Editorial Reviews "Meat Puppets II" was a 180-degree departure from its predecessor, confusing old fans and creating new ones. Kurt Loder gave it a four-star review in Rolling Stone,calling it "one of the funniest and most enjoyable albums of 1984", while a...
Meat Puppets II
Music Review:
Music Review
Flaming Star/Wild in the Country/Follow That Dream [Import]
Arthur Sullivan Sesquicentenial
5 Years of Distance Records [Import]
A Long Hot Summer [Explicit Lyrics]
Amazon.com essential recording
The seminal Phoenix trio's self-titled debut is one of the greatest hard-core punk records ever made--but it pissed the punk kids off. Whether it was the Meat Puppets' long hair (in '81!) or their set-opener "The King and I" it was hard to say. Yet they were reviled. Still, they broadened their horizons, mixing up their weird full-on frantic hardcore style with some Tex-Mex, some bluegrass, and a little desert sun. The result? The cultural icon Meat Puppets II, a landmark album that resonates with the acid trails and heat-driven madness of southwest America. (As a whole generation of musicians, from Dinosaur Jr.'s J. Mascis to Nirvana's Kurt Cobain and downwards, can attest.) Curt Kirkwood's dislocated guitar style veers between hillbilly, heavy metal, psychedelic, and the Oak Ridge Boys. His brother's bass sound is endearingly fallible. A wonderful, eccentric record (with seven bonus tracks!). --Everett True
From the Label
Includes the ultra-rare "Teenager(s)", released originally on limited-edition flexi-disk, and six previously unavailable tracks, as well as the band's promotional video for "New Gods". Also, an essay by Michael Azzerad and recording notes by Derrick Bostrom.