Overview

As a whole, the album contains numerous references to drugs and alcohol. This makes itself particularly prominent on the opening track, "Feel Good Hit of the Summer", which consists entirely of the repeated verse "Nicotine, valium, vicodin, marijuana, ecstasy and alcohol" followed by a chorus of "c-c-c-c-c-cocaine". Though frontman Josh Homme has emphasized the fact there is no definitive endorsement or condemnation behind the lyrics, he has confirmed he came up with the lyrics stumbling through the desert at night after a New Year's party, trying to remember what exactly he had consumed that evening leaving him so intoxicated.^[4]

Following the theme, "Monsters in the Parasol", which originally appeared on the Desert Sessions album, Volume 4: Hard Walls and Little Trips, is about Homme's first experience on LSD, kicking in just as his friends' father and sister came home leading to a bad trip.^[4] The song "Better Living Through Chemistry" offers an opposing stance on prescription drugs, while Homme's favorite song from the album, closer "I Think I Lost My Headache", is described as being about "Paranoia... when you think something strange is going on, and everyone around you is so adamant about telling you it's fine… but then you start thinking 'Wouldn't that be exactly what you'd say if you didn't want me to know, and there is something going on?' And so it's kind of about that paranoid mentality which maybe I have sometimes."^[5] The song is also notable for its unconventional intro and outro in the 15/8 time signature, with the outro culminating in several minutes of an incessantly jarring and repetitive horn part, added to punish those who may have fell asleep listening to the album.^[4]

Rated R features the debut of bassist Nick Oliveri and guest vocalist Mark Lanegan, who both made vocal and songwriting contributions to the band. In addition to providing backing vocals for "Auto Pilot", "Leg of Lamb" and "I Think I Lost My Headache", Lanegan sang lead vocals on "In the Fade", a song about clarity following a comedown/sobriety, while Oliveri sang "Tension Head", a re-recording of the song "13th Floor" off Oliveri's Mondo Generator's debut album Cocaine Rodeo, and "Quick and to the Pointless", which follows the singers expieriences on heroin and speed, and cocaine and meth, respectively. "Quick and to the Pointless'" drum, bass, guitar and vocal tracks were recorded simultaneously in just one take. Oliveri's vocal performance was originally intended to be a scratch vocal, but the band liked it so much that this original recording remained on the finished song including the 2 verses in Dutch.^[6]

One of the few songs not involving drug use however is the albums' lead single, "The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret", which is a response by Homme to people who had lost his trust, particularly involving trysts.^[4] The other song, the acoustic instrumental "Lightning Song" was penned by touring keyboardist, second guitarist, and lap steel player Dave Catching.

The 70s-era MPAA "R" rating bumper features on the album's cover, along with the text "RESTRICTED TO EVERYONE, EVERYWHERE, ALL THE TIME". The album's liner notes contain further warning messages for each song, in the style of the warning messages given to parents on video and DVD boxes: "Auto Pilot", for example, contains "Alcohol and Sleep Deprivation".^[7] The title and subtext was meant by the band as a jab at record label Interscope, whose persistence that the album's themes would be too controversial and would warrant a Parental Advisory sticker ironically circumvented the issue and allowed the band to sell the album without one.^[4]

Release and commercial performance

Rated R was the band's breakout album in the UK. Upon its release in June 2000, the album peaked at number 16 on the Top Heatseekers album chart. It granted Queens of the Stone Age recognition in the United Kingdom and has been certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry.^[8][9][10]

Rated R included the hit single "The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret", which was released in the summer of 2000 and became arguably the band's most recognizable and popular song at its time of release. Not only did its music video receive mild airplay on music television, the song was featured in the Entourage episode "I Love You Too" (from Season 2). It was also the only single from the album to get a chart position, reaching number 21 on the Mainstream Rock chart, number 36 on the Modern Rock chart and number 31 on the UK Singles Chart.^[8][9]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[11]
Entertainment Weekly	C+[12]
The Guardian	[13]
Mojo	[14]
NME	9/10[15]
Pitchfork Media	8.6/10[16]
Q	[17]
Rolling Stone	[18]
Spin	[19]
Uncut	[20]

	"Feel Good Hit of the Summer" Feel Good Hit of the Summer audio sample
Problems playing this file? See media help.

Steve Huey from AllMusic said "R is mellower, trippier, and more arranged than its predecessor, making its point through warm fuzz-guitar tones, ethereal harmonies, vibraphones, horns, and even the odd steel drum. That might alienate listeners who have come to expect a crunchier guitar attack, but even though it's not really aggro, R is still far heavier than the garage punk and grunge that inform much of the record. It's still got the vaunted Arizona-desert vibes of Kyuss, but it evokes a more relaxed, spacious, twilight feel, as opposed to a high-noon meltdown. Mark Lanegan and Barrett Martin of the Screaming Trees both appear on multiple tracks, and their band's psychedelic grunge - in its warmer, less noisy moments - is actually not a bad point of comparison."^[21]

Rhapsody called it the best rock album of the decade on its "Rock’s Best Albums of the Decade" list.^[22]

Rolling Stone named it the 82nd best album of the decade.

Track listing

All tracks written by Joshua Homme and Nick Oliveri, except where noted. Lead vocals by Homme, except where noted.

• Most European editions separate "In the Fade" and the "Feel Good Hit of the Summer" reprise into two tracks, 3:51 and 0:34 in length. The track listing on the back cover remains the same as on the regular edition, which means that it does not match the actual track numbers from that point on.
• In the liner notes, it states "'Better Living Through Chemistry' chorus inspired by Björk"; it borrows lyrics from the chorus on "Crying" on her Debut album.^[23]

Bonus tracks

• "Ode to Clarissa" (Homme, Oliveri) – 2:40
  • Included as track #12 on the Japanese version and Rated R (X Rated), the limited LP release of the album. This song was also released on the "The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret" single.

Special edition

The UK only special edition of the album included a bonus disc, titled Rated U, which was also separately issued as the "Feel Good Hit of the Summer" single. Along with "Feel Good Hit of the Summer" and its video, it featured three newly recorded songs.

2010 re-issue

In an interview with NME, Josh Homme revealed plans of a re-issue of Rated R which would feature B-side recordings and live performance from Reading Festival.^[24] It was released on August 3, 2010.^[25]

Added to the original album is a second disc with six B-sides and the band's summer 2000 Reading Festival concert—featuring nine previously unreleased songs, including live versions of Rated R's "Feel Good Hit of the Summer", "The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret", "Better Living Through Chemistry" and "Quick and to the Pointless".

The B-sides are "Ode to Clarissa", "You're So Vague", covers of Romeo Void's "Never Say Never" and The Kinks' "Who'll Be the Next in Line", a live version of the album's "Monsters in the Parasol", a song originally from Josh Homme's side project, The Desert Sessions, and a re-recording of "Born to Hula", an early song from Kyuss/Queens of the Stone Age EP. The other Reading Festival tracks are concert takes on "Ode to Clarissa", three songs from the band's debut album ("Regular John", "Avon" and "You Can't Quit Me, Baby"), and "You Think I Ain't Worth a Dollar, But I Feel Like a Millionaire", another track originally by The Desert Sessions, which was also present on their third album, Songs for the Deaf.

Personnel

Queens of the Stone Age

• Josh Homme – vocals, rhythm guitar, percussion (tracks 3, 8), drums (track 4), piano (track 10), backing vocals (track 4), producer, mixing, concept
• Nick Oliveri – bass, percussion (track 8), lead guitar (track 4), vocals (tracks 4, 7, 9), backing vocals (tracks 1, 2, 5, 6, 11), concept, art conception

Guest musicians

• Dave Catching – electric piano (tracks 1, 2, 8), piano (track 5), B3 (track 4), lead guitar (tracks 6, 7), 12-string guitar (track 10), lap steel (tracks 1, 11)
• Nick Lucero – drums (tracks 2, 3, 5, 8, 11), percussion (track 3, 4)
• Gene Trautmann – drums (tracks 1, 6, 7, 9)
• Chris Goss – bass (track 4), percussion (track 1), backing vocals (tracks 4, 5, 6), producer, grand piano (track 1), noise piano (track 2)
• Mark Lanegan – vocals (track 8), backing vocals (tracks 4, 11)
• Barrett Martin – percussion (tracks 5, 10), steel drum (track 11), vibes (tracks 2, 5)
• Mike Johnson – backing vocals (track 3)
• Peter Stahl – backing vocals (track 2)
• Rob Halford – backing vocals (track 1)
• Nick Eldorado – backing vocals (tracks 1, 7)
• Wendy Rae Fowler (Wendy Ray Moan) – backing vocals (tracks 1, 7)
• Scott Mayo – horns (track 11), baritone sax (track 2)
• Fernando Pullum – horns (track 11), flugal horn (track 7)
• Reggie Young – horns (track 11)

Technical personnel

• Bradley Cook – engineer
• Martin Schmelzle – engineer, sequencing, assembly
• Trina Shoemaker – engineer, mixing
• Dan Druff – guitar technician
• Marek – noise (track 8), mixing
• Robert Brunner – pre-production assistant
• Francesca Restrepo – art direction

Charts

References