But for your self-referential comment that you might not be the most informed person to comment on the album, your opinion, much like the others above is of the same value.

Them Crooked Vultures doesn’t make music for future reviews, instead as with every band, they’re more interested in hearing the opinions of those listeners who have taken the time out to get into their work.

I asked you to make comment on the TCV album because you’ve always been a presence following our music writing for a while now, and thought it be great to have you share your opinion with us.

I for one enjoyed the debate which your article inspired, barring those inflammatory remarks which had more to do with your ability to write a review than the review’s content itself.

Before I get into that I should mention that I didn’t volunteer to review the album. In fact, writing music reviews is something I had never even considered doing. After I had tweeted that I liked the album, Vincent asked if I would write a review for MoralFibre. I said that I was no writer but that I would try and put something together that evening, neglecting to mention that I’m no student of music.

So comes that evening and I have to produce something as promised. My review starts off as “I don’t know much about music, but I know what I like and I like this album.” Obviously I can’t just send this in so I wonder how I’m going to flesh it out. After looking around the net at some other reviews I see that many of them are not really looking at the music but are writing the band of as just another supergroup. Given my lack of musical knowledge I don’t really know the strengths of the musicians involved and considering a supergroup to be composed of people I know to be really huge stars I decide to use the angle that these guys are not well known to me in their own rights, so I would hardly call them a supergroup. But I also suggest that they should not be judged on the strength of a label in any case. Add a bit of waffle around some of the influences I hear in the music; end of with a fleshing out of the idea that I like the album and think readers might like it too, and I’m done. Voila, a “review” that I send off to Vincent, thinking he’s never going to want to post this rubbish. But he does and not too surprisingly it elicits several tirades from people that might take themselves just a tiny bit too seriously.

So, what did I learn. I learned that I should just say no in future when I’m asked to write on a subject I don’t think I’m particularly knowledgable in.

Amidst this anal retentive debate going on here, can someone please write an actual critical review of this album please? My opinion is that it is not that much of a departure from anything that the individual members have created or been involved in before. For sure, Homme knows how to write a riff that gets the adrenaline flowing, Grohl knows how to get the foot tapping and head banging, and Jones is more than capable of keeping it all together, but, have we not heard variations of this music before? Have we not heard Homme croon in the semi-hushed and abrasive liquid metal (paradox I know) voice of his before? Have we not heard Grohl smack the snare and kick with such fervour and dedication in syncopated rhythms and untempered stability before? And to be honest, amidst the predictability, Jones does little to redeem the slight variation on what the members have been known for.

My verdict, the album is a solid 1 or 2 listens. By track 4 (Dead End Friends) you have heard the potential of the rest of the album and it starts to become an homage to the collective member’s previous incarnations in other bands. Not a bad thing, there is solid groundwork here, but a design that is quirky but timeless or intriguing it is not.

There is not enough new going on here to justify the member’s talents. Whilst this album will be great in the car cranked up to 11 driving to your mate’s house party 20 minutes away, it is not a classic or a redefinition of the genre, it is simply the sum of its parts, nothing greater.

1. Rick Rubin played guitar in a punk band called ‘The Pricks’ when he was in highschool, then later in ‘Hose’ before he moved over to hip hop production (Thanks Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Rubin)

2. I told you my opinion was more valid than Rick Rubin’s? Was I drunk?

3. Contrary to your comment, Steve actually liked the album (see review above)

4. I’m not ‘giving music marks’ I’m giving this review marks, bad ones, because I think that Steve, like millions of other people writing on the internet, is unfamilliar with his subject matter.

His opinions are his and as such must be respected and valued, PROVIDED he can back them up.

Otherwise it’s like de-evolving back to the nursery school playground – ‘This album is nice.’

‘Why?’

‘Because I said so.’

Awesome!

Firstly, do you currently, or have you ever played a musical instrument?

If yes, have you played in a band, written your own material and played live gigs (doesn’t matter if they sucked, all of my gigs sucked, but everyone’s a critic right?).

If you’ve answered yes to all these questions, we’re doing well, but we’re not out the woods yet.

You’ve written a review for which you admit to having done basically no research, which I’m sorry to say, doesn’t lend you much credibility.

And yes, I realise that many people out there reading this are probably in exactly the same situation you are, ie. they have no clue about the musical elements or history that has come together in a supergroup like Them Crooked Vultures, but your review is not helping this in any way.

Also, and I’m sorry but I’m going to get personal here, Dave Grohl is not a musical icon to you? His contributions to Nirvana never stood out in your mind? Are you aware that Cobain himself described Grohl as ‘a fucking metronome’ and one of the best drummers to ever play?

Grohl is a God. There is hardly a musician out there who is as accomplished as a drummer, guitarist and vocalist as Grohl. LISTEN to his work, ALL of it, and I guarantee you your opinion of Grohl will change.

People said Foo Fighters would NEVER work, they said Grohl was just cashing in on Nirvana’s fame and he was a total sell out for doing so, but six studio albums later, Grohl is still capable of writing awesome and inspiring rock music that is consistantly good.

I URGE you, PLEASE to listen to the latest album, ‘Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace’ and really let it sink it because it’s an excellent album and very succintly proves my point that Dave Grohl is a musical genius.

Once you’ve done this, I’d urge you to do the same with both Queens Of The Stone Age and Homme’s other side project, Eagles Of Death Metal. Homme and Grohl are cut from the same cloth, Homme is also a musician who plays guitar, drums and sings and writes dark, sexy, dirty rock music that makes no apologies, nor does it make any attempts whatsoever to appeal to the masses, which, these days, is a welcome relief from the other pop-slop that radios insist on bludgeoning us with.

As for John Paul Jones, he’s a dinosaur man! He’s a T-Rex! When he gets on that bass guitar he’s 50ft tall, his riffs were the meat on the bones of everything Zepplin did. Yes, it does take a specific ear to really hear and appreciate what bass guitarists actually do in a band, but re-listen to your Zepplin collection when you get a chance and focus on what Jones is doing. You can feel his basslines in your guts.

So yeah, bottom line is I don’t think you were qualified to write this review.

The primary goal of any review should be to educate your readers about the subject matter, engage with them and get them inspired to go out there and listen, really LISTEN to music because it is the only art form that is able to capture and communicate emotions and ideas without ramming them down your throat through sensory overload like film and TV does.

And because of that it is my belief, and has been for a good number of years, that more than religion, more than politics, more than self-help gurus and talk show hosts, it is MUSIC that will save us.