''Heavy Petting Zoo'' (known as ''Eating Lamb'' on the LP version) is the sixth studio
album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
by the American
punk rock band
NOFX
NOFX () is an American punk rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1983. Vocalist/bassist Fat Mike, guitarist Eric Melvin and drummer Erik Sandin are original founding and longest-serving members of the band, who have appeared on every ...
. It was released on January 31, 1996, through
Epitaph Records
Epitaph Records is an American independent record label owned by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, most acts signed to the label were punk and pop punk acts, while there are many post-hardcore and emo bands ...
. The record reached a position of No. 63 on the American
''Billboard'' 200 Albums chart, the first NOFX album to do so. In Austria ''Heavy Petting Zoo'' peaked at No. 20, while the album achieved the No. 13 position in both Sweden and Finland.
Music
NOFX recorded the album in October 1995 with
Ryan Greene
Ryan Greene is an American record producer, sound engineer, former owner of Crush Recording Studios in Scottsdale, Arizona and founder of Area 52 Entertainment in Los Angeles, California. In an over 25-year-long career he has worked with many art ...
at the Razor's Edge studio,
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
, a garage described by the band as "a total dive".
The music on ''Heavy Petting Zoo'' has been complimented as "melodic", and the album has been favorably compared to the band's 1991 ''
Ribbed
''Ribbed'' is the third studio album by the American punk rock band NOFX, released in 1991 through Epitaph Records. It was their last album to feature Steve Kidwiler on guitar; he was replaced by El Hefe. ''Ribbed'' is also the last NOFX album p ...
'' LP, but although tracks like "Hobophobic (Scared of Bums)" and "Freedom Lika Shopping Cart" have been lauded for their witty titles, they have also been criticized for being overly cynical.
The track "August 8th" makes reference to the death of
Jerry Garcia
Jerome John Garcia (August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995) was an American musician best known for being the principal songwriter, lead guitarist, and a vocalist with the rock band Grateful Dead, which he co-founded and which came to prominence ...
. Songwriter
Fat Mike
Michael John Burkett (born January 16, 1967), known professionally as Fat Mike, is an American musician and producer. He is the bassist and lead vocalist for the punk rock band NOFX and the bassist for the punk rock supergroup cover band Me F ...
commented that he wrote the song, "cuz I fucking hate the
Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, Folk music, folk, country music, country, jazz, bluegrass music, bluegrass, ...
, but it turns out I had the date wrong. He really dies on August 9th. Whoops. I guess I'm lame."
According to Fat Mike, the first half of "The Black And White" is concerned with a repressed homosexual male living in "Small Town, USA".
"Liza" revisits the lesbians Liza and Louise introduced on the 1992 album ''
White Trash, Two Heebs and a Bean
''White Trash, Two Heebs and a Bean'' is the fourth studio album by the American punk rock band NOFX. It was released on November 5, 1992, through Epitaph Records. It is the first NOFX album to feature El Hefe on guitar, replacing Steve Kidwille ...
''. The third song in the series, "Louise" is found on their eighth album ''
Pump up the Valuum
''Pump Up the Valuum'' is the eighth studio album by the American punk rock band NOFX. It was released on June 13, 2000, on Epitaph Records, their last through the company.
Production
The album's title deliberately misspells the trademark "Dia ...
''.
Artwork
There are two different cover images for the album, both illustrated by Mark deSalvo, a noted designer of
punk album art.
The artwork for the CD edition features a man cuddling a sheep. The band's name and album title are featured at the top of the cover. The vinyl edition's artwork features the same man and sheep in a
69 position. The title ''Eating Lamb'' is given on the cover of the LP, with ''Heavy Petting Zoo'' written on the spine and record itself.
''CMJ New Music Monthly'', in their review of the album, described it as the band's "nastiest cover yet..",
and in their analysis of NOFX's attitude, the authors of ''Screaming for Change: Articulating a Unifying Philosophy of Punk Rock'' state: "..the fact that none of the songs on the record deal with animals, zoos, or even
bestiality, supports the assertion that the artwork contains little, if any, significant meaning other than portraying images the band is confident will upset and shock the establishment."
To promote the album's release, record label
Epitaph
An epitaph (; ) is a short text honoring a deceased person. Strictly speaking, it refers to text that is inscribed on a tombstone or plaque, but it may also be used in a figurative sense. Some epitaphs are specified by the person themselves be ...
sent out inflatable sheep with the message "Fuck ewe" attached.
The LP version was banned in Germany, due to its
Zoophilia
Zoophilia is a paraphilia involving a sexual fixation on non-human animals. Bestiality is cross-species sexual activity between humans and non-human animals. The terms are often used interchangeably, but some researchers make a distinction b ...
content. A court order in October 1996 prohibited distribution of the record in Germany, and confiscated copies with the offending artwork that were already on public display.
Track listing
All tracks written by
Fat Mike
Michael John Burkett (born January 16, 1967), known professionally as Fat Mike, is an American musician and producer. He is the bassist and lead vocalist for the punk rock band NOFX and the bassist for the punk rock supergroup cover band Me F ...
.
Personnel
*
Fat Mike
Michael John Burkett (born January 16, 1967), known professionally as Fat Mike, is an American musician and producer. He is the bassist and lead vocalist for the punk rock band NOFX and the bassist for the punk rock supergroup cover band Me F ...
– vocals, bass
*
Eric Melvin
Eric Scott Melvin (born July 9, 1966) is an American musician and founding member of the punk rock band NOFX.
Melvin sings backup vocals on most NOFX songs and wrote the guitar riffs for NOFX songs such as the intro for " Leave It Alone". His v ...
– guitar
*
El Hefe
Aaron Abeyta (born August 8, 1965), better known as El Hefe or simply Hefe, from ''el Jefe'' (Spanish for "the boss"), is an American musician and actor, best known as the lead guitarist and trumpet player for the California punk band NOFX. H ...
– guitar, trumpet
*
Erik Sandin
Erik Sandin (born July 29, 1966), is an American musician and the drummer of the punk rock band NOFX, and former member of punk rock band Caustic Cause. He was a founding member of NOFX when they formed in Hollywood, California, in 1983.
...
– drums
*
Ryan Greene
Ryan Greene is an American record producer, sound engineer, former owner of Crush Recording Studios in Scottsdale, Arizona and founder of Area 52 Entertainment in Los Angeles, California. In an over 25-year-long career he has worked with many art ...
, NOFX – producers
* Ryan Greene – mixing, engineer
Charts
See also
*
List of controversial album art
The following is a list of notable albums with controversial album art, especially where that controversy resulted in the album being banned, censored or sold in packaging other than the original one. They are listed by the type of controve ...
References
External links
*
*
''Heavy Petting Zoo''at
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
(streamed copy where licensed)
{{Authority control
NOFX albums
1996 albums
Epitaph Records albums
Obscenity controversies in music
Albums produced by Ryan Greene