Them Crooked Vultures (album)

Last updated
Them Crooked Vultures
ThemCrookedVulturesCover.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedNovember 13, 2009 (2009-11-13)
RecordedJanuary – August 2009
StudioPink Duck Studios (Burbank, California)
Chalice Studios (Hollywood, California)
Genre
Length66:22
Label
Producer Them Crooked Vultures
Singles from Them Crooked Vultures
  1. "New Fang"
    Released: October 26, 2009
  2. "Mind Eraser, No Chaser"
    Released: November 3, 2009

Them Crooked Vultures is the only studio album by American rock supergroup Them Crooked Vultures. It was released on November 13, 2009. The first single from the album, "New Fang", was released on October 26, 2009, followed by "Mind Eraser, No Chaser" on November 3. The album debuted at number 12 on the Billboard 200, selling 70,000 units in the US in its first week. [1] [2]

Contents

Release history

The first single from the album, "New Fang", was released on October 26, 2009. [3] On November 3, 2009, they released their second single, via free download on iTunes, entitled "Mind Eraser, No Chaser". "Dead End Friends" was released as a promotional single on the same day as the album's release.

The album was first released on November 13, 2009, in Ireland, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and Australia. It was then released by DGC/Interscope [4] in the United States on November 17, 2009; [3] it was released in the United Kingdom by Columbia a day earlier. [4] Prior to release, the album could be viewed on the band's YouTube channel.

The song "Scumbag Blues" was released as a playable track on the 2010 video games Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock and Gran Turismo 5 , while "Dead End Friends" is playable in Rock Band 3 and featured in Skate 3 .

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.3/10 [5]
Metacritic 75/100 [6]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [7]
The A.V. Club B+ [8]
Chicago Tribune Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [9]
Entertainment Weekly B+ [10]
The Guardian Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [11]
The Independent Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [12]
MSN Music (Consumer Guide)B− [13]
Pitchfork 6.2/10 [14]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [15]
The Times Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [16]

The album received a Metascore of 75 from review aggregator Metacritic, based on 23 critics, indicating generally favorable reviews. [6] Rhapsody deemed it the 19th best album of 2009. [17] Chicago Tribune reviewer Greg Kot was particularly complimentary of the album, giving it a rating of 3.5/4, he said "Nasty riffs and sticky melodies are everywhere". He also praised multi-instrumentalist John Paul Jones, saying his "mastery of texture, whether on funky Clavinet for 'Scumbag Blues,' classical piano on 'Spinning in Daffodils' or slide guitar for 'Reptiles,' is the band's secret weapon". [9]

The A.V. Club's Steven Hyden said the group's album "doesn’t equal the considerable awesomeness of its ancestors (the aforementioned Led Zeppelin, Nirvana and Queens of the Stone Age); it sounds like a second-tier Queens Of The Stone Age record", and that it "could have fit comfortably under Homme’s usual banner". He did however, commend it for being "a hell of a lot of fun" and awarded it a B+, adding "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." [8]

David Quantick of BBC gave the album a highly favorable review saying "Their debut album is very good indeed. Released, rather oddly, at virtually the same time as Foo Fighters' new greatest hits collection, this album sounds by and large like QOTSA, as Homme sings and plays guitar, but with – unsurprisingly really Zeppelin-esque touches. From 'Scumbag Blues', which could have fitted loudly on the second Zep’ album, to the superb single 'No One Loves Me & Neither Do I', which is a distant cousin to 'Trampled Under Foot', this is a proper rock album that's very aware of its roots." [18]

Track listing

All tracks are written by and produced by Them Crooked Vultures.

No.TitleLength
1."No One Loves Me & Neither Do I"5:10
2."Mind Eraser, No Chaser"4:07
3."New Fang"3:49
4."Dead End Friends"3:15
5."Elephants"6:50
6."Scumbag Blues"4:26
7."Bandoliers"5:42
8."Reptiles"4:16
9."Interlude with Ludes"3:45
10."Warsaw or the First Breath You Take After You Give Up"7:50
11."Caligulove"4:55
12."Gunman"4:45
13."Spinning in Daffodils"7:28
iTunes bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
14."No One Loves Me & Neither Do I" (Live)5:46
15."Gunman" (Live) (pre-order only)4:59
2010 Japanese deluxe edition bonus CD: Live from Sydney
No.TitleLength
1."No One Loves Me & Neither Do I"5:55
2."Dead End Friends"3:34
3."Scumbag Blues"7:50
4."Elephants"7:14
5."HWY 1"5:56

Personnel

Them Crooked Vultures

Production personnel

Additional personnel

Chart positions

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA) [52] Gold35,000^
Canada (Music Canada) [53] Platinum80,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ) [54] Gold7,500^
United Kingdom (BPI) [55] Gold100,000*

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

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