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THEM CRAFTY VULTURES

J. C. Francke | Washington DC | 11/18/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Yes, I am a fan of QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, FOO FIGHTERS and LED ZEP. I even saw THEM CROOKED VULTURES in a terrific show in DC, prior to this release. That said, I still dropped this disc in the tray, hit play, and was prepared to skip tracks if they did not grab me in the first minute; it's a lame habit, but I do eventually listen to all discs in their entirety. This album had me mesmerized for 1 hour and 6 minutes. No skipping! It is extremely well crafted from start to finish. With Homme's haunting vocals, it does sound more like a QOTSA release than anything else, but many of the catchy songs are designed to highlight the considerable talents of his bandmates. Instant classic. Buy it now. Let's hope this is not just a side project for the performers. These vultures should "carrion". sorry..."

One of my favourite albums of 2009

The Dude | EH CT | 11/24/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Seeing as I'm a fan of Zeppelin, Queens of The Stone Age, and Foo Fighters, the idea of buying this cd was a no brainer to me.

Upon inital listen the impression I was left with was it sounds like another QOTSA album.... And only found a few songs that stood out. However upon inital listens to the album it is anything but another QOTSA album. I think its funny how people can judge an album so quickly and most reviewers do that. I like to give an album a few listens (roughly 20-40) before I can determine if it is eligable to become a regular in the cd player. And this album quickly has turned into just that for me.

Before I purchased this cd I did however look at the reviews and some of them included that there was a Zeppelin like presence on the album. At first like I said it sounded like another QOSTA album and I could'nt figure out where the Zeppelin was. THIS IS AN ALBUM YOU CANNOT LISTEN TO A FEW SONGS AT A TIME. LISTEN TO IT IN BULK THE WHOLE WAY THROUGH. And you certainly cannot judge it on a couple listens. There is so many different elements in each song on this album. Songs that I initially did'nt like at first now have become some of my favs. "Elephants" and "Warsaw Or The First Breath You Take After You Give Up"

Right then onto the breakdown of the album ...........



1. NO ONE LOVES ME & NEITHER DO I .......... good opener def. better material on the album than this although midway through the song their is a great tempo change which makes it a great song.

2. MIND EARSER, NO CHASER .......... Def sounds like its a radio song but in a good way. This was a fav of mine right off the bat, very catchy chorus.

3. NEW FANG .............. choppy fast rythm and good vocals grea,t closing solo to the song

4. DEAD END FRIENDS........ love this distorted sound, it has a spooky erie sound to it, the vocals are great again, this is a great song to just drive and blast in the car and the midway through the song is great " doo do do do do do do do do do dooo" love the solo to close out the song

5. ELEPHANTS ............. upon intial listen I did not care for this song, now it is one of my fav. It starts with a repetitive riff that just keeps getting faster and faster then breaks off and the distortion makes it sound like an actual elephant, its just very clever and a great song structure.

6. SCUMBAG BLUES .......... love the guitar work in this song the riffs are very catchy and sometimes are stuck in my head.

7. BANDOLIERS........... talking about getting riffs stuck in my head this song has a very repetitive riff but it has a great sound to it and the vocals go very well with the guitar work.

8. REPTILES....... well if theres any song on the album that you can easily see some Zeppelin in its this song. The vocals are def different in this song and the riffs are just flat out insane, the chorus guitar work is almost "dream like" This is def. a stand out song on the album In My Opinion.

9. INTERLUDE WITH LUDES....... this sounds like something you would get off the begining of "Lullabies to Paralayize" its an intresting song but kind of bland, I usually skip this one, and its the only one that I skip. But its still a good song just more of an extended interlude to the next song.

10. WARSAW OR THE FIRST BREATH YOU TAKE AFTER YOU GIVE UP............ yes the title is that long. The song is very slow paced but a lot happens in this song. Towards the middle of the song you get a very nice solo. Then the vocals become echoing and distorted which makes an almost psychedelic sound which is to die for, all along this little riff playing which makes this song truley a masterpiece yes I said that. Not too many people can tolerate this song or see the great variations it has.

11. CALIGULOVE......... one of my fav. songs And a real stand out IMO John Paul Jones keyboards come into play in this song and they sound amazing. I just love the chorus to this song to its truley a stand out song. Towards the end of the song you get an almost "desert psychedelic sound"

12. GUNMAN .......... I regretably admit to likeing this song, why regretably because it sounds almost like a club-esc-disco song. Its got a very groovy up beat tempo to it almost disco-techno ish then the chorus gets some keyboard work and erie sound that makes it great for me.

13. SPINNING IN DAFFODILS .......... the vocals on this song are amazing another one of my favs. The song ends with a unique twist.



STAND-OUT SONGS

CALIGULOVE

DEAD END FRIENDS

REPTILES

WARSAW.......



DUDS

NONE !!!



If you want a cd that doesnt sound like anything else and a truley original album get this now.



Cheers !!!"

Great debut from a great supergroup

Bryan Ferry | 11/17/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"When I heard about this "supergroup" coming together (Josh Homme--Queens of the Stone Age, Dave Grohl--Nirvana, Foo Fighters, John Paul Jones--Led Zeppelin), I just had to wonder what the sound would be like. The result is something refreshing combined with something familiar.



I will try to refrain comparing the songs to the members' respective bands, but the best way to describe the album as a whole using the bands' sounds is 2 parts Queens of the Stone Age (circa "Rated R" and "Songs for the Deaf"), 1 part Led Zeppelin (a la "Led Zeppelin II" and "Physical Graffiti"), and a dash of Foo Fighters, with 1/2 part desert boogie, and 1/2 part psychedelics.



Most of the album works beautifully, injecting a health dose of kick into the world of rock and roll as we know it today. While Josh Homme's voice and guitar may make it sound like a QOTSA album, there is enough twists and jamming to steer it out of the QOTSA/Desert Sessions reportoire. The first track "Nobody Loves Me..." is lyrically down and dirty , until we get to the second half, where it just gets heavy and raw. "Mind Eraser" has enough wah-wah with razor riffing to want one to pick up a guitar and jam. "New Fang" is a nice southern/desert rocker reminiscent of a more confident Skynard. "Caligulove" is innovative in that it sounds like Ray Manzarek going metal at one point. "Gunman" is this group's version of a dance song, which considering their backgrounds, is just plain fun. "Reptiles" is a straight out rocker with a good one-two kick to the gut. The two "long" songs, "Warsaw" and "Spinning in Daffodils", are growers, but would be best described as "Stoner Progressive". The two "slow" songs are definitive breaks in the rocking; "Bandoliers" would be the romantic song, while "Interlude with Ludes" would be the atmospheric, far-out ship taking you towards the end of the album.



However, every good album has a dud or two, and for me, they were "Elephants" and "Scumbag Blues". "Elephants" starts out with a jamming riff, but then starts to plod through the rest of the song until the end, when it gives a last stampede. "Scumbag Blues" just ran around in circles--this would be the track that I would consider the "jam" song, but it really never went anywhere for me. "Dead End Friend" is the only song I'm neutral on; on first listen, I did enjoy it, but subsequent listens, I'm conflicted if it's anything special or not. Of note, do not expect any long or expressive guitar solos on this; this might have helped the duds on the album, but the lack of solos do help the great songs on the album.



In conclusion, a solid album from 3 well-respected musicians. I hope this supergroup will be around for longer, and teach the young musicians something about what rock and roll is about.



Highlights:

Nobody Loves Me and Neither Do I

Mind Eraser No Chaser

Gunman



Duds:

Elephants

Scumbag Blues"