Them Crooked Vultures is the debut
studio album by
rock supergroup
Them Crooked Vultures, that
was released on November 17, 2009. The album is self-produced by
the band, comprising vocalist and guitarist
Josh Homme (
Queens of the Stone Age,
Kyuss), bassist and keyboardist
John Paul Jones (
Led Zeppelin) and drummer
Dave Grohl (
Foo
Fighters,
Nirvana). The first
single from the album, "
New Fang", was
released on October 26, 2009. On November 3, 2009 they released
their second single, via free download on iTunes, entitled "Mind
Eraser, No Chaser". For one week before the album's day of release,
the entire album could be streamed on the band's YouTube
channel.
The album debuted at number 12 on the
Billboard 200, selling 70,000 units in the US
in its the first week.
Critical reception
Them Crooked Vultures received a 76/100 Metascore rating
from aggregrator
Metacritic, based on 15
critics, indicating generally favorable reviews.
Chicago Tribune reviewer Greg Kot was
particularly complimentary of the album, giving it a rating of
3.5/4, he said "Nasty riffs and sticky melodies are everywhere". He
also praised
multi-instrumentalist John Paul Jones, saying his
"mastery of texture, whether on funky Clavinet for 'Scumbag Blues,'
classical piano on 'Spinning in Daffodils' or slide guitar for
'Reptiles,' is the band's secret weapon".
The A.V Club's Steven Hyden said the
group's album "doesn’t equal the considerable awesomeness of its
ancestors (the aforementioned
Led
Zeppelin,
Nirvana and
Queens of the Stone Age); it sounds
like a second-tier Queens Of The Stone Age record", and that it
"could have fit comfortably under Homme’s usual banner". He did
however, commend it for being "a hell of a lot of fun" and awarded
it a B+, mentioning the "The biggest pleasure of
Them Crooked
Vultures is hearing three supremely gifted players fall
together quickly and easily on songs built on simple riffs that
sound like they were made up on a lark five minutes earlier."
Drowned in Sound's reviewer Andrzej
Lukowski reprehended the album, saying it "does not remotely
represent the best work of anybody involved." He gave the album
5/10, stating it was "a faintly pointless record", is "not
particularly memorable and entirely lacks the type of yee-haw
exuberance that might have made it a sloppy treat."
Track listing
All songs credited to Them Crooked Vultures.
Charts
Personnel
- Them Crooked Vultures
- Josh Homme – vocals, guitars, production
- John Paul
Jones – bass guitar, keyboard, piano,
keytar, slide
guitar, mandolin, backing vocals, production
- Dave Grohl – drums, percussion,
backing vocals, production
- Production personnel
- Additional personnel
Release history
The album was released on November 13, 2009, in Ireland, Germany,
the Netherlands, Belgium and Australia.
Them Crooked Vultures was released by
DGC/
Interscope
in the United States on November 17, 2009; it was released in the
United Kingdom by
Columbia a day
earlier.
On November 9, 2009, the album was posted in its entirety to
YouTube, via the band's channel. The album is also available on the
music streaming provider
Spotify for
free.
References
-
http://stereokill.net/2009/10/24/them-crooked-vultures-album-details/
-
http://www.billboard.com/album/weezer/raditude/1295451#/news/john-mayer-snares-no-1-on-busy-billboard-1004048329.story
-
http://www.billboard.com/#/artist/them-crooked-vultures/chart-history/1117853
- Suomen virallinen lista
- http://www.chartstats.com/artistinfo.php?id=12456
- UK Rock Chart
)
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