Rated R

2000年6月クリス・ゴス（MASTER OF REALITY）のプロデュースのもと、メジャー・デビュー契約を果たし全世界で発売されたストーナー・ロック急先鋒QOTSAのめジャー・デビュー・アルバム！（2000年発売）

Rolling Stone (1/4/01, p.114) - Included in Rolling Stone's "Top 50 Albums of 2000". Rolling Stone (6/22/00, pp.127-8) - 3.5 stars out of 5 - "...A strange, category-evading rock record, a mystery disc of gravity and low humor, of punk aggression and love-bead contentment....improving on the strengths of [their] first album and shooting into areas that you wouldn't expect..." Spin (1/01, p.73) - Ranked #8 in Spin's "Top 20 Albums of the Year [2000]" - "...Mysteriously beautiful, smartly stoopid psychedelic jams, complete with jet planes and monsters..." Q (1/01, p.93) - Included in Q's "50 Best Albums of 2000". Q (9/00, p.111) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...[A] mighty record....[They] may well have a sleeper hit on their hands..." Uncut (p.105) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "There's an almost mathematical precision to the freak-outs like 'Better Living Through Chemistry'." Uncut (10/00, p.88) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...A revved-up jet engine of twisted Sabbath riffs and taut Krautrock rhythms..." Magnet (8-9/00, p.88) - "...Sublime....there's sufficient skronk'n'wail to keep your bong well-stuffed..." CMJ (5/29/00, p.3) - "...Continues to broaden [their] scope while introducing some experimental chutzpah to their sound....Fuzz guitar hero Josh Homme keeps listeners on their toes....successfully employing pop-flavored enhancements....markedly different from [their] debut..." Melody Maker (6/27/00, p.75) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...No mess. No fuss. Just 12 songs of good, solid rock. Rock with all the [b.s.] stripped away....100 per cent unapologetic metal..." Kerrang (Magazine) (p.52) - "[A]n 11-step guide to hedonistic heaven..." Mojo (Publisher) (p.61) - Ranked #47 in Mojo's "100 Modern Classics" -- "[M]aking their unique sound -- as relentless as metal, as eerily groovy as Can -- one of the world's most envied." Mojo (Publisher) (p.110) - 5 stars out of 5 -- "RATED R leaps instantly out of its genre packet into a world where polka rhythms, free jazz and punk rock ramalama share airspace with repetitive Kraut-metal riffing..." Mojo (Publisher) (9/00, p.91) - "...[They] can really kick it like The Stooges did, like Black Flag, The MC5 and Nirvana....you can't help but be smitten..." NME (Magazine) (12/30/00, p.77) - Rated #1 in NME's "Top 50 Albums Of The Year". NME (Magazine) (6/3/00, p.40) - 9 out of 10 - "...A heady mix of speed-addled punk rock, huge, sky-filling psychedelic majesty and sex-crazed black humor....It's just the best, most important rock album for years....The new rock royalty have come to claim their throne..." Pitchfork (Website) - "[O]ne of the last great modern hard rock records and something deceptively tuneful, groove-bitten, and even melancholic."

〈デッキ・シューズが欲しいなあ〉なんて思ってたら、〈トップサイダーズ〉なんてアルバムを届けてくれたエイデン。過去3枚のアルバムにしたって、グニュグニュと道を踏み外すギター・サウンドや、とても透明感ある歌声に夢中になったけれど、これまた大切な一枚になりそう。随所でアメリカン・ルーツ・ミュージックのオバケに息を吹きかける彼ら。このカレッジ・フォーク・ロック然とした爽快感はとても貴重だ。ヘルシー!
bounce (C)福田教雄