''No Joke!'' is the ninth studio album by 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 brother ...

. The album was released on October 3, 1995, by

London Records London Recordings (or London Records and London Music Stream) is a British record label that marketed records in the United States, Canada, and Latin America for Decca Records from 1947 to 1980 before becoming semi-independent. The London nam ...

. It was the follow-up to the band's album '' Too High to Die'' and was the last Meat Puppets album with bassist

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 ...

(until his reunion on 2007's ''

Rise to Your Knees ''Rise to Your Knees'' is the Meat Puppets' eleventh full-length studio album, released on July 17, 2007. Not only was it their first studio release since 2000's ''Golden Lies'', it was also their first to feature the original bassist Cris Kirkwood ...

'') and drummer Derrick Bostrom (until 2019's ''

Dusty Notes ''Dusty Notes'' is the fifteenth studio album by American rock band Meat Puppets. The album was released on March 8, 2019, by Megaforce Records. It is the Meat Puppets' first album to feature Curt's son Elmo Kirkwood on backing guitar and keyboar ...

''). A video was filmed for the song "Scum", directed by Dave Markey.

Artwork

The cover art "no joke" used on the album was originally created by Curt Kirkwood's daughter, which the band chose to use as the album's title and cover art.

Music

In September 2000, Al Shipley wrote that ''No Joke!'' had a "droning alt-metal sensibility".

Reception

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, oc ...

of ''

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

'' described ''No Joke!'' as an "average" Meat Puppets record, explaining that although the songs were "competent", it lacked the "wild spark" and "bizarre sense of humour" that characterised their 1980s work. Eric Flaum of American music publication ''Rolling Stone'' was more praising, awarding the album 4-out-of-5 stars and stating that ''No Joke!'' showed the band's creativity at "full throttle".

Track listing

All songs written by

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 h ...

, unless otherwise noted.

Personnel

;Meat Puppets * Derrick Bostrom -

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

painting Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

s *

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gu ...

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or witho ...

illustration An illustration is a decoration, interpretation or visual explanation of a text, concept or process, designed for integration in print and digital published media, such as posters, flyers, magazines, books, teaching materials, animations, vide ...

s *

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

, vocals, paintings ;Technical *

Paul Leary Paul Leary Walthall (born May 7, 1957), known as Paul Leary, is an American musician and music producer from Austin, Texas, best known as the lead guitarist and occasional lead vocalist for the American rock band Butthole Surfers. He is also t ...

- producer

Chart performance

Album -

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

(North America)

References

{{Authority control 1995 albums Meat Puppets albums London Records albums Albums produced by Paul Leary Grunge albums