Queens of the Stone Age - Rated X (2nd pressing)

Man, you are having some sort of troubles! I've always loved Josh Hommes & QOTSA's work but they really need to get hold of a decent producer: unfortunately they have great music hidden under a dense sludge..... just my opinion
P.s you shouldn't have to put up with that!

 

I'd love to see a properly done QOTSA vinyl box set. "Songs For The Deaf" is hideously expensive to find and the only way I can listen to the CD is in the car. Lots of problems were reported with the recent vinyl of "...Like Clockwork" in addition to "Rated X". My copy of LC is a little noisy but I'd rather deal with that than what must be on the CD.

 

I'd love to see a properly done QOTSA vinyl box set. "Songs For The Deaf" is hideously expensive to find and the only way I can listen to the CD is in the car. Lots of problems were reported with the recent vinyl of "...Like Clockwork" in addition to "Rated X". My copy of LC is a little noisy but I'd rather deal with that than what must be on the CD.

 

Agreed!

You're right, the music is fantastic! I'm just going to have to be fine with the CDs.

 

I'm glad it's not just me.

You're right, a vinyl box would be great. I actually ended up being ok with LC, when it tracked ok even though it was pretty warped. "Rated X" is flat, I thought I was in the clear. In this case, I'll be forced to listen to the cd, it's so noisy.

That Songs For The Deaf record is ridiculous trying to buy. Trying to find a copy that's not a bootleg is impossible. I can't believe how many boots there are of this record. Those even cost a lot! I gave up. Just listening to the cd.

Are there other titles, besides an original SFTD, that are nice with no problems?

 

This "Rated X" reissue is embarrassing for all concerned. The original sounds great though so maybe you might hunt for that.

 

I have Queens of the Stone Age S/T Reissue REK001 (2011) that sounds great. I have both pressings of Rated X. The first pressing (000 000-0) sounds great. The second pressing/reissue of X (490 864-1) I want to melt it and make an ashtray out of it; it's the worst sounding record I own. I also have Lullabies To Paralyze that was released by Music On Vinyl (MOVLP250) that is the nicest QOTSA vinyl out of them all. I wish Music On Vinyl would reissue Songs For The Deaf too because like people have said that is impossible to find and even the bootlegs cost a fortune. I will admit I have one of the bootleg versions of SFTD and it actually sounds really good. But if you are reading this because you are considering buying the reissue of Rated X DON'T BOTHER.

 

I have never read Homme declare himself an audiophile. I do know that he and Chris Goss, a frequent collaborator/producer, are renowned for their creative innovation in production and songwriting. I think that this reputation for being innovative in their creative craft would lead one to believe that they would likewise show the same care toward the sonics of their music. To the ear of a Hoffmanite they obviously do not and use too much compression. This misstep seems all too common these days which has been endlessly pointed out on this forum.

I have the 000 000-0 1st pressing of Rated X. It sounds better than the cd, but not by much. It's too bad this vinyl release was so haphazardly put together. It seems all the care went to the album art. I thought the there were much better b-side material they could have included with the vinyl which DID make it onto the cd version. Come to think of it us vinyl buyers did not even get the live material the cd buyers got but we paid considerably more...again all too common.

Here is an interesting article regarding how Queens record with one of there other frequent producers, Joe Barressi (apparently they have several different formats they mixdown to (although I didn't see 192kbps mp3 in the article which seems to be the source for the 2nd press for Rated R)):
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jul05/articles/qotsa.htm

I will be on the lookout for the much vaunted vinyl edition of Songs for the Deaf!

 

I agree MOV did a good job with the vinyl edition of Lullabies to Paralyze. Too bad they couldn't include Infinity as a b-side like on the original Ant Acid release.

 

I picked up a shrink wrapped copy of this in Amsterdam last week. From previous descriptions I expected it to sound like cr*p, but it didn't.
Looking at the deadwax, it appears that GZVinyl recut this one?

The sleeve looks identical to what was described as the "2nd pressing":
Sticker is printed on the cover
Spine Reads: 490 864-1 QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE FEEL GOOD HIT OF THE SUMMER INTERSCOPE RECORDS
Barcode: Printed in the white box.
Record Label stickers have the "X" on both sides.
NO Insert

Tracklisting for Sides A and B are on Side A's label.

Deadwax:

Side A:
Same as "2nd press":
Stamped: www.gzvinyl.com-4908641-A

But it also has this:
117401E1/A (instead of 77874E1/A)

Side B:
Same as "2nd press":
Stamped: 4908641-B

But it also has this:
117401E2/A (77874E2/A)

Unlike the "77874E1/77874E2" cut, the volume level is not low/soft. I'd say it sounds pretty similar to MoV's Lullabies to Paralyze in that respect

 

Yes, this is a 2014 reissue cut here at GZ Vinyl by our new DMM mastering system. The previous 77874E1,E2 version was cut elsewhere and we only press it.

 

Still a record that sounded like that should have NEVER passed any self respecting quality control. Instead it was on sale for almost five years

 

I have this 2nd pressing described in the original post and agree it sounds terrible. I thought that was down to it having such a long run time crammed onto a single disc. I would think it could be spread out over 2 45rpm discs, perhaps with additional b-sides? One can dream.

 

Nohing wrong with the long sides, the Interscope original sounds very good.

The positive outcome is that Universal apparently is not immune to learning and have replaced their 2009 version. Maybe they should have announced this somewhere on the sleeve, maybe they should have offered the people who bought it a free return/ exchange but...at least they DID replace it with a DMM version. I'd love to hear it but I'm good with my original copy.

 

I have a recently purchased copy of this record, very likely the one being referred to here, and it is the worst sounding record I own. It is pitifully quiet. I never listen to it. I think my Bowie Man Who Sold the World bootleg sounds better than this.

The repress of QOTSA's first album kicks ass though it's perfect.

 

The (official) repress of the debut was done by the band themselves and not just a licensed job

 

Do they come in same sleeves as a previous version, or are there any visible differences?

 

This needs to be added to Discogs, stat. And any other aesthetic differences you can point out. I've seen different looking covers on eBay and I'd like to know which ones I'm looking at. Here are the differences I've noticed, but not sure which version they apply to:
• Top left printed "sticker" has either rounded corners, or straight right-angle corners.
• Again on the "sticker", sometimes has a small printed # in the lower-right corner, sometimes it does not.

 

I added this latest pressing to Discogs. This is not the one that reads 490 864-1 as mentioned above. I'm in the US and got this ordering from your typical online music seller (I got this from ccmusic.com).

I don't have anything to compare it to but it sounds fantastic. Big, open, airy, boomy.

http://www.discogs.com/Queens-Of-The-Stone-Age-X/release/6323619

 

I think the noticeable difference is that the new one has "Don't make me beg" line on the bottom like the original.

 

I bought(from a local store) this exact version that you put up on discogs and completely agree on its SQ. Never heard the lame reissue thankfully. Thanks to you and the others here who provided the necessary info on how to tell the difference and avoid the bad apple! Goldy is also right about the "don't make me beg" line

 

That's why I included a picture of it in the Discogs entry

 

Great work, now I just gotta find this new issue. I have the old GZ one, sounds lifeless, is very quiet volume wise.

 

I think you'd very much enjoy the new one. I think it's mostly gone out just to online distributors. If you can order from one with a return policy, I'd say go for it and when it arrives look for the telltale signs before you take off the shrink (sharp corner sticker, 000 000-0, "don't make me beg..."). Or better yet, if you can email and ask if that's what's on there I'd go that route. Like I said, I ordered from ccmusic.com along with some others and it arrived in just a few days. If you order from them, pro tip: they constantly have rotating discount codes circulating online.

 

I'm quite keen on having the best sounding pressing possible- would you say that this release is better sounding than the CD? (e.g. less compressed). I did have some sort of second press or bootleg which was quiet... but clearly no more dynamic than the CD master.

Also, I understand that the version mastered by Ray Staff with the runout code on side A- it reads: "490864-1 +A FSV RAYS -A-" is the dyanmic pressing.. anyone care to comment on the validity of this claim?