Queens of the Stone Age
(Interscope)
When QOTSA's sophomore set emerged in the summer of 2000, it tore through the tepid, sorry post-grunge hard rock landscape like a mushroom cloud of sheer quality. Back then it was Josh Homme and his soon-to-be-former partner in crime Nick Oliveri behind the wheel of this Kyuss offshoot, and the duo's aptitudes in crafting the ultimate fusion of power pop hooks and stoner metal sensibilities (sinsemilla?) on tunes like "The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret" and "Leg of Lamb" helped to make Rated R the Queens' finest hour, even a decade after the fact.
In celebration of the album's 10 year anniversary comes this deluxe edition, which contains a killer bonus disc featuring rare b-sides, including the Carly Simon goof "You're So Vague" and covers of Romeo Void's "Never Say Never" and the Kinks' "Who'll Be The Next In Line," plus a slew of live cuts from the band's memorable performance at the Y2K Reading Festival, among them three songs ("Regular John", "Avon" and "You Can't Quit Me Baby") originally appearing on their underrated eponymous debut.
DOWNLOAD: "The Lost Art of Keeping A Secret," "Feel Good Hit of the Summer" (live) RON HART
