R

1	Feel Good Hit of the Summer 2:43
2	The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret 3:36
3	Leg of Lamb 2:48
4	Auto Pilot 4:01
5	Better Living Through Chemistry 5:49
6	Monsters in the Parasol 3:27
7	Quick and to the Pointless 1:42
8	In the Fade 4:25
9	Tension Head 2:52
10	Lightning Song 2:07
11	I Think I Lost My Headache 8:40

Barnes & Noble

Back in the '70s, it was possible to look at Black Sabbath, Hawkwind, and the rest of the bands that so clearly influenced Queens of the Stone Age and reckon that if they had brains, they'd really be dangerous. Well, by adding a heaping helping of gray matter to that road-tested formula of heads-down, no-nonsense, mindless boogie, these desert dervishes -- masterminded by former Kyuss leader Josh Homme -- prove that theory to be true. Alternating between slowly-creeping psychedelic numbers such as the dizzying "Better Living Through Chemistry" and adrenalized, post-MC5 thrashers like "Quick and to the Pointless," Homme and his henchmen create a sense of palpable danger, leavened by a sly, dark sense of humor. That latter element comes to the fore on the wry "The Feel Good Hit of the Summer," in which Homme runs through a list of his favorite controlled substances with the aplomb of a bistro waiter ticking off the day's specials. Rife with surreal interludes and space-rock effects, R isn't as crushingly heavy as the Queens' debut. But never fear, you won't be mistaking it for the new Jimmy Buffett disc. David Sprague

All Music Guide

The second Queens of the Stone Age album, R (as in the movie rating; its title was changed from II at the last minute before release), makes its stoner rock affiliations clear right from the opening track. The lyrics of "Feel Good Hit of the Summer" consist entirely of a one-line list of recreational drugs that Josh Homme rattles off over and over, a gag that gets pretty tiresome by the end of the song (and certainly doesn't need the reprise that follows "In the Fade"). Fortunately, the rest of the material is up to snuff. R is mellower, trippier, and more arranged than its predecessor, making its point through warm fuzz-guitar tones, ethereal harmonies, vibraphones, horns, and even the odd steel drum. That might alienate listeners who have come to expect a crunchier guitar attack, but even though it's not really aggro, R is still far heavier than the garage punk and grunge that inform much of the record. It's still got the vaunted Arizona-desert vibes of Kyuss, but it evokes a more relaxed, spacious, twilight feel, as opposed to a high-noon meltdown. Mark Lanegan and Barrett Martin of the Screaming Trees both appear on multiple tracks, and their band's psychedelic grunge -- in its warmer, less noisy moments -- is actually not a bad point of comparison. Longtime Kyuss fans might be disappointed at the relative lack of heaviness, but R's direction was hinted at on the first QOTSA album, and Homme's experimentation really opens up the band's sound, pointing to exciting new directions for heavy guitar rock in the new millennium. Steve Huey