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[Thrillho]

Oh, the hilarity. So, after a shit-ton of procrastinating I finally bought Blues For The Red Sun by Kyuss. And it's pretty damn good, I love listening to it, but I have two thoughts - one, the production is complete mud. I mean I know that Homme's guitar tone is murky at the best of times, but on QOTSA records it at least cut through the mix. On Kyuss you can only just tell it's even there.

Secondly... I hate the vocalist.

Maybe I need to hear more of their CDs, but it seems to me like their vocalist - all I can think is James Hetfield when I'm listening to him - has virtually no variation other than high-pitched screaming. Does he grow on you? Or are do you guys disagree? Or better yet, does he show more of a variety on other albums?

[a pack of wolves]

The muddiness is a part of it really, this is stoner rock after all. Being all fuzzed out goes with the territory, if everything was crisply produced it would sound terrible to me. As for John Garcia, his vocals don't change much. The only problem I ever had was how laughable the lyrics are, but that entertains me more than it irritates.

Maybe you should try ...And The Circus Leaves Town. Welcome To Sky Valley is the better record I think but given the reasons you have for not being sold on Blues For The Red Sun you might find that one more enjoyable.

[onewheelwizzard]

"Blues for the Red Sun" was the first album that Chris Goss produced and, in my opinion, the production is almost perfect (I prefer "Sky Valley" but only just).  Josh ran his guitar through a bass amp for a reason, and Blues was the first time the producer caught on to it.  Chris Goss produced Kyuss's next two albums as well ... if you listen to the first album, "Wretch," you come to understand why bringing him on board was so key.  The downtuned syrupy guitar tone was entirely intentional.

As for the vocals, they do start diversifying over the next couple albums, but that doesn't necessarily mean you'll like John Garcia any more when he's not doing his angry growl.  I don't know where you're getting "high-pitched screaming" from ... I don't think anything he's ever done could be described as either "high-pitched" or "screaming" ... but I do understand why he turns some listeners off.  It grew on me quite a bit, though, and I find it really hard to imagine anyone else doing half as good a job of singing Kyuss songs.

[onewheelwizzard]

To be honest "Blues for the Red Sun" is probably the album that you need to be the most into Kyuss in order to enjoy.  "...and the Circus Leaves Town" is more accessible, and "Welcome to Sky Valley" is at least more polished and has a more diverse sound.  "Blues" is sorta the Kyuss purist's album more than the other two.  I'd recommend coming back to it after listening to their later work.

[De_El]

Really? See, I was given to understand that Blues for the Red Sun was +generally thought of as their best album. Also: I am afraid to get any more Kyuss because BftRS is so good I'm afraid of being disappointed.

[onewheelwizzard]

It depends who you ask.  I will personally tout "Sky Valley" as not only their best album but the best album to come out of that entire decade.  But then, I might just be gay for Scott Reeder, who replaced Nick Oliveri on bass after "Blues."  If you like "Blues" you are doing yourself a huge disservice to not pick up the next two ... "Circus" might fall a little flat after listening to the others, but it's still fucking rock action.  "Sky Valley" is simply perfect.

[est]

Kyuss were my favourite band for a very long time during my late teens early twenties.  Blues for the Red Sun is very good, but Sky Valley is absolutely awesome.  One of those albums I can put on, listen to all the way through and enjoy every bit, which is pretty rare for me.

[Thrillho]

Joe is right. The production is great. His vocals aren't high pitched or screaming.

This thread might as well be titled "I haven't listened to this album enough yet". I think this record took me about a year or something. Maybe even put it away and try again in two years. I'm not being flippant here, I've done this with hundreds of records over the years. Don't sweat it if it doesn't click now, it might do later on down the road.

This tends to work for me on occasion too. I never throw out or sell records any more, that'd be ridiculous. My CDs are my children, dammit.

High-pitched screaming may well be the wrong choice of phrasing, but he's no baritone and doesn't exactly sound classically trained.

[amok]

To be honest "Blues for the Red Sun" is probably the album that you need to be the most into Lyuss in order to enjoy.

Yeah, I'd definitely agree with that. Sky Valley and Circus are instantly awesome but Blues takes some effort and preset appreciation of the band.

I was massive on these guys a couple years ago, might have to dig out my copy of Wretch again.

[onewheelwizzard]

Wretch makes them sound like a completely different band.  I mean, it's a good album, but the production on it removes a lot of the impact that those songs otherwise would have.

[est]

That's strange.  I hated Wretch when I was listening to Kyuss a lot.  I thought it sounded juvenile.  I also disliked Circus for some reason.  I might have to dig my cds out and take another listen.

[onewheelwizzard]

I can definitely see what made you think that.  I felt that way about it for a while too (especially after songs like "Big Bikes" and "Son of a Bitch.")  But "Hwy 74 (The Beginning of What's About to Happen)," "I'm Not," and "Stage III" totally make up for it.  I admit to skipping through certain songs on occasion, but it's still a pretty rockin' album all told.

You sorta have to forgive them a bit for having been in high school when they made the album.

[De_El]

It's probably not necessary, but I felt ungracious not saying thank you for uploading Sky Valley. It is indeed hella good.

[onewheelwizzard]

the last split between them and the Queens was masterful.

Quoted for a ton of truth.  Oh man.  Some of the best work that either band has put out.

[Spluff]

Ooh, I'd forgotten about the Kyuss/Queens split EP. It's the only Kyuss recording I don't have at the moment, apart from their early Sons of Kyuss release.

Also, I guess the vocals are a matter of taste. In my opinion, Garcia is one of the best vocalists in the rock genre - he sets a standard I wish more bands would follow. Sure, it's not appropriate for most indie rock, but indie rock is pretty much just pop anyway.

[amok]

I admit to skipping through certain songs on occasion, but it's still a pretty rockin' album all told.

Yeah, this is my approach. There's a few throwaway songs but when it's good it's really good.

Not as consistent as 'classic' Kyuss but jesus, that first track!

And the Queens split is fantastic, as is the one they did with Beaver. Actually I don't think there's any bad releases.

[onewheelwizzard]

I'm pretty sure it was QOTSA who did the split with Beaver.  It had "These Aren't The Droids You're Looking For" and "The Bronze" on it, if I remember correctly.

The only subpar Kyuss release I can think of was the best-of, "Muchas Gracias."  It didn't even offer subpar music ... all the songs on it are obviously pretty damn awesome, particularly the otherwise-unreleased opening track "Un Sandpiper."  It was just a poorly constructed compilation.  It was pretty much just B-sides, unreleased tracks, and live recordings, with a few classics in between.  It couldn't decide whether it wanted to be a "B-sides and rarities" disc or a "best-of" disc, and it ended up not really serving either purpose very well.

It's still worth your money, though, just for "Un Sandpiper," "Shine," "A Day Early and a Dollar Extra," and "Mudfly."

[amok]

Oh yeah, oops. Got my wires crossed there.

[onewheelwizzard]

So I threw on the Sons of Kyuss album and I realized that it belongs on the Mediafire thread.  Will be upped in a couple minutes.

[Alex C]

Holy shit, thanks. Sons of Kyuss is about their only stuff I know of that I haven't heard much of.

[Thrillho]

Sure, it's not appropriate for most indie rock, but indie rock is pretty much just pop anyway.

It's probably not that suitable for a Notorious B.I.G. album either. Seriously, where the fuck did that come from?

As for the album, I never said I'd stopped listening to it - quite the opposite, I've played it quite a few times. But it's going to take a while to get into. I plan on buying some of the others and seeing if I can get into them a bit more. But it may well be one of these records where I'm always wishing they'd give me the master tapes so I can remix it.

[Spluff]

Sure, it's not appropriate for most indie rock, but indie rock is pretty much just pop anyway.

It's probably not that suitable for a Notorious B.I.G. album either. Seriously, where the fuck did that come from?

I said it was a good 'rock' voice. But maybe not for indie 'rock'. Do you see the connection? Try hard, it'll come to you.

[Thrillho]

You're a bit of a twat, aren't you? You'll fit in well.

My point was that saying he didn't fit into indie rock was a fairly random comment to make - you could've just commented that he wouldn't fit into any other genre under the sun.

[Alex C]

I dunno, I've always felt like it depends a lot on your musical background whether Sky Valley or BftRS is more "accessible". I feel personally that Sky Valley is most accessible in retrospect; drone and post rock has really taken off and become established since then, after all. Long and vaguely psychedelic hushed interludes sandwiched by intense passages is relatively common now, whereas I remember when I first encountered Kyuss it was how damned earth shaking and immediate they were that gave me a place to start. For example, Green Machine isn't their best song, but it sure as hell isn't confusing; it exists to rock out in the most uncomplicated terms possible, and I could easily imagine Beavis and Butthead headbanging to it. I listen to Sky Valley more often since it's more varied than its predecessor, but I think I respond more strongly to BftRS on a purely visceral level.

[Spluff]

I think Whipstich summed up my thoughts on that matter nicely, Sky Valley is more accessible if your coming from a drone/post-rock-esque background, whereas BftRS is probably more accessible if your coming from a rock or a metal background. I should throw in a mention for ...Circus though, which I feel is probably the most generally accessible and is easily on par with the other albums, quality wise (though most people don't seem to agree with me there).

You're a bit of a twat, aren't you? You'll fit in well.

My point was that saying he didn't fit into indie rock was a fairly random comment to make - you could've just commented that he wouldn't fit into any other genre under the sun.

Yes, I understood your point. I see this isn't going to go anywhere, as you've misunderstood mine.

[Caspian]

Oh, the hilarity. So, after a shit-ton of procrastinating I finally bought Blues For The Red Sun by Kyuss. And it's pretty damn good, I love listening to it, but I have two thoughts - one, the production is complete mud. I mean I know that Homme's guitar tone is murky at the best of times, but on QOTSA records it at least cut through the mix. On Kyuss you can only just tell it's even there.

Secondly... I hate the vocalist.

Maybe I need to hear more of their CDs, but it seems to me like their vocalist - all I can think is James Hetfield when I'm listening to him - has virtually no variation other than high-pitched screaming. Does he grow on you? Or are do you guys disagree? Or better yet, does he show more of a variety on other albums?

..Typically, I think comparing someone to James Hetfield is a massive compliment. (well, Hetfield off the AJFA- Garage albums). And the production is meant to be really bassy. The album kicks ass, really, and if you're complaining about muddy production then you're kinda missing the point.

[Thrillho]

There's muddy and there's muddy. I mix both live and recordings, and so the mix is one of the first things I'll notice. It's not missing the point, it's an analysis I'll make of anything I listen to.

[Alex C]

I know where DynamiteKid is coming from here, although I rather like Blues for the Red Sun's production. I know I for one would have greatly appreciated a more traditional approach to QOTSA's Songs For the Deaf, an album which playfully conveys their sound as if it were being played over AM radio. Which you know, would maybe have been fine for a track or two or when married to the right song, but the bottom line is after a while everything kind of sounds the same and honestly, the album becomes quite hard to listen to all the way through, at least for me anyway. You can do something on purpose, but sadly intent isn't enough to guarantee that it was a good idea in the first place, and I must admit to wondering sometimes how good the album would sound if it was presented just a tiny bit differently.

[roulettescars]

You want funny lyrics? Listen to "Big Bikes" from Wretch.

"I want pussy from a fat bitch, on a big bike yea."

[onewheelwizzard]

I think it's "bad bitch."