Welcome to Sky Valley

Welcome to Sky Valley
Studio album by Kyuss
Released	June 28, 1994
Recorded	1993 at Sound City Studios in Van Nuys, California
Genre	Stoner rock, neo-psychedelia, desert rock[1]
Length	51:55
Label	Elektra, Chameleon[2]
Producer	Kyuss & Chris Goss
Kyuss chronology
Blues for the Red Sun (1992) Welcome to Sky Valley (1994) ...And the Circus Leaves Town (1995)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[3]
Rolling Stone	[4]
Daily Republic	(A-)[5]
Entertainment Weekly	(B+)[6]
Robert Christgau	[7]

Welcome to Sky Valley is the third studio album by American stoner rock band Kyuss, originally released on June 28, 1994.

Album information

Welcome to Sky Valley was recorded in early 1993 and scheduled for release in January 1994.^[8] They sneak-previewed the completed album at Foundations Forum 93 and contributed the song "Demon Cleaner" to the sampler disc.^[8] Due to mild success from their previous album, Kyuss had been promoted from their subsidiary record label "Dali" to the main label "Chameleon." On November 11, 1993 Chameleon Records abruptly shut down. Their joint-venture partner Elektra quickly picked up the band and scheduled the album for release in March 1994.^[8] The album was then delayed for another three months after that, eventually being released almost a year after being initially recorded.

This is the first Kyuss album to feature bassist Scott Reeder, who replaced Nick Oliveri in 1992. Welcome to Sky Valley was the last to feature founding member Brant Bjork. The song "N.O." was originally recorded by Across The River, a band fronted by Mario Lalli and featuring bassist Reeder. After Reeder left The Obsessed and joined Kyuss, Bjork suggested they record "N.O." as a tribute to Across The River.

On compact disc, Welcome to Sky Valley was originally released with its ten total songs contained in three tracks, with an additional, fourth hidden track. It was later re-released with all ten tracks separated individually. However, most commercially sold versions of the compact disc contain the three tracks, a setup which is meant to encourage listeners to experience it as a full album instead of as a collection of separate songs. Guitarist Josh Homme claimed in an interview that the band "just wanted it to be like hell to play on a CD player". The album's liner notes instruct the listener to "Listen without distraction".

The band Tool live covered "Demon Cleaner" twice with bassist Scott Reeder joining them onstage during the performances:

• 03/27/1998 - Los Angeles, CA, USA @ Hollywood Palladium.^[9]

• 03/29/1998 - San Diego, CA, USA @ The Rimac Theatre.^[10]

The song is also contained in the video game Guitar Hero: Metallica and The Crew.

	"Supa Scoopa and Mighty Scoop" Audio sample of Supa Scoopa and Mighty Scoop
Problems playing this file? See media help.

Track listing

1. Movement I – 17:47 (Josh Homme, Brant Bjork)
   1. "Gardenia" – 6:54
   2. "Asteroid" – 4:49
   3. "Supa Scoopa and Mighty Scoop" – 6:04
2. Movement II – 14:50 (Homme, Scott Reeder)
   1. "100°" – 2:29
   2. "Space Cadet" – 7:02
   3. "Demon Cleaner" – 5:19
3. Movement III – 18:19 (Homme, Bjork, Reeder, Mario Lalli)
   1. "Odyssey" – 4:19
   2. "Conan Troutman" – 2:12
   3. "N.O." – 3:47
   4. "Whitewater" – 8:00
4. "Lick Doo" – 0:57 (Hidden Track)

Promo track listing

1. "Gardenia" (Brant Bjork) – 6:50
2. "Asteroid" (Josh Homme) – 4:50
3. "Supa Scoopa and Mighty Scoop" (Josh Homme) – 6:03
4. "100°" (Josh Homme) – 2:29
5. "Space Cadet" (Josh Homme/Scott Reeder) – 7:02
6. "Demon Cleaner" (Josh Homme) – 5:19
7. "Odyssey" (Josh Homme) – 4:19
8. "Conan Troutman" (Josh Homme) – 2:12
9. "N.O." (Mario Lalli/Scott Reeder) – 3:48
10. "Whitewater" (Brant Bjork/Josh Homme) – 8:00
11. "Lick Doo" (Josh Homme) – 0:57 (hidden track)

Personnel

Kyuss

• John Garcia - vocals
• Josh Homme - guitars, backing vocals, acoustic guitar in "Space Cadet"
• Scott Reeder - bass, backing vocals, acoustic bass in "Space Cadet"
• Brant Bjork - drums, percussion

Additional personnel

• Mario Lalli - lead guitar on "N.O."
• Peter Moffet - additional percussion on "Asteroid"
• "Madman of Enico" - backing vocals
• Chris Goss and Kyuss - production
• Joe Barresi - mixing and engineering
• Jeff Sheehan, Wade Norton, Alexe Campbell, Brian Jenkins - engineering

References

1. Prato, Greg. "Normadic Pursuits - Yawning Man". Allmusic. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
2. Robert Christgau: CG: Kyuss
3. Rivadavia, Eduardo. "allmusic ((( Kyuss > Review )))". Allmusic. Retrieved March 17, 2010.
4. Brackett, Nathan. "Kyuss". The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. November 2004. pg. 473, cited March 17, 2010
5. DeCicco, Nick. "Kyuss - Welcome to Sky Valley Music Review". Daily Republic. Retrieved November 26, 2013.
6. Ehrlich, Dimitri. "Sky Valley". Entertainment Weekly. July 1994, cited March 17, 2010
7. Christgau, Robert. "Kyuss". robertchristgau.com, Retrieved on June 2, 2010.
8. Morris, Chris (January 15, 1994). "Kyuss Lands on Its Feet and Keeps Climbing". Billboard.
9. "CollectiveUnconscious 03/27/1998". Retrieved 2016-09-16.
10. "CollectiveUnconscious 03/29/1998". Retrieved 2016-09-16.