Posted in Whathaveyou on November 28th, 2017 by JJ Koczan
Though it’s barely been a month since the release of Nick Oliveri‘s N.O. Hits at All Vol. 3 (review here), the former Kyuss and Queens of the Stone Age bassist has set a Feb. 23 issue date for the next and final installment in what’s apparently a four-part series. Preorders are set to begin on Dec. 5 through Heavy Psych Sounds, the Italian imprint that’s put out each of the collections over the course of this year, and the last one will boast tracks from Oliveri‘s acoustic incarnation, his solo band The Uncontrollable, and The Dwarves, among others.
One can only wonder when the limited edition comp boxed set might be set to land. Haven’t heard anything about one in the works, but it seems like a prime opportunity for such a thing, even if they only make a couple. Something to chew on.
And while we’re chewing:
Heavy Psych Sounds to issue the final episode of NICK OLIVERI’s “N.O. Hits At All” series this February 23rd!
Here it is, folks! The last episode of the “N.O. Hits At All” compilations, that put together the very best as well as some exclusive, unreleased tracks from NICK OLIVERI’s numerous projects and collaborations over 20 years of career. It will land on February 23rd through HPS Records.
Following the successful issuing of his “N.O. Hits At All Vol.1”, “N.O. Hits At All Vol.2” and “N.O. Hits At All Vol. 3” compiling rare an unreleased songs from his numerous projects and collaborations over the past 25 years (QOTSA, Dwarves, Kyuss Lives!, Death Acoustic, Winnebago Deal, Royale Deamons with Wino and Joey Castillo…), NICK OLIVERI returns next February 23rd with the final episode of the series, comprising tracks by The Dwarves, Death Acoustic, Rattlin’ Bones and Loading Data!
“N.O. Hits At All Vol.3” will see a black/colored vinyl, CD and digital release. Pre-orders for the physica copies will start on December 5th on HPS Records website.
NICK OLIVERI “N.O. Hits At All Vol. 4” Out February 23rd on Heavy Psych Sounds Pre-orders available from December 5th here
SIDE A 1. “WALK ON” (written by The Uncontrollable) 2. “IDENTIFY, ISOLATE, MANIPULATE” (written by biblical proof of UFOs) 3. “ENDLESS VACATION” (written by Ramones and performed by DEATH ACOUSTIC) 4. “HANGING LOW” (written By Loading Data)
SIDE B 1. “FUCK YOU UP AND GET HIGH” (written by The Dwarves) 2. “SUPER HERO” (written by He Who Can Not Be Named) 3. “DONT BELIEVE” (written by Rattlin’ Bones) 4. “SUSY IS A HEADBANGER” (written by Ramones)
[Click play above to stream Nick Oliveri’s N.O. Hits at All, Vol. 3 in its entirety. CD/LP out Oct. 20 via Heavy Psych Sounds.]
As he informs in screaming fashion on the penultimate “Country as Fuck,” Nick Oliveri is here to drink, fuck, and fight. Would anyone expect less? That song is by a group called Plan B fronted by Oliveri and featuring guitarist Steve Soto, drummer and Joey Castillo, and guitarist Troy van Leeuwen — the latter two former Oliveri bandmates in Queens of the Stone Age — and it’s one of six cuts, each by a different group featuring Oliveri, included on N.O. Hits at All, Vol. 3, the third installment of a Heavy Psych Sounds-backed series of “lost,” previously unreleased or otherwise hard to chase down tracks from the former Kyuss bassist.
Of course, Oliveri‘s alias identities include being the frontman of Mondo Generator, his own Nick Oliveri’s Uncontrollable solo band, his Death Acoustic solo work, performing with Dwarves, a stint in Kyuss Lives!/Vista Chino, bassist in Bloodclot, Bl’ast, Svetlanas, on and on. His reputation for drug-fueled riotousness precedes him — 2011 police standoff, rifle, prison, amphetamines; easy to recall — and sure enough, N.O. Hits at All, Vol. 3 tears un-P.C. ass through its 17-minute stretch, blasting off punker violence as it goes with Oliveri‘s recognizable throat-searing shouts and unmatched attitude serving as the factors to tie it all together. He may or may not actually be country as fuck, but he certainly makes the above-noted mission statement sound like a genuine expression of intent.
Cohorts and accomplices are a big part of the appeal on N.O. Hits at All, Vol. 3 as well. Oliveri joins Melissa Auf der Maur (Hole, Smashing Pumpkins) in her Hand of Doom solo Black Sabbath covers project for a take on “The Mob Rules” that seems to revel in how far from the Dio-fronted original version it is, while also reminding of how propulsive that original actually was. Dwarves and a side-project for Dwarves guitarist He Who Cannot Be Named both show up, the former with second cut “Luv is Fiction,” which finds Oliveri on vocals under his own name while also playing bass under the guise of Rex Everything. The esteemed Josh Freese (Suicidal Tendencies, Ween, A Perfect Circle, Guns ‘n’ Roses, indeed Dwarves, among many others) may or may not be playing drums on “Luv is Fiction,” which together with He Who Cannot Be Named‘s “Medication,” comprise just about the most outwardly accessible inclusions on the record.
When Dwarves is as close as you get to “audience friendly,” you know some shit is going down. And fair enough. So much of Oliveri‘s sonic personality is based around being unhinged, the wild man, etc., it only seems fair that even as “Luv is Fiction” moves into semi-spoken verses, it should still serve as a reminder of the edge and sense of danger that Queens of the Stone Age have arguably been missing for the last 12-plus years, and by the time they come around, “Country as Fuck” and “The Mob Rules” at the end only underscore the point of the kind of torrent Oliveri can bring to a piece of material and still hold it together to the degree he does, which, naturally, varies.
And now that the lead has been thoroughly buried, N.O. Hits at All, Vol. 3 features two seeming exclusives of particular note. The first is opener “Rock ‘n’ Roll Outlaw,” a cover of Rose Tattoo‘s 1978 single by the Oliveri-fronted Royale Daemons, a project idea kicked around a few years back that featured Joey Castillo on drums and Scott “Wino” Weinrich (The Obsessed, Saint Vitus, Spirit Caravan, The Hidden Hand, and so on) on guitar. The notion of an Oliveri/Wino collaboration was enough to turn heads in that trio’s direction with the sheer announcement of its existence, but apart from a show or two, this recording and one featured on the previous installment of this series earlier this year, so far as I know nothing else has come of it, and as “Rock ‘n’ Roll Outlaw” has never been previously released, it’s definitely something special for N.O. Hits at All, Vol. 3.
Same could be said of side B leadoff “Kyuss Dies,” by a trio incarnation of Kyuss Lives! without vocalist John Garcia that consists just of Oliveri, drummer Brant Bjork and guitarist Bruno Fevery, on which Oliveri essentially tells the tale in punker fashion of the lawsuit that brought that project to an end and saw the birth of Vista Chino, which of course also led to the departure of Oliveri from the group. Over a raw and fuzzy recording, Oliveri intones “Here come the suits and ties/Kyuss dies,” while brazenly declaring, “So long my friends/I’m gone.” So he would be, but it’s worth noting that “Kyuss Dies” is the only studio recording ever made public under the moniker of Kyuss Lives! — it’s also the longest track here at 3:42 — so is something of a historical footnote in the timeline of that group as well, which would seem to have been shortlived and more or less doomed from the outset.
As with any such interplay of characterization and persona, it’s hard to separate fact from fiction when it comes to seeing Oliveri as the one-man wrecking crew he’s reputed to be, but along with his screams, his scathing vision of what punk rock should do, he’s also someone who can craft a landmark hook, and even “Kyuss Dies,” which sounds like a studio tossoff jam, is maddeningly catchy, to say nothing of “Luv is Fiction” or “Country as Fuck.” These things he seems to take with him wherever he goes, and if N.O. Hits at All, Vol. 3 continues to prove anything, it’s that the dude gets around.
