''Meat Puppets'' is the first album by American band the

Meat Puppets Meat Puppets are an American rock band formed in January 1980 in Phoenix, Arizona. The group's original lineup was Curt Kirkwood (guitar/vocals), his brother Cris Kirkwood (bass guitar/vocals), and Derrick Bostrom (drums). The Kirkwood brothe ...

, released in 1982. The album is unlike their later, better-known releases due to its

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier p ...

sound. The album was recorded 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. In 1999, Curt Kirkwood stated, "The first lbumwas our LSD record. We were three days in the studio, and we tripped the whole time. And it was really cool, and really trying, too, because we went insane." The 1999

Rykodisc Rykodisc is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, operating as a unit of WMG's Independent Label Group and is distributed through Alternative Distribution Alliance. History Claiming to be the first CD-only independent record la ...

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 Gregg Turkington (born November 25, 1967) is an Australian-born American entertainer, actor, musician and writer. He is known for his performances as Neil Hamburger, a stand-up comedian persona he developed in the 1990s. Alongside Tim Heidecker, ...

and recording notes by drummer Derrick Bostrom. In the 2012 book, ''Too High to Die: Meet the Meat Puppets'' by Greg Prato, an entire chapter is dedicated to

Soundgarden Soundgarden was an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1984 by singer and drummer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil (both of whom are the only members to appear in every incarnation of the band), and bassist Hiro Yama ...

guitarist

Kim Thayil Kim Anand Thayil (born September 4, 1960) is an American musician best known as the lead guitarist of the Seattle-based rock band Soundgarden, which he co-founded with singer Chris Cornell and bassist Hiro Yamamoto in 1984. Cornell and Thayil ...

explaining why ''Meat Puppets'' is one of his favorite all-time albums.

Track listing

All songs written by

, unless otherwise noted.

Original album

# "Reward" – 1:11 # "Love Offering" – 1:28 # "Blue-Green God" – 1:22 # "Walking Boss" (

Doc Watson Arthel Lane "Doc" Watson (March 3, 1923 – May 29, 2012) was an American guitarist, songwriter, and singer of bluegrass, folk, country, blues, and gospel music. Watson won seven Grammy awards as well as a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. W ...

) – 2:52 # "Melons Rising" – 0:53 # "Saturday Morning" – 1:30 # "Our Friends" – 2:11 # "

Tumbling Tumbleweeds "Tumbling Tumbleweeds" is a song composed by Bob Nolan. Although one of the most famous songs associated with the Sons of the Pioneers, the song was composed by Nolan in the 1930s, while working as a caddy and living in Los Angeles. Originally ti ...

" (

Bob Nolan Bob Nolan (born Clarence Robert Nobles; April 13, 1908 – June 16, 1980, name changed to Robert Clarence Nobles in 1929) was a Canadian-born American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was a founding member of the Sons of the Pioneers, and compo ...

) – 2:02 # "Milo, Sorghum, and Maize" – 2:15 # "Meat Puppets" – 1:38 # "Playing Dead" – 1:28 # "Litterbox" – 0:50 # "Electromud" – 0:47 # "The Gold Mine" – 1:02

1999 CD bonus tracks

"In a Car" - 1:21
"Big House" - 1:07
"Dolphin Field" - 1:09
"Out in the Gardener" - 1:04
"Foreign Lawns" - 0:37
"Meat Puppets" - 1:33
"Everybody's Talking" (
Fred Neil Fred Neil (March 16, 1936 – July 7, 2001) was an American folk singer-songwriter active in the 1960s and early 1970s. He did not achieve commercial success as a performer and is mainly known through other people's recordings of his material& ...
) - 2:42
"H-Elenore" (Curt Kirkwood) - 1:39
"Hair" (Monitor) - 1:26
"I Got a Right" ( Iggy Pop) - 2:40
"I Am a Child" (
Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Fur ...
) - 2:14
"Franklin's Tower" ( Jerry Garcia, Robert Hunter,
Bill Kreutzmann William Kreutzmann Jr. ( ; born May 7, 1946) is an American drummer and founding member of the rock band Grateful Dead. He played with the band for its entire thirty-year career, usually alongside fellow drummer Mickey Hart, and has continued to ...
) - 4:52
"Milo Sorghum & Maize" - 1:32
"Electromud" - 0:45
"Love Offering" - 1:03
"Saturday Morning" - 1:11
"Magic Toy Missing" (Curt Kirkwood) - 1:28
"Unpleasant" (Curt Kirkwood, Derrick Bostrom) - 1:02

* Tracks 15-19 are from the '' In a Car'' EP.

Recording

All the songs on the original album are recorded in November 1981. Engineered by SPOT at Unicorn Studio 24 November 1981. Mixed by SPOT at Music Lab 10 May 1982 except "The Gold Mine" mixed by Laurie O'Connell & Ed Barger.

Personnel

;Meat Puppets * Derrick Bostrom – drums *

Cris Kirkwood Christopher "Cris" Kirkwood (born October 22, 1960) is an American musician who is the bassist and a founding member of the Meat Puppets, an alternative punk rock band. Biography Raised in Paradise Valley, Arizona, Cris took up the banjo after ...

– bass *

Curt Kirkwood Curtis Matthew "Curt" Kirkwood (born January 10, 1959) is an American musician, best known as the guitarist, singer and primary songwriter for alternative rock group Meat Puppets. Biography Curt Kirkwood formed the Meat Puppets along with hi ...

– guitar, vocals with: * Steve Thompson – keyboards on "Hair"

Production and other credits

* ''Engineer'' –

Spot Spot or SPOT may refer to: Places * Spot, North Carolina, a community in the United States * The Spot, New South Wales, a locality in Sydney, Australia * South Pole Traverse, sometimes called the South Pole Overland Traverse People * Spot (prod ...

(Except tracks 15-19, 23 & 27-32) * ''Engineer (tracks 15-19, 23) – Ed Barger * ''Engineer (tracks 27-32) – ? * ''Mixing'' –

, except Laurie O'Connell & Ed Barger ("The Gold Mine") and Ed Barger (tracks 15-19, 23) * ''Cover art'' –

and Damon Bostrom

References

{{Authority control 1982 debut albums Meat Puppets albums SST Records albums Hardcore punk albums by American artists