Them Crooked Vultures riff it up old school

Just when you thought all the monster heavy rock riffs had been written, Them Crooked Vultures – the Homme, Jones, Grohl supergroup/power trio – has delivered a self titled 13-track, hour+ collection of monster riffs that would have sounded at home on any of the recordings of Jones’ former supergroup, Led Zeppelin.

Fans of Zep and Queens of the Stone Age (Homme’s main gig) will hear a lot to like on this album. In fact, Them Crooked Vultures (let’s call them TCV for short) sound exactly like what you’d imagine a merging of both bands would sound like. All three musicians are doing what they do best, particularly Grohl who despite his successes fronting the Foo Fighters, really belongs behind a kit. Thankfully, there is little resembling the Foo Fighters on this album.

Aside from the easy comparisons to Zep and Queens (anything Homme touches will get that Queens sound, just listen to the Arctic Monkeys’ Humbug, which he produced) the most apt comparison I can make is to Cream, another super power trio that worked primarily in heavy duty rock riffs that had more in common with Godzilla steamrolling Tokyo than they did to the traditional blues from which they cribbed.

Cream’s virtues are largely the same as TCV's. All the members can play, though Homme is nowhere near as flashy an ax man as Slow Hand – that kind of playing is even more out of fashion than the monster riff. Homme’s vocals recall Jack Bruce a lot more than Robert Plant. And the material -- though TCM’s is lyrically darker in keeping with the times -- has an overall psychedelic flavor.

The strongest tracks on TCV get their strength from these virtues. The opening track, “No One Loves Me & Neither Do I,” begins with a very Zep-sounding, bouncy riff before the volume and intensity are cranked up to 11 mid song and the riff goes through some mind-numbing shifts that have to be heard to be believed. The same is true for “Elephants,” a nearly 7 minute romp that rolls out three huge tempo changes before any singing even begins.

Unfortunately, TCV shares Cream’s weaknesses. They seem so enamored of their riffage that some tracks go on for way too long. They are beyond tedious… they are nearly hypnotic. The nearly 8-minute “Warsaw or the First Breath You Take Before You Give Up” is interesting enough (not to mention an awesome song title), but about four minutes in, the track descends into some Homme guitar noodling before resolving into an atmospheric section some 6 minutes in. By then you've completely forgotten what you’re listening to.

Overall, Them Crooked Vultures is a good album by an excellent band. There are no stinkers here. Even though some are forgettable, every song has its merits, but I wonder what this might have been like had it been edited by a few tracks and 15 to 20 minutes (Eliminating the 7:30-minute closing track "Spinning in Daffodils" would have solved half the problem). A little focus might have made TCV an album that’s not just good but really superb. My guess is that a live recording by these guys would be even better.