Lullabies to Paralyze

Background

The album title Lullabies to Paralyze was intended to bridge Lullabies with its predecessor Songs for the Deaf by naming it after a line in "Mosquito Song", the final track on Songs for the Deaf. The "deluxe limited edition" of the album includes a bonus track and a bonus DVD containing "a look behind the scenes and special bonus footage". Videos were produced for singles "Little Sister", "In My Head" and "Burn the Witch", and "Someone's in the Wolf". The video for "Someone's in the Wolf" was featured on the bonus DVD of Lullabies to Paralyze.

The album was delayed during 2004 because of some changes to the line-up: bassist, vocalist, and co-songwriter Nick Oliveri was fired and on-off vocalist Mark Lanegan went on tour with his own band. Lanegan can still be heard singing on several songs of the album as well as contributing lyrics. Because of this turmoil, there had been rumours that Lanegan had left the band, which Josh Homme eventually clarified in several interviews was never the case. Nevertheless, he encouraged these rumours to draw the attention off the band by giving the press "something to focus on while I was just making the record".

Critical reception

The album received generally positive reviews, although slightly lower than its predecessor, the average score being 78 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 31 professional reviews.

Kevin Forest Moreau awarded it 3rd best album of the year 2005, Billboard magazine ranked it 7th best album, Magnet magazine ranked it 9th, and Filter magazine considered it 10th best album of the year 2005. JustPressPlay ranked it #31 on its list of the Top 100 Albums of the 2000s and named "Tangled Up in Plaid" the 19th best song of the decade.

Commercial performance

Lullabies To Paralyze was certified gold in the UK on April 15, 2005 with sales exceeding 100,000 copies.

Track listing

All tracks written by Joshua Homme, Troy Van Leeuwen and Joey Castillo, except where noted. All lyrics written by Homme, except additional lyrics on "Medication", "Tangled Up in Plaid" and "Long Slow Goodbye" by Mark Lanegan.

The "Hidden Outro" later appears as the main riff in the song "Running Joke", a b-side that appears on Era Vulgaris.

Bonus tracks

LP versions

The album had two LP pressing runs. The first pressing was released by AntAcidAudio and contains a different cover to the CD version. The sides are named Once, You, Were & Lost, after a line from "Someone's in the Wolf", with each containing a mixture of the CD's album and bonus tracks.

The second pressing is a reissue by Dutch record label Music On Vinyl, released on September 22, 2011. The reissue is different from the first pressing in that it does not have its sides named after the line from "Someone's in the Wolf," and it uses the cover art from the CD release. The reissue omitted bonus tracks "Infinity" and "Precious and Grace" from the track listing, and listed "Like A Drug" as the last track. Side four contains an etching of one of the album's artwork.

AntAcidAudio track listing

Side one - Once

1. "Lullaby" – 1:23
2. "Medication" – 1:54
3. "Everybody Knows That You're Insane" – 4:14
4. "Tangled Up in Plaid" – 4:13
5. "Burn the Witch" – 3:35

Side two - You

1. "In My Head" – 4:01
2. "Little Sister" – 2:54
3. "I Never Came" – 4:48
4. "Someone's in the Wolf" – 7:16

Side three - Were

1. "Infinity" (new version, see above) – 3:59
2. "The Blood Is Love" – 6:38
3. "Like a Drug" – 3:18
4. "Skin on Skin" – 3:43

Side four - Lost

1. "Broken Box" – 3:00
2. "Precious and Grace" – 3:24
3. ""You Got a Killer Scene There, Man..."" – 4:58
4. "Long Slow Goodbye" (contains the hidden track) – 6:54

Music On Vinyl track listing

Side one

1. "This Lullaby"
2. "Medication"
3. "Everybody Knows That You Are Insane"
4. "Tangled Up in Plaid"
5. "Burn the Witch"
6. "In My Head"

Side two

1. "Little Sister"
2. "I Never Came"
3. "Someone's in the Wolf"
4. "The Blood Is Love"

Side three

1. "Skin on Skin"
2. "Broken Box"
3. ""You Got a Killer Scene There, Man...""
4. "Long Slow Goodbye" (contains the hidden track)
5. "Like a Drug"

Outtakes

Bonus DVD

1. "The Way Finds You" – 27:20
2. "Someone's in the Wolf" (Castillo, Homme, Van Leeuwen) – 7:24
3. "Josh's Session" (starring Josh Homme and Sarah Silverman) – 10:24

Limited Tour Edition Bonus UK CD

Live from Earthlink in Atlanta, GA March 19, 2005.

1. "The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret" – 3:54
2. "Little Sister" – 2:56
3. "In My Head" – 3:56
4. "No One Knows" – 6:48
5. "Song for the Dead" – 6:24
6. "Regular John" – 9:48

Most online retailers list the songs on the bonus CD as the March 19, 2005 show in Atlanta, but at least "The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret" and "Regular John" are actually from the show in Washington, DC on March 27, 2005.

The final item on the song listing (located behind the CD in the normal version, or inside the booklet in the deluxe edition), below "Long Slow Goodbye" reads:

During that time, the band assumed that the tapes of that song were either lost or stolen. A live version of this song can be found on the DVD release Over the Years and Through the Woods. Homme commented, "The tapes got lost. Actually, they were just at another studio, but we falsely accused everyone in the world of theft."

Personnel

As common for Queens of the Stone Age recordings, Lullabies does not feature one single line-up but rather a core group of Homme, Castillo and Van Leeuwen that would also form the tour line-up, as well as other contributors, mostly close friends to the band.

Band

Guest appearances