JOHN PAUL JONES New Project

[SteveAJones]

NME.com November 12, 2009

Them Crooked Vultures/Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones to answer fan questions

Jones to be quizzed in future edition of Uncut

Them Crooked Vultures and former Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones is set to answer fans' questions in a future issue of Uncut magazine.

If you've got a question you'd like to ask the man who's now regularly sharing a stage with Dave Grohl and Josh Homme head to Uncut.co.uk to submit it. The best will be put to the bassist.

See the new issue of NME, out now, for the world exclusive first interview with Them Crooked Vultures.

http://www.nme.com/n...-vultures/48343

[SteveAJones]

The Times November 13, 2009

Them Crooked Vultures: Them Crooked Vultures

by Joe Clay

Dave Grohl announced the Kerrang! readers’ wet dream of a supergroup in 2005: “Me on drums, Josh Homme [Queens of the Stone Age] on guitar and John Paul Jones [Led Zep] playing bass. That wouldn’t suck.” He’s right — the holy trio’s debut album is a million miles from sucking. Grohl thumps the skins with a tribal intensity, trading vocals with Homme, who rolls out a neat falsetto on Scumbag Blues. The maniac blues of New Fang is inspired, while Elephants combines Rock and Roll-era Led Zep with the dense, dark riffs of QOTSA.

http://entertainment...icle6911248.ece

The Sunday Times November 15, 2009

Them Crooked Vultures: Them Crooked Vultures

by Dan Cairns

Carrying an awful lot of baggage and raised expectations, the Led Zep/Foo Fighters/QotSA trio of John Paul Jones, Dave Grohl and Josh Homme deliver their debut. A recent online track-by-track analysis, signposted as based on one listen, provoked the usual spittle-flecked apoplexy, with posters accusing the reviewer of rushing to judgment, then doing precisely that themselves. "Bored rich men boring the arse off everyone," moaned one. Rich? It's safe to assume so. But bored, and boring? Not on the evidence here. Anyone expecting a meld of the trio's own bands may be more tantalised than sated. For the great missed opportunity that the album most vividly conjures up is unexpected and deeply intriguing. It is probably safe to say that few have ever wondered what Led Zep fronted by Bowie would have sounded like. Perhaps unintentionally, Them Crooked Vultures come close to providing an answer. Elephants and Bandoliers may swagger and hammer with Zep-like brutalism, and New Fang, Mind Eraser, No Chaser and Scumbag Blues recall, respectively, Come Together, Beat It and Cream's psychedelic soup. But it is on tracks such as Reptiles, Interlude with Ludes, Gunman and Warsaw that TCV locate the strangest new territory, visiting pummelling metal makeovers on Hunky Dory, Ziggy, Diamond Dogs, Station to Station and Scary Monsters' sonic architecture. The results are both utterly unanticipated and thrillingly, breathtakingly odd. Boring? I think not.

http://entertainment...icle6912348.ece

[SteveAJones]

Courier-Journal.com (Louisville, KY & Southern Indiana)

November 14, 2009

Jeffrey Lee Puckett | Digital downloads

Them Crooked Vultures rock

Anytime a former member of Led Zeppelin gets involved in a new band, the comparisons to the old band are inevitable. They're also inevitably appropriate.

What about working with Robert Plant, Jimmy Page or John Paul Jones makes other musicians try to rewrite "Houses of the Holy"? Is it just impossible to resist? Is the template that ingrained?For Them Crooked Vultures, Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters) and Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age) have joined with Jones for another go at lifting the hammer of the gods. They are unashamed in announcing the first single, "New Fang," with a John Bonham drum part that sounds like vintage "Physical Graffiti."

The second song to be released, "Mind Eraser, No Chaser," finds inspiration in Zep's underrated "Presence" album.

That's not to say that the entire Vultures record, due Tuesday, will follow the same path, but if it does, more power to them. These first two songs are tough, undiluted rock 'n' roll free of hyphens.

You can stream either song for free at various sites, including MySpace, and iTunes is offering a free download of "Mind Eraser, No Chaser" with no further obligation.

If you pre-order "Them Crooked Vultures" from iTunes, you'll get "New Fang" delivered right away and bonus material upon the album's release, including an extra track and some live recordings.

http://www.courier-j...gital+downloads

[SteveAJones]

CD Reviews for Edmonton Journal

Friday, November 13th, 2009 | 11:10 am

Canwest News Service

Them Crooked Vultures

Them Crooked Vultures

(DGC/Interscope/Universal)

Rating: three and a-half stars

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news," croons Josh Homme on Interlude With Ludes, one of 13 tunes by rock's latest supergroup. I feel his pain. As tantalizing as an Homme/Grohl/Jones threesome sounds on paper, Them Crooked Vultures is not nearly as kick-ass as their own groups – Queens of the Stone Age, Foo Fighters or Led Zeppelin. Could it be Homme's droning delivery? (His falsetto only makes a few cameos and Dave Grohl provides backup vocals.) Could it be the lack of melodic hooks in at least half the trio's tracks? (Stompy rhythms and heavy, sawing, and Spidey web-slinging riffs are the order of the day.) Could it be YouTube's less-than-stellar sound quality, which tends to magnify the monotonous parts of TCV's songs? (The album is now streaming on the site.) Them Crooked Vultures ventures out of its stoner-rock fog toward the latter half of the album – Scumbag Blues finally lets John Paul Jones show off his agile bass lines, Gunman is rock 'n' roll disco, while Caligulove is a hip- shaking number with '60s organs and haunting vocals, but sounds like another potential supergroup – the Doors mixed with Iron Butterfly.

-Sandra Sperounes, Edmonton Journal

http://www.kelowna.com/2009/11/13/cd-reviews-for-edmonton-journal-2/

[SteveAJones]

Supergroup Vultures Revives Hard Rock

By Max Blau Posted: 11/12/2009

www.EmoryWheel.com - Emory University's Student Newspaper

The newly-formed supergroup Them Crooked Vultures has been a long-rumored project, dating back to 2005 as a collaboration between former Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones, Queens of the Stone Age vocalist and guitarist Josh Homme and Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl on drums. After many years of dormancy, the project finally materialized this past summer, when the group announced its debut album and performed live for the first time in August.

Having only toured since the band's inception, Them Crooked Vultures has primarily been attracting fans of the reputation preceding each member and their respective past acts. Whereas Grohl and Homme have left their print on mainstream alternative rock during the past two decades, this marks the first time Jones has become a member of a permanent group since Led Zeppelin disbanded in 1980. Given that the virtuoso bassist has produced relatively few works since that time, his new group's self-titled debut album marks his long-awaited return to mainstream rock, an event that has left his followers in eager anticipation of this release.

What emerges from the supergroup's eponymous debut is an intriguing combination of its individual parts. Homme's influence appears heavily upon initial listens, as it seems that this album may just be a better, more talented rendition of a Queens of the Stone Age record. But listen closely and the intricacies and layers unfold with the strong, rhythmic presences of Jones and Grohl.

As the album opens with "No One Loves Me & Neither Do I," Grohl kicks off the album with a drum groove in the likes of former Led Zeppelin legend John Bonham, a fitting comparison given that he was once rumored as the replacement drummer for a reformed version of Led Zeppelin.

If the album opener slightly hinted at a Zeppelin influence, "New Fang" summons the iconic band's spirit to the forefront, as the trio tightly locks into a track that stands as the highlight of the entire album.

Although the individual pieces shine in their own right, Them Crooked Vultures as a whole surpasses that alone to create an intriguing new style. This stands out via the sprawling "Elephants" an epic prog-rock journey that shifts through several different dynamics, creating a dark and brooding track.

While Them Crooked Vultures impressively pounds listeners with its stoner rock throughout the album's first half, the album begins to lose focus as it approaches the end. Clocking in with a 66-minute overall play time, the band fails to find enough creativity to actively engage listeners, especially through multiple solid but not spectacular seven-minute-plus tracks.

Despite the album's shortcomings, Them Crooked Vultures lives up to the reputation of its members, accomplishing a task which all too many similar supergroups fail to do.

http://www.emorywhee...ail.php?n=27671

[SteveAJones]

Them Crooked Vultures and a Super Group of Dudes

By Duff McKagan

Seattle WeeklyThursday, Nov. 12 2009 @ 7:43AM

​When I first heard that John Paul Jones, Dave Grohl, and Josh Homme were forming a band last spring, I must say that I was jealous. Are you kidding me?! These three mega-talented and unique figures playing hard rock in a unified and focused group? I was excited, to say the least, from a player's perspective AND as a fan. Then came the inevitable "supergroup" tags.

Lazy journalists like to put a tag on anything they can in an attempt to sum up a whole genre or movement with a quick phrase that will make their job easier and take a swipe at a band in the process. You know, "stoner rock," "grunge," "indie," "hair metal," etc. "Supergroup" conjures a negative image in my mind, and we in Velvet Revolver had to deal with this label in our first year. Fans never called us a supergroup, mind you, only journalists. I've heard this title being bandied about in reference to Them Crooked Vultures, and I think it is a cheap way out.

To label an act a supergroup somehow suggests--to me, anyway--that they were formed to cash in on the members' superstar power. First, when you have been playing in successful bands for a while, your friends and comrades in the field are others like you. These are simply the people that you KNOW!

And NOBODY is cashing in these days. Acts are not selling enough records to turn much profit--if any--and touring is a shrinking business. TCV is in this thing for the right reason, and that is to fucking rock.

Judging from the single, "New Fang," Them Crooked Vultures has a lot to offer a rock scene that is suffering from a lack of the real shit . . . the dirty shit! Did I mention that John Paul Jones is in the band?

John Paul Jones

For those of you who may have lived under a rock for the past 40 years, or were perhaps squirreled away in some hipster scene that disallowed such things as earth-moving grooves, John Paul Jones was the groundbreaking bass player and multi-instrumentalist in Led Zeppelin. JPJ has influenced EVERY great bass player since then, and his bass playing and sense of pocket and melody may never be matched again. To me he was the heart and soul of the band. Zeppelin lore has it that Jones held that band together and helped to make it as musical as it was, giving it a sense of depth and movement that has yet to be matched. Enough said: John Paul Jones is a bad, bad man.

Josh Homme

Josh Homme is someone who has gained a ton of respect in the community of musicians that I am acquainted with, not only for his songwriting and playing skills but as a straight-shooter and a guy who has your back if you are a friend. Josh has Seattle roots. He went to the UW while also playing in Screaming Trees in the mid-'90s before forming the stellar Queens of the Stone Age. Queens, for my money, has been the most influential band, as far as what new bands want to be and sound like, of the last eight or so years. Do I even need to add that he was a founding member of KYUSS? (FYI, everyone says they were into KYUSS when they were happening, but if it were true, the band would have been as big as U2.)

Dave Grohl

Ah, last but far from least, Dave Motherfucking Grohl. The drummer every other drummer, guitar player, and singer I know wishes they were. A songwriter whose verse and riffage flow with impossible ease and consistency. A man who is really just the nicest guy in rock and roll, who still bounces with excitement when some band or artist he likes is either passing through town or putting out a new record.

For these three guys to come together and form a real band--well, hell, it must be like some sort of fairy-dust shit just being at a band practice! Can you imagine? Them Crooked Vultures have created something new and fresh with no obvious nods to any of their past bands. A hard feat, for sure. Yes, you can tell it's JPJ on bass, Josh singing and playing guitar, and Grohl killing the drums. But the overall originality of the band's sound is startlingly refreshing. I sound like a damn rock critic right now, a breed of writer I absolutely detest. These guys are just straight-up cool and pretty fucking righteous, if you ask me.

http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/reverb/2009/11/them_crooked_vultures_and_a_su.php">http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/reverb/2009/11/them_crooked_vultures_and_a_su.php

[SteveAJones]

Behind The Hype.com

Them Crooked Vultures give everyone a swift kick in the pants with debut album

November 16, 2009 by Cheese Sandwich

Filed under Alternative Rock

The vultures have landed. After the past few months of really weird and frustrating promotion ("here's a few seconds of a song, but THAT'S IT! Bwahaha"), Them Crooked Vultures' debut album is here.

TCV, if you weren't aware somehow, is Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age on vocals and guitar, Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters/Nirvana/general badassery smashing the shit out of the drums, and John Paul Jones from an up and coming band called Led Zeppelin slapping the bass and adding Doors-esque keyboard flair where appropriate. Rock pedigree? Check.

After first hearing about TCV, my expectations were ridiculously lofty. Then, with the short teaser clips that made their way onto the Internet instead of full songs, my anticipation turned to a bit of frustration…but then I heard the singles New Fang and Mind Eraser, No Chaser and I realized just how badass this album could be. This album does NOT disappoint.

And oh, is it ever badass. Mind Eraser in particular was a great choice for a single. Dave even sings background vocals on this one. I was hoping to hear Dave on background vox on other songs, but this is apparently the only one. The other songs instead are carried out by Homme, who sings about sex, drugs, the government, the devil, and other such sunny subjects.

Overall, TCV's debut is a startling and long overdue kick in the balls to the current 'rock' scene. While Homme, Grohl and Jones are collectively rich enough to use all the best studio trickery and create a glossy, well-produced product (much like any Foos record), the songs sound like they were written in a garage out of an impromptu jam session. The riffs are dirty, the vocals snarling, the lyrics dark, just as they should be.

No One Loves Me and Neither Do I sets the tone for the rest of the record with these lyrics: If sex is a weapon then SMASH! BOOM! POW! How you like me now? You can't always do right, but you can always do what's left. When I told her I was trash she winked and laughed and said "I already know. I gotta a beautiful place to put your face."

And she was right. Filthy.

On Mind Eraser, Homme discusses drugs, and asks the question Give me the reason why the mind's a terrible thing to waste?

Given the subject matter of these songs, it seems to me that Homme penned all if not most of the lyrics, while the band probably jammed out all the songs musically. They're similar in content to Queens of the Stone Age, so it makes sense for Homme to have come up with this stuff.

Thankfully, none of the songs really sound like Foos, Zeppelin or Queens, for the most part. Dead End Friends has a bit of a Queens sound (circa Songs for the Deaf), but that doesn't mean it's any less distinct. The dudes were able to create their own unique sound with TCV, and that's commendable.

<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: left">Another good aspect to this record is how they didn't get too over-indulgent. It's not like every song is 7 minutes long, with tacked on bluesy instrumental jams all over the place. The songs that are over the six minute mark, Elephants, Warsaw or the First Breath You Take After You Give Up, and Spinning in Daffodils don't wear out their welcome; if anything they're among the most solid cuts on the album. Elephants has a slower, brooding rhythm and Homme discusses the devil, lepers, and, well, elephants.

The best stretch of the album begins with Interlude with Ludes, (which sounds like David Bowie on drugs having a party in the desert), and ends with the conclusion of Spinning in Daffodils.

Warsaw… is a personal favorite, starting off slow and atmospheric and turning into a fast, bluesy stomp about midway through.

Caligulove has another stop-and-go beat and more keyboard flourishes that help set it apart, as well as a memorable chorus where Homme asks, "come on, Caligulove me".

On Gunman, TCV masters a hard-driving rhythm that Muse wishes they could have come up with, and adds in some demented-sounding vocals by Homme and cymbal crashes from Grohl, creating another of the album's highlights. Badass.

Spinning in Daffodils is psychedelic, sludgy, and dark, a fitting way to end the album.

Them Crooked Vultures' debut record is the best thing to come from any 'supergroup' in a long time, if ever. Rock music could really stand to pay attention to this. It is music made for music's sake, from three supremely talented guys. It's just dirty, sexy, groovy music made by three people who combine to DEFINE rock music past, present, and (hopefully) future. If you had any inclination to check out this band, DO IT. It's one of the most refreshing things I've heard in quite a while, and anyone who considers him or herself a fan of 'rock' music would be ripping themselves off if they didn't check it out.

http://www.behindthe...th-debut-album/

[SteveAJones]

Casa di Ricomanjaro (The Netherlands)

November 17, 2009

Them Crooked Vultures maakt op debuut alle verwachtingen waar

Category: Beats

Natuurlijk waren de verwachtingen hoog gespannen. Dave Grohl (Nirvana, Foo Fighters), John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin) en Josh Homme (Kyuss, Queens Of The Stone Age) die samen een bandje beginnen, dat kan bijna niet fout gaan. Maar een supergroep hoeft niet altijd supermuziek te maken, getuige bijvoorbeeld de bagger die Chickenfoot produceert. Them Crooked Vultures is echter een ander verhaal. Want het titelloze debuut lost alle verwachtingen in. Overtreft ze zelfs. Wat een waanzinnig goeie plaat!

Het is te gemakkelijk om de muziek van dit trio af te doen als een combinatie van eerdergenoemde bands. Led Zeppelin hoor ik er niet zoveel in als ik verwacht had. Hoewel het John Paul Jones-orgeltje in Bandoliers erg herkenbaar is. Evenals zijn baswerk. Luister maar eens naar het wel degelijk Zeppelinachtige Reptiles. Bij de eerste luisterbeurt had ik de neiging te schrijven dat dit het beste Queens Of The Stone Age album is tot nu toe. Maar daarmee zou ik zowel dit album als Songs For The Deaf tekort doen. Wel is duidelijk dat gitarist/zanger Josh Homme van de drie de grootste stempel drukt op de muziek van Them Crooked Vultures.

Muziek die doorgaans wordt gedragen door krachtige, groovende riffs. Homme en Jones waren in de studio dan ook goed op dreef. Zonder overigens af te willen doen aan het typische, beukende drumwerk van Grohl. Want ook hij laat zich hier van zijn beste kant horen. Vanaf het te gekke openingsnummer No One Loves Me… Neither Do I hakt hij de boel subtiel aan elkaar. Ruimte voor improvisatie was er ook in de studio, gelet op bijvoorbeeld de jam in Warsaw Or The First Breath You Take After You Give Up. Leuk, maar geen hoogtepunt. Zoals eerdergenoemd openingsnummer met zijn Cream-achtige riff dat wel is. Of het ook al eerdergenoemde Reptiles. Of het beukende Dead End Friends. Of het swingende Elephants. Of het stampende Scumbag Blues met zijn lekker basorgeltje. Of het Queens-achtige Caligulove. De songkwaliteit is bijna constant hoog. Alleen het afsluitende, psychedelische en bezwerende Spinning In Daffodils is een wat lange zit.

En dan de productie. Die is krachtig, evenwichtig en transparant. De kroon op het werk van dit supertrio. Dat verwachtingsmanagement duidelijk hoog in het vaandel heeft staan. Liefhebbers van het voorgaande werk van de heren Grohl, Jones en Homme kunnen dit album dan ook blind (doof?) aanschaffen.

http://www.ricomanjaro.nl/

[SteveAJones]

Them Crooked Vultures: a supergroup that doesn't suck

Kathy McCabe

Courier-Mail (Australia)

November 18, 2009 11:00pm

Do musicians talk shop when they dine together? Apparently not if they have been set up on a blind date at a theme restaurant by a mutual mate.

That's how Queens Of The Stone Age creative controller Josh Homme met Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones. Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl played cupid.

Luckily, Homme's hilarious attempt to break the ice by explaining the concept behind the Medieval Times dinner theatre to his British dining companion didn't end the new band, Them Crooked Vultures, before it even started.

"The first thing I said to him was 'Do you know about this' and he said 'Not really'. So I proceeded to tell him that there were medieval times back in England with a totally straight face and you guys had kings and castles. I thought if I blinked, I was going to f--- it up, so I might as well be exactly who I am," Homme says.

"He also remarked on the dragon's blood soup we were eating. He said it was fascinating because he'd never had dragon's blood soup in England."

Homme says the fact he knew Grohl was observing the budding bromance didn't help.

"You know what, it was a bit cheeky him sitting behind us. When Jones got up to 'hit the head', he is sitting behind me grinning. I leaned over and told him 'You're ruining everything! Stop watching us'."

Two days later, Them Crooked Vultures was born. It was the realisation of years of conversations between Homme and Grohl, who wanted to pair up on something again after their Queens of The Stone Age collaboration on Songs For The Deaf earlier this decade.

"For years we've talked about who we should include on this and when he suggested Jones, I guess I didn't believe him. I think we all knew this was the sort of thing if you dragged your heels, you would destroy it. Like I always said, opportunity knocks softly and it's your damn job to open the door," Homme says.

And then they had to keep it quiet, really quiet. It's not really explained why the trio attached so much secrecy to their project, beyond the fear that good music might not result from the power of three.

Or maybe they just wanted to be mysterious. Everyone in rock 'n' roll complains now there's not enough mystery left in the game.

Homme, a man not to be trifled with, says family and friends were given a "pretty serious gag order".

"As it progressed, and our close friends started to know about it, people were told, 'If it's you (who leaks) at this point, you are in big f---ing trouble'."

The trio talked about what they wanted to do, how they wanted to sound and who would sing. Homme wanted to share vocal duties. Grohl just wanted to play the drums. When they started jamming in Homme's Los Angeles studio, talking became obsolete. But Homme was still unsettled. He prefers to come to the studio armed with at least 15 songs. But he'd decided to take a year off music and hang out with the family. He hadn't even picked up a guitar in six months, so there were no songs.

"I have spent my whole career avoiding situations like this. I felt the most naked I have ever felt and it happened to be in front of Jones and Dave," Homme says.

But his nerves simmered down, so by the time he and Jones were left to do vocal overdubs for a month while Grohl supervised the sequencing of the Foo Fighters' Greatest Hits, Homme had hit his stride.

Affirmation from Jones, who is also renowned as a producer, arranger and multi-instrumentalist, made his year.

"In that foxhole is where we became friends," he says.

"I was working on a song called Mind Eraser, No Chaser and I didn't even know if I even liked the words or the melody; the words were crazy, man. But I went in there and blistered through it and Jones yells 'F---ing amazing!' You know I like the colour dark and Jones, he likes it dark too."

When Grohl returned to the fold, the trio rehearsed "hard" for 16 days for their debut gig an unannounced show in Chicago in August that finally confirmed the rumours that had been swirling in the blogosphere about the existence of Them Crooked Vultures.

"We rehearsed hard. I got in shape. My arms were rock solid. And then I went to the beach for 10 days and ate pizza before we played the first show," Grohl says.

"It was like a triathlon. At the end of it, I was completely demolished. Now, I'm in the best shape I have ever been in in my life and people keep asking me if I've been going to the gym. Look at me, do I look like a guy who goes to the f---ing gym?"

It was a triumphant debut, the set's hard-rock pulse thrilling those lucky enough to be in the room and whetting the appetite of fans of all three musicians. Finally, here was a rock supergroup that didn't suck.

Homme signals Them Crooked Vultures will not be a one-off.

"I can't wait to make another record because in the end it was so much easier than it should have been, and honestly it's the hardest record I have ever made. You have to climb Everest eventually."

Them Crooked Vultures (Sony) out now. They perform at the Riverstage, Botanic Gardens, January 25.

http://www.news.com....iermail/story/0,23739,26368123-5003421,00.html

[SteveAJones]

Metal Rage.com

'Them Crooked Vultures' - Them Crooked Vultures

Posted by LondonCustoms, on Monday November 16th 2009

Secrecy has been the way of the vulture in the last couple of months. Dave Grohl hinted on the project in late 2005 and in the summer of 2009 Jesse Hughes had a slip of the tongue on Canadian radio, which named the puppy. The world knew that the supergroup consisting of Josh Homme, Dave Grohl and John Paul Jones would be known as Them Crooked Vultures. Completed by Alain Johannes the first show was at the Metro in Chicago, soon to be followed by a show in the Melkweg in Amsterdam and several festivalshows. Slowly but surely rumours about a releasedate for the album were spread, then the complete album (after some teasers) was put on youtube and today it finally happened. The selftitled debut album has hit the shelves in a store near you!

The album starts of easy with nice drums and a bluesy guitar riff, which have a great flow that keeps on going until 2 minutes and 40 seconds, than it just explodes and turns into a heavy grooving sound that will kick your ears in! What's really noticeable is the fullness of the sound on the entire record, this groove sets the tone for that dark sound. 'Mind Eraser, No Chaser' opens with a nice guitar riff (yet again!) and a second guitar playing through the riff making it somewhat controlled chaos, also because of the garage-like sound of the production., that turns into a real nice rock 'n' roll song with a weird vibe to it, compareable to songs like 'Misfit Love' on the 'Era Vulgaris'-album by Queens Of The Stone Age.

'New Fang' is a good old dirty rocksong with great backing guitars and also that garage sound, we migt aswell call crooked from now on, which is also heard (with a sort of oriental twist to it) on 'Dead End Friends'. Running for coolest intro/guitarriff/druming intro and a whole lot of other prizes is 'Elephants', which rocks like fuck for a minute and then starts grooving like an old Camaro. For that matter, not totally unexpected though, the drumming on the album is fantastic, not just because of the skill, but it's just exactly right for this music. As off course is the bassplaying, if you don't believe me just check out 'Scumbag Blues'. The train keeps on rollin' until the weird 'Interlude With Ludes', which is best compareable to QOTSA's 'I Used To Be A Teenage Handmodel'.

As you can see from this review, the musical style is best compared to Queens Of The Stone Age, than to Foo Fighters or Led Zeppelin, but don't go expecting just QOTSA on steroids, it is very different from it, but (probably because of the vocals) it is just closest to this one of the three bands that the members are wellknown for. After the kind of happy sounding 'Warsaw Or The First Breath After You Give Up', which has a fantastic mid section that is ripe for liveshows and improvs, the dark and macabre 'Caligulove' trips on through the speakers. Highlight on the album is the asskicking song called 'Gunman'. The driving drums on this track are fan-fucking-tastic!! The album reaches it end with the lovely strange 'Spinning In Daffodils'.

Almost everything about this album is great. All the songs, the way the songs are arranged, the buildup of the album are great and there is not a second on this record that will bore a true believer. If you're into any of the bands that the members are or were in, just go get this record and be ashamed that you haven't got it already. Josh...Dave...John...thank you so much...

http://www.metalrage.com/reviews/3055

[SteveAJones]

Slant Magazine.com

Them Crooked Vultures

Them Crooked Vultures

by Huw Jones

Posted: November 15, 2009

've always refused to entertain the media storm that often surrounds titular supergroups, a term which has been lazily slapped on any band whose members have acquired their fame elsewhere. There's been so much forgettable music from these self-indulgent side projects in recent years that I've come to truly despise the term, recovering as I am from the limp efforts of Audioslave, Zwan, and Eyes Adrift. Now, along comes Them Crooked Vultures, with a lineup cherry-picked from rock folklore: Dave Grohl (Nirvana, Foo Fighters) on drums, John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin) providing bass guitar and keys, and Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age, Kyuss) fronting this motley crew with vocals and lead guitar. With such a mouthwatering lineup, it would be no tragedy if their self-titled debut amounted to no more than a sum of its parts. Regrettably, my threadbare faith in the very nature of these supergroups leads me to approach Them Crooked Vultures with a degree of uncertainty.

What sets this project apart from the stockpile of self-indulgent hogwash, though, is the sense of merriment flowing through the record; egos seem to have been checked at the door, allowing the trio to freely explore a breadth of different sounds and styles. Though Homme is credited as the driving creative force behind the group, Jones's influence is ever-present as the sonorous grooves of Zeppelin-esque riffs arrive in abundance, albeit channeled through Homme's grimy distortion pedal. In essence, Them Crooked Vultures sounds like a 21st-century abduction of classic hard rock, packed with throbbing grooves and crunching riffs.

The album begins with "No One Loves Me & Neither Do I," settling comfortably into a smooth blues rhythm before a pulsating middle-eight with stomping guitar work and chaotic percussion. From here, second single "Mind Eraser, No Chaser" sees Homme emulating Jimmy Page with a warped wah-wah riff and a thrashing guitar solo in the opening 30 seconds. Grohl and Homme then exchange call-and-repeat interplay and vocal harmonies for the chorus: "All I wanna do is have my mind erased/I'm begging ya, pleading ya, stop karma teasing us all/Drug company, where's a pill for me?/I call it mind eraser, no chaser." It's clear, even at this early stage in the record, that the trio possess a superb chemistry considering their limited time playing together, finding their own sound somewhere between Zeppelin and QOTSA. Grohl's imperious drum work launches lead single "New Fang," the track which apes QOTSA more overtly than any of the other 12 tracks. Homme wails obscure lyrics amid a mishmash of separate riffs before, as with the majority of the Vultures's tunes, the band enjoys a frenzied curtain call where all members go hell for leather with their respective instruments. If "Dead End Friends" similarly mimics Homme's erstwhile sound, "Elephants" and "Scumbag Blues" lean toward Zeppelin's classic rock outline: The former's crunching hook repeatedly shifts time signatures while the latter's squealing funk is peppered with Jones's keyboard solos.

It's both lazy and unfair to study the band with ceaseless comparisons to their preceding work, though, because Them Crooked Vultures offers so much more than that. On penultimate track "Gunman," the trio summons a dense funk sound with the album's most memorable wah-wah lick. Coupled with a haunting chorus, Homme struts through his crunching verses with suitably haughty lyrics: "Flesh and bone has no persuasion/This is the pathway to my destination/Gunman, where you been?/You're my hero, savior, psycho, slayer." From tip to toe, Them Crooked Vultures is composed with an endearing confidence and swagger, executed with aplomb by musicians at the peak of their prowess.

http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/music_review.asp?ID=1925

[SteveAJones]

Spuitnik.com

4.0

excellent dragonaut USER

2009-11-16

Summary: Them Crooked Vultures definitely deserved the future, and it's bright.

First things first. From the tone of the guitars and the style of the songs, its clear that despite the fact its a 'supergroup' comprised of three members on paper, there's no doubt in actuality its down to one guy. The other two weren't just bystanders obviously, their impressive musicianship can be heard all over the record, but this may as well have been a QOTSA album. Which isn't a bad thing.

QOTSA are a band that have played with the blueprint set by ye olde contemporaries of his bass maestro band mate and have produced refreshing, original results. But then this isn't a QOTSA album review. So in that sense, the music is new, but nothing radically different despite what the deliciously warped freak show sway of 'Interlude with Ludes' suggests.

Not to say there's no change, there's a definite and definitely welcome emphasis on rhythm and boogie, the infectiously funky 'Gunman' points the revolver to the floor, tells you to dance and by god if you won't whereas the colossal 'Warsaw' evokes the image of a drunken gangster swaggering out of a speak-easy feeling on top of the world before the song descends into a spaced, echoing jam drenched in paranoia. Chicago has suddenly become a scary place and he truly laments swilling that last Cognac.

With this newfound emphasis comes the notion that the band aren't taking themselves too seriously and are having the time of their lives as 'Scumbag Blues' shows. A wonderful example of the chemistry of the band bubbling out of the flask as Homme's squealing guitar, Jones' toe tapping bass and clavinet and Grohl's energetic drum stomp meld seamlessly like a Scotch mixer, going down just as smooth whilst the cocksure strut of 'No One Loves Me & Neither Do I' and the charging 'Mind Eraser, No Chaser' are just plain fun. Sleaze laden lyrics provide the icing on the cake; 'I've gotta beautiful place to put your face'; a line slyly delivered by Homme's faux innocent falsetto with tongue firmly in someone elses cheek.

It must be said though that as the band members got so caught up in themselves at times, their jams may seem a bit insular in that they stretch musical ideas to their limits. I sensed some may become impatient and judge it to be meandering, but I consider them integral to the songs and no matter how much fun they're having, three prominent figures of rock can tell the difference between a lengthy jam and ego-boosting wankery. Least you'd hope. Additionally, 'Dead End Friends' benefited more from intelligent flourishes and production magic courtesy of Homme than actual substance, as if it done by any other band it would have likely been deemed as just an 'alright tune'. These are only minor niggles however, and detract little from what is an accomplished debut.

So! In conclusion, Them Crooked Vultures are one of the few bands with the name supergroup that actually live up to it somewhat through their output as well as their past achievements. The album isn't perfect, nor is it revolutionary. But it should be regarded as a new blueprint for hard rock, perhaps not to be adhered to but to be considered. They don't make rock like they used to, but some do still make it well. Though of course, this does depend a little upon whether you hold QOTSA in any regard. Perhaps it would have been better had all the members exerted an equal influence (Grohl has only one vocal cameo for instance) but we can only speculate. And after all, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Top Picks: Elephants, Gunman, Caligulove

http://sputnikmusic.com/review_33473

[SteveAJones]

A.V. Club.com

Them Crooked Vultures

by Steven Hyden November 17, 2009

B+ av club rating B+ reader rating based on 26 ratings

What should be expected of Them Crooked Vultures? Put Josh Homme, Dave Grohl, and John Paul Jones in the same band, and it's hard not to do some basic rock 'n' roll algebra. Adding Queens Of The Stone Age's catchy crunchiness to Nirvana's relentlessly driving rhythms and Led Zeppelin's flowing basslines and rich orchestral textures certainly sounds, well, super. But Them Crooked Vultures is not the sum of its members' most famous bands. Thinking that it could be means overlooking an obvious fact about super-groups: Rock stars don't form bands with other rock stars in order to top what they've already done. They do it because hanging out with famous rock stars is a hell of a lot of fun. Freed from the weight of untenable expectations, Them Crooked Vultures is a hell of a lot of fun, too.

Them Crooked Vultures doesn't equal the considerable awesomeness of its ancestors; it sounds like a second-tier Queens Of The Stone Age record, not as good as Rated R or Songs For The Deaf, but superior to everything since. (Particularly the exquisite "Scumbag Blues," which employs Homme's spine-tingling Jack Bruce falsetto better than any song since "I Never Came.") Given the fluidity of QOTSA's lineupand Grohl's celebrated tenure in the band for Songsthe album could have fit comfortably under Homme's usual banner, especially the creeping "Bandoliers" and the chugging stripper anthem "New Fang." But Them Crooked Vultures really feels most like an extension of the Desert Sessions series, in which Homme invites friends to collaborate on marathon jams that may or may not turn into fully realized songs. 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.

http://www.avclub.co...rooked-vultures,35431/

[SteveAJones]

Them Crooked Vultures: Showing Their Fangs

Site: Pure Grain Audio.com

Posted: November 04, 2009 at 11:47PM

Author: Aaron Willschick

There are supergroups and then there are supergroups. Sure we've all seen it before, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Velvet Revolver, Audioslave, Temple of the Dog (which I guess would be considered a supergroup in hindsight). These groups and others have gone on to varying degrees of success, some of them have been "super" (relatively speaking) and some of them, well not so "super." While the supergroup really is nothing new, rarely has there been an edition that is as breathtaking and exciting as Them Crooked Vultures. Who are Them Crooked Vultures you say? Well to offer a simple answer, a new three piece rock and roll band consisting of two of the most talented musicians rock and roll has ever had to offer.

Consisting of John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin on bass and keyboards, Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters and Nirvana on drums and Josh Homme from Queens of the Stone Age on guitar and vocals, Them Crooked Vultures are certainly not short on rock royalty. The beginnings of the group go back to the writing and recording of the Foo Fighters' 2005 double album In Your Honor. Grohl, a huge Led Zeppelin fan, was able to secure the services of Jones to play on a couple of songs for the album's mellower, acoustic disc. At the time Grohl referred to the meeting and collaboration with Jones as "the second greatest thing to happen to me in my life." The first hint of a greater collaboration came around the time In Your Honor was released when Grohl stated that the next project he was attempting to instigate was a band with him on drums, Homme on guitar and Jones on bass. Although this set off an initial wave of excitement, the collaboration was kept on hold as Grohl and Homme were busy with commitments to their own respective bands.

Things remained quiet for the next few years until early 2009 when rumours of the project resurfaced. Reports from music magazine NME in July of 2009 had the band recording in Los Angeles. This was followed by the group's first ever live show in Chicago on August 9th where they performed all new and original material. The recording sessions were so productive that the band finished an entire album's worth of songs that would be released in the fall. The result of these frantic recording sessions is Them Crooked Vultures self-titled debut record set for release on November 17th.

The album, due to be released on Interscope Records in the U.S. and Sony/BMG internationally, is remarkable for how much of a collaborative effort it is among the three members. All three men contributed roughly equally to the finished product, so much so that they self-produced the record completely on their own. The result is a thirteen track effort that combines the greatest strengths of all three musicians. Homme is one of the best voices in rock today while Jones and Grohl are considered respectively among the best of all time at their instruments. In terms of playing live, the band has a few dates in California and the surrounding area lined up for right when the album drops before some shows in Britain and Germany in December. Plans for the New Year have mostly been kept quiet except for a few shows in Australia in January. Collaborations like Them Crooked Vultures come along once in a lifetime. With so much boredom in rock today it's nice to be excited again by a band that seems truly worth the hype.

http://puregrainaudi...rooked-vultures

[SteveAJones]

Them Crooked Vultures Them Crooked Vultures

Score: 7.692

Sean Cannon

Buzzgrinder.com

November 16, 2009

I initially thought Them Crooked Vultures would sound like Queens of the Stone Age covering Led Zeppelin songs. Which would be pretty awesome. You get all of the rock of Queens and none of the self-importance of Led Zep. And while you can definitely pick up on that, there's more.

Josh Homme, Dave Grohl and John Paul Jones take their self-titled debut in a few different directions that aren't exactly unexpected but they are intriguing and rocking. I mean, you can certainly tell that each member of the band is indeed a member of the band, but they do get a little strange here and there. And it's enough strangeness to keep me wanting more.

I must admit that my expectations weren't quite met, but I was hoping for album of the year.

http://www.buzzgrind...ooked-vultures/

[SteveAJones]

No Treble - The Site for Bass Players

New Releases

John Paul Jones speaks on "Them Crooked Vultures"

by Mike Brown Thursday, November 12th, 2009

With all of the talk and glimpses of the soon-to-be-released album from Them Crooked Vultures, fans have been itching to find any information possible. Recently, John Paul Jones has spoken with Nova 919 about numerous topics ranging from what the album sounds like, to what it was like working with other musicians of such great caliber.

Jones mentions that in a usual tour setting, the audience knows the album already. They have had time to learn the music, memorize the lyrics, and develop a connection with ideas and songs that they have come to favor. But with this new group the traditional idea of CD releases and touring have been reversed, feeding the audience with new, fresh ideas.

"Touring's been fantastic considering nobody really knows apart from a few camera phone renditions on YouTube what we're doing," Jones shares. "It's 90 minutes now and it's all new stuff. To have an audience just stand there and listen, and take it all in it's just amazing. They're reacting really, really well and it's new for them because normally they would have heard the record first and know the lyrics. It's a new experience which they look like they're enjoying and they sound like they're enjoying, certainly."

Jones also talks about how he ended up with the group, saying that he loves, and is proud of his background in Led Zeppelin, but feels at home again with this new band.

"It's pretty damn good. I'm obviously very proud of the Zeppelin legacy and I'm hoping I'm keeping the spirit alive with this band. Led Zeppelin was the best band in the world until this one came along. I always try to be in the best band in the world, I promise myself."

Jones goes on to note how playing with a group as seasoned in the music industry as they are is a wonderful thing, and that in such an environment making music can be a very natural, and unrestrained process; how playing with these members lets the music be all about "the music" and not about sales or marketing. This allows for the music to be more natural, and for the band to really play what they want and enjoy. He goes on to speak about how the music sounds.

"It rocks… What can I tell you? When people ask what it sounds like, it sounds like me playing bass and Dave playing drums and Josh singing and playing guitar. It's very obvious. It's just us it's straight-ahead, it's very honest and it really rocks. It's multi-layered and sounds fantastic. We love it. We play it and we're like 'Wow, this is really good.'"

The album will be released by Sony Music on Tuesday, November 17th, in the U.S. The band is also issuing the album on 180 gram vinyl (with MP3 files included).

http://www.notreble....ooked-vultures/

[SteveAJones]

Arthur – Homegrown Counterculture

MUSIC IS NEVER WRONG

A visit with Them Crooked Vultures’ Josh Homme and John Paul Jones

Interview by Jay Babcock

Posted: October 15, 2009

Them Crooked Vultures is a new band comprised of guitarist-vocalist Joshua Homme (Queens of the Stone Age, Kyuss), bassist John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin), drummer Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters, Nirvana) and guitarist Alain Johannes (Eleven), with Jones and Johannes also playing other instruments. These guys really don’t need an introduction so you won’t be getting one here. What’s interesting is what they’re doing: Vultures have spent much of this year together, writing and recording music in a Los Angeles studio, and are now touring without having officially released a note of the music they’ve recorded. No album, no single, no YouTube video, no leak, no official photos, no nothing: the only way to hear Them Crooked Vultures, really, is to see them live.

In some ways, it’s an echo of the Eric Clapton-Steve Winwood-Ginger Baker supergroup Blind Faith, who did a similar thing in 1969, touring ahead of their album’s release, selling out tours on the strength of their collective pedigree. But unlike Blind Faith, who hedged their bets by including renditions of songs from their old bands, Vultures are performing 80 or so minutes of new Vultures music every night: no Zeppelin covers, no Queens jams, no standards. As Homme says onstage on the night I first see them play, it’s a “social experiment” as much as a musical one, and to the audience’s credit, there was not a single shouted request that I could hear for something other than what the band was playing: Vultures’ blind faith is being rewarded.

Perhaps this is down to a collective solidarity with the idea of the independent musician, or a real interest in simply unfamiliar music by trusted faves—or maybe it’s because most of the songs presented on Monday night were strong on first listen, and if listener’s fatigue inevitably set in at some point due to the continued ear-pummeling, then you could just stand there and behold the wonder of 63-year-old John Paul Jones, shoulders bobbing, at the helm of his instrument, smiling with pleasure at Dave Grohl as yet another propulsive, post-”Immigrant’ Song” (or “Achilles’ Last Stand,” or…) bassline locked in with Grohl’s powerhouse thumping and a distinctively Homme guitar riff. Interestingly, Grohl’s drumkit was not on the riser usually associated with big-time rock bands, which I’m sure disappointed some Foo Fighters fans, but it had the crucial benefit of placing the musicians nearer each other, allowing them to create a more cohesive sound in the midst of so much volume; as John Paul Jones said after the show, “I can feel Dave’s kick-drum that way,” and from his smile, you know that’s as much for his benefit as the audience’s.

Smiles. The amount of smiling between the Vultures onstage, as well as the sheer caliber of playing, reminded me of Shakti, the Indian-Western supergroup led by English master guitarist John McLaughlin and Indian tabla genius Zakir Hussain that fuses classical Indian music with Western jazz. I’m not talking about laughs between songs, or witty stage banter, although with Josh Homme at the microphone you’re always going to get that, but the smiles that occur in the midst of the music: the joy that emerges spontaneously in the midst of collective creativity, usually marking some new discovery or progress, or a new threshold being crossed, or something just feeling fundamentally good. In the last two decades of loud guitar music, this kind of uncontrived on-stage joy has been far too rare—outside of Ween shows, of course, and gee wasn’t that the Deaner himself backstage with the champagne on Monday night? Anyways. Josh, who I’ve interviewed before, and who headlined the second night of ArthurBall in 2006 as half of The 5:15ers (a duo he has with longtime collaborator Chris Goss), invited me to talk with him and John Paul Jones in the band’s dressing room just prior to their set at Philadelphia’s Electric Factory on October 12, 2009. Here’s how the conversation went…

Arthur Magazine: Josh, when you put out the last Queens of the Stone Age record [2007's Era Vulgaris] you were talking about the era that we were living in, that our generation was one that had almost too much possibility—over-possibility, that it was a period of decadence, and so forth—

Josh Homme: That’s right. The Soft Pink era.

Arthur: [laughs] So what era are we in now?

Homme: We’re in the Moist Towelette Wiping era, post-orgiastic feeding. I was talking to my wife and she said, I wish we didn’t have to have cel phones anymore. And I said, like a naïve jerkoff, Well you don’t have to have them. That was my answer. And she was, Yeah, we do. Everyone you know does. That’s what we do. There’s been a societal push for it. I thought about it, and yeah it’s really only been about six years or seven years, of this almost…attack. I’m not trying to be [old man voice] ‘Get off my lawn!’ about it, but it’s very strange… I’ve definitely come to the mind that the lamest invention in the history of mankind is the Internet. It has all the promise of something great—as a lure to stick porn up your ass. That part is great—don’t get me wrong, I like jerking off as much as the next guy—I’m a musician [laughs], I’m a guitar player! But I just find it strange. That shiny pretty light: I can’t help but stare at it either, you know?

Arthur: You know the Borg from Star Trek? I just feel like everybody wants to be assimilated, bit by bit. We’re all carrying machines around— [Dave Grohl walks up, shirtless] Except for this guy.

Homme: [to Grohl] What are you doing, just walking around naked?

Dave Grohl [assuming persona of the blissfully ignorant, positioning Grohl groin distressingly near Arthur correspondent's face]: What are you guys talking about? How’s your interview?

Homme: Getting a little hot right now…

[Grohl wanders off talking about his belly button.]

Arthur [regrouping]: You were talking about gazing at the light of the computer screen. Doesn’t that go back to sitting round the campfire, and then the first shadow puppets, and then you have the projected image in the movie theater—

Homme: Well it all makes sense, how it gets to where we are now…this grand thing that we’re all… [pauses, redirects] Whenever someone says, ‘We’re all one,’ I’ve always been like ‘No we’re not, and that’s what’s great, so stop saying that or everyone’s gonna start believing you.’ But yeah, as we all look at the same projection on the wall, we do become one, and I started to realize the horror of that. And I make no attempt to try to alter it from being that; my thing is more about trying to apply some principles of magic—how to walk between the raindrops—and take advantage of a situation like that, because it’s the only choice you have.

Arthur: In terms of getting around this alienated, Internet-age thing, you guys are doing something really interesting right now with this band, You’re insisting on a live, immediate experience and by playing music that no one’s heard before.

Homme: My years of reading P.T. Barnum is finally coming into play. [snaps fingers] This notion of saying nothing, of keeping a secret, and doing it in a way that’s not elitist but that’s like, You wanna come in here and hear? [whispers] We have a secret. That’s all that I can tell you. But you’re involved. You know?

Homme: And I like this notion of people having to listen. And for us to work out our things too: I mean, this is certainly the hardest music I’ve ever played! Not intentionally, but it was written in the studio, and it’s, Ah, ah, oh! [gestures trying desperately to play guitar notes] But it’s been great. Sold-out tour…

Arthur: : Do you even have to put out an album?

Homme: No. Not necessarily. That’s an excellent… That’s an interesting… [looks at John]

Arthur [repeating question]: Do you have to put out an album, at all?

John Paul Jones: Ah… [laughs]

Arthur: I don’t mean to corner you—

John Paul Jones: [laughs] Theoretically, no. I mean—

Homme: That’s a really interesting idea, actually….

John Paul Jones: [considering] Yeah. I take the idea that when we do put the album out, that it be an entirely different set of songs—[Josh laughs]—so that nobody will ever know what they’re about to hear.

Homme: I think that’s an extremely intelligent and highly manipulative idea, but I’m too stupid for stuff like that, to take it to that length. Because really, I want people to get excited about it. Although I hate the notion that we all should be one, I do like to gather, you know? [laughs] I like to be the reason behind someone’s good time. Or a part of someone’s good time. Because my actual desires are exactly what the internet and all these things are catering to: I like dumb, bonehead stuff—done eloquently. Like my grandpa used to say, You can always pretend to be stupider than you are, but you can never pretend to be smarter than you are. And this notion of scraping the bottom on purpose? That’s exciting. That doesn’t mean I’m smart—it just means I’m not touching the bottom at all times. And so, putting out records is a way to share that…

Arthur: I guess you could put out vinyl only—

Homme: Yeah. We are putting out a double record for sure on vinyl. There may even be a third half-side…

Arthur: You could put engraved art on the rest…

Homme: Yeah, like a picture disk…. [chuckles]

Arthur: You don’t need my suggestions, you’ve always got secret stuff you put in there…

Homme: I love the trail of breadcrumbs. Because you should be able to be a bonehead and get it and then also, if you’re someone that listens deeper then just going to the bank, you know, then there should be something there for you. And really, that’s who I’m always playing to. That way you have something to [whispers] whisper about…

Arthur: I like this idea of wanting to be the reason, or a part of, somebody having a good time.

Homme: Even though I don’t feel like a joiner, it’s good to feel like you’re being part of a community. I certainly like that. And I’ll take the ‘ignorance is bliss’ community over anything, because I long for the days of being both! [laughter]

Arthur: The funny thing is your Queens songs are not good-times songs, lyrically.

Homme: I know, I know—

Arthur: [playfully] What’s your problem?

Homme: Uh….You know what—

Arthur: You know what I mean? You’re inviting all these people to come down here and have a good time but you’re singing… It’s always been darkness with you!

Homme: Yeah, I don’t know… The thing is that… Music is the best way that I know to say the things that are difficult to say in English. Words get in the way sometimes. They’re so goddamned… interpretive? [laughs] Just… say, the difference between “badass” being a badass and having a bad ass is just so overwhelming, it’s so hard to reconcile…. But music is never wrong. You might not like it, but it’s never wrong. It’s such a great way of explaining stuff.

Arthur: I guess what I’m getting at is, Do you wish you could be Jesse [Hughes, Josh's partner in party-rock band Eagles of Death Metal]?

Homme: Well, I am Jesse.

Arthur: [laughs] I always forget that.

John Paul Jones [to Homme]: There’s definitely a little Jesse in you—

Arthur: I mean Jesse the lyricist.

Homme: Well, I am.

Arthur: I forgot that too.

Homme: Jesse is the most vain and insecure person I know. I love him. He changes costumes literally six or seven times a day. It’s great as a viewer to see that many outfits. However…he and I have always worked really closely together and I think that’s why this musical schizophrenia has developed.

Arthur: [laughs] I’m just saying, you don’t wear a cape onstage, and Jesse does.

Homme: No. But I do wear the underwear. At all times. [laughter But] I think, really, I want to be in a band that plays the greatest mixtape of all time, basically, but it’s difficult to fling so many styles at people, even though they’re listening to all styles of music.

Arthur: You’ve always talked about that, actually…

Homme: That’s my dream. That radio station called The Good Shit.

John Paul Jones: It used to be like that. FM underground radio used to be like that. They’d play Zeppelin and they’d play Otis Redding immediately afterwards.

Homme: Because that makes a hundred percent sense. Because they’re both good. This notion that they have to sound similar is crazy to me.

Arthur: Someone pointed out to me, you know how computers will draw up a playlist of songs or artists you haven’t heard from what you have heard. But whatever you plug in there, especially if it’s a diverse group of distinctive artists—Otis Redding, Captain Beefheart, Diamanda Galas—if you run the algorithm enough times, all it does is move you to the center. It doesn’t run around the edge. It keeps trying to find similar things in terms of style until it gets down to a mush.

Homme: That’s a vanilla-ator. [laughter]

Arthur: People keep saying, you can just sit at your Borg terminal and the internet will help you. You don’t have to have a record store, you don’t have to have a magazine, you don’t have to have a radio deejay—

Homme: But I want one. I miss my music stores, and the record stores, and the cool hobby stops that sold spikes where you couldn’t get ‘em… When I was on tour, that’s where I would go, in order to find out what to do if you didn’t want to be a tourist. That’s how I was never a tourist wherever I went. Now, honestly, for the life of me, I don’t know what to do when I go on tour. Because I’ve already seen every museum in every city I’ve ever been in, and many of them four times. I want to try to live Art, not just watch it. And I don’t know where to start, now that those cool hobby stores are gone. I have to take up hiking or some shit, just to get high! [laughs] Maybe mountain climbing…

John Paul Jones: I carry a mandolin and a fiddle.

Homme: That’s like a bomb risk, though. You go to an airport with a fiddle…

Arthur: John, I’ve seen those old posters with Led Zeppelin doing shows with the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band opening, or…

John Paul Jones: Yeah. Or Led Zeppelin and Rahsaan Roland Kirk.

Arthur: Yeah! How did those artists go over with your audience?

John Paul Jones: Great, because that’s what they were used to hearing on the radio. They’d heard all this stuff. It wasn’t strange to them.

Homme: This notion of Wolfman Jack, playing the songs that HE liked to play…

Arthur: Or John Peel.

John Paul Jones: Or JJ Jackson in Boston at WBCN.

Homme: Consistency is king to me: you can always put it out, you can never take it back. These people, you start to trust their taste. So off the back of their success, of playing whatever they think is good, that consistency, program directors take over and dictate the same thing. With the success, they get this extra power and use it to kind of usurp, that hacks away at the very root of what got them there…

John Paul Jones: I think it also has a slightly insidious effect, people listening to the radio now. Young bands, a lot of them, don’t actually know what else is out there. They don’t actually get to hear this other music. So they’re in turn making music being influenced by bands that are almost exactly like themselves. It’s self-perpetuating, it’s just more of the same things.

Homme: The snake eating its tail.

John Paul Jones: Yeah, exactly.

Homme: And what you get is almost… It keeps getting more of the same until that’s all it is. Just 1…1…1…1…1…1…

John Paul Jones: In the sixties, the music that the Beatles, the Stones, us, used to listen to, we had BBC National Radio. And basically, you would hear everything.

Homme: You had to!

John Paul Jones: You had to, because there was nothing else. So. It’d be Ray Charles, then Hank Snow, then the Everly Brothers, then Count Basie. You’d hear the whole fucking lot. You couldn’t choose. There was no specialization in English radio, which is the reason—well, one of the reasons—why English music was kind of interesting in those days.

Homme: Because of this autocracy—but with taste. I love that. It’s almost snooty: [in posh accent] ‘We’ll be the most diverse station in the world.’

Arthur: John Peel: he wasn’t elitist—he just wanted to turn you on.

John Paul Jones: Yeah, something excites him and he wants to share it!

Arthur: Is that even possible nowadays?

Homme: Yeah, of course. But that Rubik’s Cube, how to solve it fast, I don’t know. No one’s got an amalgam, we can’t put all of our turns together and get it done either. That’s what’s so crazy. Like I said, it’s just that I miss those things. I wish they could co-exist.

John Paul Jones: Well, you’ve got magazines, still.

Homme: They’re barely hanging on.

John Paul Jones: I read The Guardian, and it has a music section every week or every other week, and you know, you can really go through it and find a bit of rock, a bit of classical, a bit of jazz, a bit of new music. Again, though, I trust the opinions of certain writers. Ah, he likes it, I’ll check it out. And then use the internet. [laughs]

Homme: Well to get deeper, which it’s great for. YouTube is fucking amazing. To be able to watch every Fear video…

John Paul Jones: Yeah, if you know what to look for, then the Internet is useful.

Homme: Whatever got filmed makes it on there somehow. Like how to take bacon and make it into a car. [laughter]

Arthur: What’s the most frustrating thing about being in this band?

Homme: Learning some of the songs,. Learning the song “Reptiles” is frustrating. It’s not even that the parts are difficult, it’s that they’re so contrary, there’s so many…where I feel like… [looking at JPJ] You’re a trained organist: that’s five things playing at once! I’m a guitarist, that’s two things.

John Paul Jones: But you’re singing at the same time, I could never do any of that.

Homme: And they both have to be done with feeling, or it’s just not that good. So being able to let both sides of your brain do stuff, that’s been the frustrating part for me.

Arthur: Josh, you go back a long ways with Chris Goss [Masters of Reality, Goon Moon, etc] there’s a weird parallel/connection between you guys, as usual. You’ve both worked with guys from an older generation: you’re working with John, and Chris worked with Ginger Baker [Cream, Blind Faith, etc.] at one point in Masters of Reality —

Homme: Ginger’s the only guy who ever called me ‘boy.’ [laughter] If I may tell a story… [laughs] I was selling pot for a brief moment then. I brought them some weed. They were in the studio, and there was a pool table. And he said, You play pool. I said Yeah. You have pot? I said yeah. He said, Roll us a joint, boy. And I was thinking to myself, [muttering] youmotherfuckerI’mgonna. So we played pool for five bucks a game, and after I’d taken 45 bucks off him, I said, You’re not very good at pool but you’re really stoned…old man. [laughter]

http://www.arthurmag...ooked-vultures/

[ledzep4life]

I like Duffs write up about it. Pretty much says everything that should be said about the band and hell, the music industry as a whole. And the ginger baker story was pretty hilarious. Thanks for the post

[SteveAJones]

CD review: Them Crooked Vultures

By CHRIS SCHULZ - Stuff.co.nz

Last updated 05:00 19/11/2009

WORTH THE HYPE: Them Crooked Vultures' debut is full of stunning blues-inspired swamp-rock.

Are you ready to fall in love? Because all it will take is three minutes of Them Crooked Vultures' debut album to send you head over heels, smitten forever with these new rock superheroes. That's the effect blistering opening track No One Loves Me & Neither Do I is guaranteed to have, as that killer piledriving groove at the three-minute mark proves this "supergroup" - featuring Foo Fighters front man Dave Grohl, Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones and Queens of the Stone Age guru Josh Homme - deserves that over-used title.

It's just one stunning moment from an album full of them. Mostly, Them Crooked Vultures play faultlessly filthy, blues-inspired swamp rock. If you're in a band, hang up your guitar because chances are you will never, ever be this good.

Their self-titled debut - which the band placed on YouTube last week after an early internet leak - is chock-full of gob-smackingly good riffs, Homme's sinister falsetto, Grohl's powerhouse drumming and an electric rhythm section sparked by Jones.

You've probably already heard snippets of Scumbag Blues and New Fang, both of which were released on YouTube as teasers and had fans squealing with delight. Rest assured, both are even better in their entirety.

Elsewhere, there's the furiously rushed rock of Mind Eraser, No Chaser, the bar room blues of Warsaw or the First Breath You Take After You Give Up, the nasty grooves of Reptiles and the Led Zeppelin tones of Caligulove that is so much better than a reunion of that iconic band ever could be.

Then there's the undoubted highlight Elephants, which opens with the same riff played at three different speeds and spends the next six minutes working out a way to include them all in the same song. Like almost every moment of Them Crooked Vultures, it sounds awesome.

A meeting of minds like this is a once-in-a-lifetime thing. Just be glad it happened in your lifetime, and make sure you're at Vector Arena on January 30, ready to fall in love all over again.

http://www.stuff.co....rooked-Vultures

[SteveAJones]

In The News.co.uk

Tuesday, 17, Nov 2009 03:58

Them Crooked Vultures: Them Crooked Vultures

Sony Music, out November 16th.

What's it all about?

Anyone that has heard a Queens of the Stone Age album, or any of Josh Homme's Desert Session recordings, will know exactly what to expect from Them Crooked Vultures. Homme has always been the master of trippy, sprawling riffs that verge on the self-indulgent. Adding a member of Led Zeppelin to the mix was only ever going to multiply that by ten.

Who's it by?

For the benefit of those that have been living on Mars for the last six months, Them Crooked Vultures are made up of stars from three of the biggest bands of the last four decades. Queens of the Stone Age mainman Josh Homme takes guitar and vocal duties, while bassist John Paul Jones reminds everyone there's more to Led Zep than just Plant and Page and jack of all trades Dave Grohl backs it all up on drums.

As an example...

"We're unwanted strangers, exploited and dangerous, unable to hide, or even dream of it." - Elephant

Likelihood of a trip to the Grammys

Industry bigwigs were probably carving the band's name on the awards before Homme and co had even ventured into the recording studio. On name alone it would be no surprise if the Vultures cleaned up, whether they deserve it on merit is an entirely different matter.

What the others say

"For all the echoes of the past, it never once threatens to move the earth in the way Led Zeppelin or Nirvana did." Alexis Petridis, Guardian

"The arrangements are laced with twists in tempo and mood. Nasty riffs and sticky melodies are everywhere, buttered over by the androgynous harmonies that have made Homme a hard-rock anti-hero." Chicago Tribune

So is it any good?

Ah, the dreaded supergroup. These superstar-filled exercises in ego massaging have enjoyed a resurgence in recent years, with the likes of Chickenfoot, Audioslave and Velvet Revolver exploiting the format with varying degrees of success.

Invariably with a supergroup, you'll either get a sublime lesson in songwriting, perfectly crafted thanks to the nous and experience of the individuals that have joined forces, or you'll get a tired old pile of toss that would have been better left in the rehearsal room.

Them Crooked Vultures deliver a little from column A and B.

Throughout the album you can't quite shake the feeling that this is a Queens of the Stone Age B-sides collection. Don't get me wrong, that is still better than most bands' finest work, but it's a little disappointing nevertheless.

In fact, some tracks could do with a little more of a Queens of the Stone Age vibe. Bandoliers for one is begging for Mark Lanegan's whisky-soaked drawl to lift it out of mediocrity.

The swaggering riff and ballsy outro of No One Loves Me and Neither Do I and Warsaw or the First Breath You Take After You Give Up, with its strung-out boogie groove, allude to just what this trio are capable of, but then they go and ruin it with filler like Reptiles and Elephants.

Those pesky Vultures go and save the best for last, with the part disco, part Bowie, part Zeppelin hip-shaking tempo of Gunman being a real diamond among an album predominately filled with cubic zirconias.

On the whole, this is an album in which the abilities of the individuals on show are greater than the entity as a whole. Musically, Homme, Jones and Grohl are all on top form, particularly the latter who sounds as fearsome as ever behind the kit. But, for some reason it doesn't quite click as a unit on several tracks. It's as if the three of them went for a jam, left the recorder rolling and just put out whatever they came up with.

Had this been released by an unknown trio it would receive little fanfare. As it is, prepare yourself for all kinds of hyperbole proclaiming Them Crooked Vultures to be the new superstars of rock.

In fairness, there are two or three stunners on the album and I'm sure they'll be one hell of a live act, but for the most part Them Crooked Vultures just make me pine for a new Queens of the Stone Age album.

6/10

Richard Chamberlain

http://www.inthenews...es-$1340407.htm

[SteveAJones]

18 November 2009

EXCLUSIVE GRUNGEREPORT.NET REVIEW OF THEM CROOKED VULTURES SHOW AT THE WILTERN IN LOS ANGELES

LIVE REVIEW OF THEM CROOKED VULTURES

NOVEMBER 17, 2009 AT THE WILTERN

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA

BY BRETT BUCHANAN OF GRUNGEREPORT.NET

Before I get to the review of the show I think I should first give some quick thoughts on Them Crooked Vultures debut album since I haven't posted an official review. The album is a grower, after several listens I dig the album. When I first listened I kept listening for vocal hooks but as I continue to listen to the record I appreciate it for the great rock record it is. It's not meant to have radio hits, but it's a fantastic album and the best overall record Josh Homme and Dave Grohl have been involved in since 2002's Queens of the Stone Age album Songs for the Deaf. Also before anybody asks why GrungeReport.net is covering Them Crooked Vultures, I'll answer this question yet again. Dave Grohl is the former drummer of Nirvana and Josh Homme was live rhythm guitarist for the Screaming Trees so they have ties to the Grunge movement.

Onto the show, the opening band Mini Mansions were horrible. They acted completely serious the whole set like a pale imitation of Soundgarden, yet they sounded like, how do I put this lightly, pussies. At times they intentionally sang like women and they were just awful, they even switched off on drums. They were at least entertainingly bad, the keyboardist/singer had an interesting moment where he stuck out his tongue in Kiss fashion. Unfortunately I think he was being serious.

Them Crooked Vultures went on at around 9:20PM and kicked off their show with "No One Loves Me & Neither Do I." It was an electric opener and really set the pace. I'm pretty skeptical of supergroups after not really loving the efforts in recent years of now defunct supergroups (Velvet Revolver, Army of Anyone, and Audioslave) so going into seeing this show I didn't know if Josh Homme, John Paul Jones, and Dave Grohl would have on stage chemistry. The first song proved that they did, they lit up the stage and quickly went through their first few songs with little stage banter from Homme and other members. You could tell they were having a great time up there, John Paul Jones had a smile on his face the entire show and Grohl seemed thrilled to be back behind the drum kit. Homme was electric too. I've seen him like twice with Queens of the Stone Age during the Era Vulgaris tour in 2007, and this was by far the best I have ever seen him live. John Paul Jones was also flawless, without a doubt the greatest bassist I have ever seen live.

The encore was the best part of the show to me. Homme mentioned that it was the first time they had ever done an encore as a band. They played a cover of "Warsaw" to kick off the encore and the show ended with jamming that really felt magical. You could really tell they were connecting onstage during those last few minutes, you really had to be there to experience it. This was definitely one of the best concerts I've ever been to, Them Crooked Vultures really bring their songs to life live. The songs seem like they were written and intended to be heard live. Even if you're not a huge fan of the band's debut record, see them live and I think your perspective will change. They are a tight as hell band that do not feel like a thrown together supergroup.

Also "Grunge" related, I spotted two fans wearing Stone Temple Pilots shirts. I also heard a woman a few rows in front of me talking about meeting the guys from Pearl Jam and Alice In Chains. Quite a few Nirvana shirts too. Below are some photos from the show I took with my iPhone, click on the thumbnails to view them. Alain Johannes is the bald gentleman, he is the very talented live rhythm guitarist for Them Crooked Vultures. He also tours with Queens of the Stone Age and he had a very nice improv moment tonight.

Photo Gallery:

http://grungereport....in-los-angeles/

[kirchzep27]

wow what alot of music on this record. i hear two clear take offs on -neil youngs cinnamin girl and rock and roll hoochie coo. on one track i hear a form of acoustic guitar that sounds like -shining in the light in style and then has some kashmir influence. its all mixed up with rhthym changes and such, ver interesting to listen to. there is a driving with the rhthyms that reminds me of industrial type, killing joke sound and style, which jones had on -zooma and when done with a middle eastern style works really well. josh homme has some cool segmented guitar parts in those type songs. he has a cool choppy guitar riff style which fits in real well with the whole vibe of the band. even with the hammering repetive stuff, there is a groove there which jones and grohl achieve really well. vocally homme goes from doorish, to jeff buckley/jack white sounding stuff, punk rock phrasing and his own sound as well. musically i hear a wearing and tearing riff work going on on a song and yet they go into a section on one song that is like genesis like prog hypnotic section. ofcourse this band has a -queens of the stoneage sound too, with rhythm changes and sound, yet its different. there is also some sparing yet cool keyboard vibes from jones, even a little trapled section in one song. very cool stuff, needed to hear some new music and this type of hybrid mixed up sounds are great to hear put together in the context of an interesting band and sound. i hope its not a one off record and they do another record atleast.

[SteveAJones]

Them Crooked Vultures -

Them Crooked Vultures

Josh Bell Las Vegas Weekly Wed, Nov 18, 2009

Put John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin), Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age, Eagles of Death Metal) and Dave Grohl (Nirvana, Foo Fighters) in a band together, and you're bound to grab people's attention. Them Crooked Vultures, the new supergroup featuring those three musicians, has done just that, with old-school rock fans and critics falling all over themselves to declare this the second coming of classic rock 'n' roll.

Them Crooked Vultures' self-titled debut is less that than a mildly entertaining retread of same, with Homme (who handles guitar and vocal duties) clearly taking the lead, although all three members are credited with songwriting. TCV's songs sound very close to Queens of the Stone Age's sludgy retro-rock, which is already heavily Zeppelin-influenced (there's a lot of Cream and The Doors on display here, too). What the songs lack, though, is the power and immediacy of Zeppelin; even Zeppelin's 10-minute epics packed more punch than the meandering, same-sounding songs here, several of which head past seven minutes for no discernible reason.

Grohl's solid power-pop instincts have taken a break as well, although it's a treat to hear his excellent drumming again. This, like a lot of supergroups, is more about three guys getting together and having fun than it is about creating innovative music, and while it's tolerable to listen to, Them Crooked Vultures is definitely less than the sum of its parts.

http://www.lasvegasw...ooked-vultures/

[SteveAJones]

Album review: Them Crooked Vultures have landed

By Chris Richards The Washington Post November 18, 2009

When rock bands swarmed Earth 40 years ago, they seemed otherworldly hirsute tribes clad in kaleidoscopic garb, brandishing their guitars like medieval weapons.

But over time, these mongrel hordes and their misshapen songs assimilated into American culture so seamlessly, they practically vanished into the normalcy of popular music. Today, our guitar heroes reside mostly in video games.

In that sense, supergroup Them Crooked Vultures makes for an evocative throwback, recalling an era when riff-hurling rock troupes felt dangerous. And bizarre. And totally worth listening to.

This is a trans-generational supergroup that's earned its "super." Vultures' singer-guitarist Josh Homme leads Queens of the Stone Age; Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl reprises drummer duties from his days in Nirvana; and bassist John Paul Jones once laid the bedrock for the mighty Led Zeppelin.

The trio does not disappoint. Them Crooked Vultures' self-titled debut is churning with neoclassical rock-and-roll, summoning the heaviest qualities of Jimi Hendrix, Black Sabbath, Cream and Iron Butterfly.

Guitars crunch, drums pummel and songs sprawl for minutes on end, creating a brawny ambiance that approaches unimpeachabililty.

And air-drummers, rejoice! With Them Crooked Vultures, Grohl cements his rep as our greatest living rock percussionist (a fact that makes his nearly 15 years of playing guitar for Foo Fighters really sting).

Jones, who helped forge the sound of heavy metal with former-greatest-living-rock-drummer John Bonham, makes an ideal partner for Grohl, as evidenced on the album's most hulking track, "Elephants." It's a tempestuous tempo-shifter, where the band's death-march riffs break into a stampede, and back again. While his rhythm section toggles between stomping and sprinting, Homme moans:

"We're unwanted strangers / exploited and dangerous / unable to hide, or even dream of it."

The album's core is truly molten. "Scumbag Blues" sits near the center of the track list, all speed and snarl. And just when the tune's riffage couldn't get any more righteous, a Clavinet lick arrives with a delightful, Stevie Wonder-inspired stutter.

The funkiness continues with "Reptiles," reanimating the jitters that Zeppelin achieved in 1971 with "The Crunge." It's a vista that Stone Temple Pilots always threatened to colonize but could never pull off. (They also never had a member of Led Zeppelin playing bass.)

Jones plays a supporting role on this album, but, as with Zeppelin, these towering tunes would surely crumble without him. And while Grohl's backing vocals serve as melodic crab grass, both omnipresent and irrepressible, "Them Crooked Vultures" is largely a souped-up Queens of the Stone Age album, with Homme crooning in the same snooty, disaffected sneer that's bedraggled his previous work. The guy sounds as if he wears a monocle into the recording booth.

But that's OK. Even vocalizing at half-throttle, he can't suppress the instrumental heft that he and his bandmates generate a din that deserves to flood from your speakers at the highest volume tolerable. If you have a home stereo that can reach 100 decibels and neighbors who won't call the cops, put away the earbuds. This is an album that works best when it's actually shaking the air molecules of your personal living space.

http://www.delawareo...res-have-landed

[SteveAJones]

Consequence of Sound.com

Album Review: Them Crooked Vultures - Them Crooked Vultures

By Maria Muriel on November 18th, 2009

Rating:

In this day and age, few things come around that make us stir from head to toe with glee and anticipation. One of these things was the announcement of the new rock super ensemble that is Them Crooked Vultures, a tripod of giants with the force of three generations of rock 'n' roll. I'm going to assume a number of people know by now, but all the same, the Vultures are: badass Josh Homme from Queens of the Stone Age on guitar, the Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl going back to his drum set, and none other than John Paul Jones from Led Zeppelin to tie it all down on the bass front. Their debut album, Them Crooked Vultures, has hit our timpani, and the shelves on the way.

What can you expect from a lineup such as this? Well, at times they sound like Zeppelin, and at times they sound like Zeppelin mixed with Queens of the Stone Age. Pretty simple, no? It's needless to say that there's a considerable amount of thunder on this record, powered by Grohl's confident beating and Homme's shameless way of channeling Jimmy Page while simultaneously sprinkling some of his very own cold-blooded strum on top. Yes, the song is "Reptiles", and it is but one of the many instances when the Vultures "summon the spirit of Zep", as Rolling Stone puts it.

It's not like they set out to recreate all Zeppelin masterpieces, though. Them Crooked Vultures is an entirely new, unprecedented project, not to be confused nor dangerously associated with any of the members' high-profile musical histories.

…Nah, it's Dave Grohl and Josh Homme jamming with John Paul Jones!

And that's really the best way to sum it all up. I mean, just because they too hold their own celebrity statuses and accomplishments does not mean they were not psyched to make a record with Jones, who brought us "Kashmir" and "No Quarter" and "Black Dog", to cut the list short.

Celebrity status aside, however, the trio cooks up a blend of demonically sly licks, heavy-pedal forward trudging drums, and bass lines that exude calm mastery. "Nobody Loves Me And Neither Do I" kicks off the titanic hard rock mega-jam with Grohl's precise, determined beats leading into Homme's seductive vocalscoupled with his teasingly strange lyrics, a key instrument of this album's appeal. The elemental pieces of this sound are their uniformly arranged hooks, which produce a full, wholesome energy; and their musical attitude, screaming unrefined hard rockin' outlaw (see: "New Fang"). After a few good listens, it's evident that Grohl carries the torch of power for the group, setting down some hard, strong crashes and rides like the great drummer that he is. I couldn't help but wonder just how tired he would be after playing all 13 tracks back to back.

On "Dead End Friends", they probably sound their most original, introducing the song with ghoul-like guitars and following with some pretty alarming solos. The best off this one, though, is in "Elephants". It starts out with, you guessed it, a Zeppelin sound, but quickly grows into a spinning-mad jumble with a few stops on the psychedelic riff express. "Scumbag Blues" gives room for Jones to bring forward his keyboard skills and superimpose them onto his cool bass, while Grohl keeps the pace for Homme's well-deserved guitar-sturbation. The aptly-named "Interlude With Ludes" comes flowing in at just the right time, since 45 minutes of hard-stomping mammoth-led rock 'n' roll can get a bit exhausting. This track unleashes a more freaky side of the Vultures, and caters to the need of almost all experienced rock musicians to go a little Eastern in sound. The pace then picks up again with "Warsaw or the First Breath You Take After You Give Up", which for a split-second, oddly reminded me of Portugal. The Man live, but it was just that split-second that is now lost in all the reverberating riffs and pummeling bass pedal kicks that followed.

The band is unlikely to be permanent, but it's really an outstanding collaboration, and definitely one to be remembered. The only problem is that, from the get-go, you knew this stuff was going to be good. That allows for plenty of bias in expectation, and you wouldn't want to like a record before you hear it just because it carries some impressive names, would you? Just kidding. After all, it is Dave Grohl and Josh Homme jamming with John Paul Jones.

http://consequenceof...ooked-vultures/