Release and Reception
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | |
| Playlouder | (favorable) |
| NME | |
| Stylus | B− |
| IGN | (9.3/10) |
| The Guardian | |
Rated R was the band's breakout album in the UK. Upon its release in June 2000, the album peaked at number 16 on the Top Heatseekers album chart. It granted Queens of the Stone Age recognition in the United Kingdom and has been certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry.
Steve Huey from Allmusic said "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."
Rated R included the hit single "The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret", which was released in the summer of 2000 and became arguably the band's most recognizable and popular song at its time of release. Not only did its music video receive mild airplay on music television, the song was featured in the Entourage episode "I Love You Too" (from Season 2). It was also the only single from the album to get a chart position, reaching number 21 on the Mainstream Rock charts, number 36 on the Modern Rock charts and number 31 on the UK Singles Chart.
Rhapsody called it the best rock album of the decade on its "Rock’s Best Albums of the Decade" list.
Rolling Stone named it 82nd best album of the decade.
Read more about this topic: Rated R (Queens of the Stone Age album)
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