A Look Back On: Them Crooked Vultures - Self-Titled (2009)

Them Crooked Vultures

(Them Crooked Vultures is the first, and so far only, album by rock supergroup Them Crooked Vultures, released on November 16, 2009)

    If you were to ask rock fans who one of the best rock bands of the 70s were, the answer would probably be unanimous: Led Zeppelin. If you were to ask them who was one of the biggest artists to come out of the grunge scene, most would probably answer Nirvana. Finally, if you were to ask them who one of the most influential alt rock bands of the early 2000s were, many would probably answer Queens of the Stone Age. So when it came out that former Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones, along with Dave Grohl of Nirvana and Foo Fighters fame on drums and Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age on guitar and vocals, were working on an album, a lot of people had high hopes. Of course they did. Dave is one of the greatest musicians of the past twenty years, and he and Josh, an amazing artist in his own right, had already collaborated before, on Queens of the Stone Age’s 2002 masterpiece of an album Songs for the Deaf, and to add someone like John Paul Jones to the mix, it just seemed like a match made in heaven. And it was.

The two singles from the record were “New Fang” and “Mind Eraser, No Chaser,” two of the best songs from the album. “New Fang” is a hard rock song with a blues twang, with a slick lead slide guitar and powerful drumming from Dave Grohl. “Mind Eraser, No Chaser” is a gratifying alt rock track with intricate, punctuated verses, and an energetic chorus, with a vocal back and forth between Homme and Grohl, talking about how, in today's society, people rely on drugs to solve oll of their problems. Both singles were relatively well-received by fans and critics alike, and definitely got people excited for the album.

Though the album does have some sonic similarities to Homme’s main project, Queens of the Stone Age, you can definitely tell that this is something different. Songs like “Elephants,” “Spinning in Daffodils,” and “Warsaw or the First Breath You Take After You Give Up,” (normally simply referred to as “Warsaw”) take so many unexpected turns that keep you intrigued despite the album’s 66 minute runtime. The longer songs, such as the three songs I just mentioned, along with the opener “No One Loves Me & Neither Do I,” are some of the most inventive rock songs to come out of the 2000s, and don’t seem nearly as long due to the creativeness and change-ups the songs have. The song “Interlude with Ludes” even verges on art rock territory, throwing interesting samples and odd percussion into the mix. Even my least favorite track, “Dead End Friends,” is a great song, it just didn’t seem as creative as some of the other cuts off the album.

Homme’s vocals are sharp, the guitar tone is perfect (as it always is when Josh is playing), Dave’s drumming is monstrous , and John Paul Jones’ bass is magnificent as always. That’s not all, though, as tracks like “Caligulove” and “Scumbag Blues” showcase JPJ’s keyboard playing, with the latter sounding very similar to Led Zeppelin's “Trampled Under Foot,” and some tracks feature multi-instrumentalist and frequent Josh Homme collaborator Alain Johannes on guitars and backing vocals. On top of all of that, the production, which was done exclusively by the band, is great, finding a perfect balance between rawness and cleanliness, all making for an almost flawless listening experience.

Them Crooked Vultures is one of the best hard rock albums to come out of the 2000s, in my opinion, really only challenged by Songs for the Deaf. My only gripe with the album is that “Dead End Friends” is rather unadventurous when compared to the other tracks, and the track “Bandoliers” can get somewhat tedious. Despite this, the unexpected twists and turns, the great production, and the amazing performances make it an extremely interesting listen all the way through, and shows what can happen when three of the greatest minds in rock come together for an album. I’m giving Them Crooked Vultures’ self-titled album a...

9/10

Favorite Tracks: No One Loves Me & Neither do I; Mind Eraser, No Chaser; New Fang; Elephants; Scumbag Blues; Reptiles; Interlude with Ludes; Warsaw or the First Breath You Take After You Give Up; Caligulove; Gunman; Spinning in Daffodils

Least Favorite(s): Dead End Friends

Them Crooked Vultures - Self-Titled | Hard Rock, Alt Rock, Blues Rock | DGC |  Interscope | RCA