Meat Puppets (album)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Meat Puppets
Studio album by Meat Puppets
Released	1982
Genre	Hardcore punk
Label	SST
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link Robert Christgau (B) link The Wire (Favorable) May 1999 (p. 62)
Meat Puppets chronology
In A Car EP (1981)	Meat Puppets 1982	Meat Puppets II (1983)

Meat Puppets is the first LP by the Meat Puppets. The album is unlike any of their later, and more well-known, releases due to its hardcore punk sound. At first listen many of the songs resemble short blasts of noise with random screaming than actual "songs" with melodies. However, an included lyric sheet shows most of the songs do have actual words, which are rendered almost incomprehensible by Curt Kirkwood's singing style. The alternate studio versions reveal that many of these songs are infact tightly played compositions, albeit noisy anarchic ones, rather than truly random noise. Also, the inclusion of the country covers "Walking Boss" and "Tumbling Tumbleweeds," indicated that the band's musical taste and ability stretched beyond the hardcore genre.

The album was recorded very quickly and hastily in a matter of days, there are very few overdubs and many of the tracks are first takes. Like other early SST albums the sound quality is rather spotty; there is noticeable fuzz in the background of the music. The band opted for this because they felt more comfortable recording live with only a few microphones rather than employing conventional studio separation techniques.

The 1999 Rykodisc reissue features the entire "In A Car" EP as well as 13 other bonus tracks, many of them studio jams or outtakes, and a video clip of the band performing "Walking Boss" live. The booklet also has liner notes by Gregg Turkington and recording notes by drummer Derrick Bostrom. It is often overshadowed by the their classic second album, Meat Puppets II, but many argue that this album is unique in its own right.

[edit] Track listing

[edit] Original album

1. "Reward" – 1:11
2. "Love Offering" – 1:28
3. "Blue-Green God" – 1:22
4. "Walking Boss" – 2:52
5. "Melons Rising" – 0:53
6. "Saturday Morning" – 1:30
7. "Our Friends" – 2:11
8. "Tumbling Tumbleweeds" – 2:02
9. "Milo, Sorghum, and Maize" – 2:15
10. "Meat Puppets" – 1:38
11. "Playing Dead" – 1:28
12. "Litterbox" – 0:50
13. "Electromud" – 0:47
14. "The Gold Mine" – 1:02

[edit] CD Reissue

Tracks 15-19 is the In A Car EP.

Tracks 20-32 are bonus tracks.

1. "Reward"
2. "Love Offering"
3. "Blue-Green God"
4. "Walking Boss"
5. "Melons Rising"
6. "Saturday Morning"
7. "Our Friends"
8. "Tumbling Tumbleweeds"
9. "Milo, Sorghum, and Maize"
10. "Meat Puppets"
11. "Playing Dead"
12. "Litterbox"
13. "Electromud"
14. "The Gold Mine"
15. "In A Car"
16. "Big House"
17. "Dolphin Field"
18. "Out In The Gardener"
19. "Foreign Lawns"
20. "Meat Puppets"
21. "Everybody's Talking"
22. "H-Elenore"
23. "Hair"
24. "I Got A Right"
25. "I Am A Child"
26. "Franklin's Tower"
27. "Milo Sorghum & Maize"
28. "Electromud"
29. "Love Offering"
30. "Saturday Morning"
31. "Magic Toy Missing"
32. "Unpleasant"