In music, supergroups are a funny thing. Sometimes they completely kick ass and other times the whole definitely does not equal the sum of its parts. Well I had high expectations for These Crooked Vultures and I am excited to say that their debut album released in late 2009 does not disappoint.
For the uninitiated, TCV put Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age), Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters, Nirvana), and the legendary John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin) in a room together to see what would happen. Well given the pedigree of the musical history in that room it's not surprising something special occurred. What they produced was the punch in the gut to hard rock that had been needed for some time. These are some scorching tracks filled with great musicianship across the board. With Homme on vocals and guitar the songs tend to have a more Queens of the Stone Age type feel but Grohl and Jones Homme team up to provide an epic sounding rhythm section that elevates everything to something entirely different.
What is truly great about this album is that even with amazing talent on each instrument, no one gets in the way of each other. They sound like a cohesive band that is just jamming off of each other. Homme comes up with some great riffs, namely on Elephants, Mind Eraser No Chaser, and the highlight of the album, Gunman. Mr. Jones even gets do to his best Trampled Under Foot on Scumbag Blues, a song that truly sounds like QoTSA got put in a blender with Led Zeppelin. And of course Grohl is amazing as always, showing on each track why he is still one of the best drummers in rock today.
This is a rock album that I can recommend for anyone with no reservations. There is no agenda, no meaning in the lyrics, no deeper level to connect on the songs with. This is the supergroup of rock's past, present, and future and they are here to kick your ass with their own blend of hard rock and leave you wanting more. For our sake, hopefully Them Crooked Vultures is not a one and done side project.
Track Highlights: Mind Eraser No Chaser, Elephants, Bandoliers, Caligulove, Gunman
http://www.amazon.com/Them-Crooked-Vultures/dp/B002VSIOE8/ref=sr_shvl_album_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1265262041&sr=301-1
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