Meat Puppets II

It was okay

Rock n roll..not my genre

Listened twice, it was interesting. The lyrics were good, not a fan of the singing, but it was overall enjoyable. No idea they originally wrote Lake of Fire, only had heard Nirvana's cover prior. 3/5!

Get past the first track and it's not a bad album, but that first track is absolutely awful

Cool! Cow punk! Ik kende het niet, maar leuke plaat, heel gevarieerd, Plateau is zalig, gecoverd door Nirvana op Unplugged; Aurora Borealis ook, afwisselend, goeie energie, punk, maar ook goeie songs. Nice, nog eens luisteren!

Mmm... CowPunk No thanks.

Ok - so this is a tricky one! I didn't love it, but I did like it a bit. I think? What made it all the better was realising that a few of the songs on the Nirvana MTV unplugged in New York (one of my desert island albums) are covers from this album by the Meat Puppets! Who knew!? (not me obviously) Will I listen to this album again? Probably not, BUT.... will I now go listen to MTV unplugged ad nauseam (which incidentally has my all time favourite cover song - 'Man who sold the world' originally by the amazing David Bowie) Fuck. Yes.

I’m really torn on this album. Parts of it are objectively bad, but other parts of it are intriguing and oddly beautiful.

Eclectic Fun listen

Raw noisy cowpunk that inspired Nirvana! These guys have a stripped down fast country-infused punk sound that's incredibly fun to listen to. Lots of variety here, like the ambient "Aurora Borealis" and "I'm a Mindless Idiot", the noise rock "Split Myself" and "New Gods", the jam band "Oh Me", the neo-psychedelia "We're Here", and the Gram Parsons "Cosmic American" style of country in "Climbing". We even have what might be classified as post-hardcore in the bonus track "Teenager(s)". Every song left an impression, and there are some standout hits in here, particularly the ones later covered by Nirvana in their Unplugged. For innovation, resourcefulness, diversity, and great track order, it stands out as a landmark of the decade.

The album starts off splitting themself in two, which is what anyone with ears should do with any physical copy of this media they were to come across. The one saving grace of this album is "Plateau" with its steady pacing and commentary on the climb we make in life; the constant struggle to reach greater heights with the promise of something better at the top. Hence, the "Plateau". Most of the album is quite different from this song, and is likely not worth your time. The vocals are of poor quality overall, though I feel they utilized their strengths in "Plateau" and is more than passable. That said, there are a few decent instrumentals scattered throughout if the overall style is something you enjoy. "Aurora Borealis" is rather unique and stands out on its own. Give Plateau a listen, and pretend it's an EP.

Just bluegrass/country but the twist is the band usually does hardcore so the bluegrass/country has hardcore instrumentals and vocals.

Reminds me a little of violet femmes.

I've only heard of Meat Puppets from the Nirvana Unplugged album, which means I was already familiar with three songs off this album. I've always wanted to check them out because of that and I'm loving this so far. I wasn't expecting so much rockabilly/country in their sound. Combined with some fuzzed out grunge guitar and punk style, it adds up to an awesome sound. It's just rough and loose enough to sound feral and weird but the musicianship and songwriting are still excellent. The country/folk instrumentals on this are fantastic. This is one of my favorite albums from the list in a while. Great songs and a unique style. I’m curious to dig into the lyrics a little more.

You really can't mention this record without talking about Nirvana and their unplugged performance, right? It's really the thing that made this band get some notoriety. There's a part of me that loves pop music and loves super over produced music that you see all over the world today, that listens to this record and thinks "man it's so sloppy and loose and at times bland". And then there's the rebellious, anti-pop, younger brother, underdog in me is like "i love this! It's rough around the edges and it's got emotion!". This makes it hard for me to rate. Of course I love tracks that Nirvana covered, "Plateau", "Oh Me", and "Lake of Fire", because I grew up listening to the unplugged album so much. It's like listening to another band cover songs from a band that I love and know really well, I can't help but enjoy them! I'm landing around a 3/5 for this. Could be a 4/5 with more listens but at first try it doesn't blow me away enough to be that high up.

La seva peculiar barreja de rock alternatiu, punk, post punk... és força interessant. Els temes reivindicats per Nirvana ('Oh Me', 'Plateau', 'Lake of Fire') sobresurten com el millor del disc, però la resta té el seu encant, mig lo fi, mig com desmanegat a propòsit, però en tot moment una proposta original

I understand that this was a very clear and obvious influence on Nirvana, but that does not mean it's good. I feel for Kurt and the band because if I heard this in the 80s my first thought also would have been "well I can definitely make this better".

Post-Punk - manche Songs auch Country-Einfluss, dann wieder psychedelisch? - irgendwie eine bunte Mischung. Am Ende des Albums ganz schräger Gesang - das war grauenhaft

There's a term I hadn't heard before - cow punk! I like it! Fun to unexpectedly hear a couple songs I think of as Nirvana songs from their MTV Unplugged performance, but of course they were Meat Puppets songs first. They sound that lets you know they are not afraid to go for it, not afraid to just play - you can hear mistakes, but it just adds to the personality of the music, and I respect how they're making it work. Did I just become a Meat Puppets fan?

Despite this being a fairly laid back, somewhat twangy, and at times jangly album, you can really hear where Kurt Cobain got some inspiration, particularly in the vocals, even on the songs Nirvana didn't end up covering on Unplugged. I can't help but be won over by the loose and carefree warmth of the whole thing. Just puts a smile on my face. The fact that this came out in '84 makes it all that much more impressive. A humble lo-fi indie affair at the height of the slick production era.

Cowpunk eh. Well I'll be. Darn tootin'. I knew of the one song Nirvana did on the MTV Special, but the rest I was unfamiliar with. A name I know lots of musicians drop as a band that influences them, but I suppose I hear the skeleton they are referencing but it doesn't quite come together for me in a interesting way. It's close though. 3.5 to 3.

Interesting that Kurt Cobained knew/loved these guys. Not for any bad reason just a lot jammier than I expected. I loved a slowed down jam they had called "up on the sun" but this album is just straight up energy. Reminds me a bit of primus/TPOTUSA. Very good reverbed out jam guitar rock record.

Like the majority of people I heard about the meat puppets through the nirvana unplugged album. But this was the first time I have actually got round to listening to them. Good scuzzy punk album. Glad Iv now listened will I come back, maybe time will tell, for now it’s just a 3 out of 5.

I'm totally here for the punk and hardcore of this album. When the slide guitars and fiddles come out, it makes me want to gouge my earballs out. You know. I'm not actually sure that there are any slide guitars or fiddles in this. But whatever country voodoo it plays, it makes me think of slide guitars and fiddles and that's actually unforgivable for a punk hardcore act. Plateau is a lovely track. If you took the obnoxious country out of this, you'd have a decent, slightly experimental punk hardcore pop crossover album, and I'd probably thoroughly enjoy it.

Kurt Cobain made this culturally significant. By itself, it's interesting. I enjoy a number of the tracks, but the album as a whole lacks a cohesive narrative. Not the greatest album, and I'm not sure why I needed to hear it before I died. I'm not unhappy I listened to it. Oh well, you had to fill up 1001 spots – there's bound to be some filler. All that aside. I wish I had the guts to put out an album this bad.

Rock - not really ..... country - not really ..... ballads - not really. Not in the 80ties, not newer works ..... Singer out of tune. I don't understand, why this album is in the 1001's. W H Y ???

Didn't like every song but I solid album as a whole.

I hated every second of this. The vocals were dragged on, mopey, horrible and just painful to hear. I hated all of it and the fact their influential is horrifying.

"...it was merely a 2 word review that just said....'Shit Puppets'...." 2/10 1 star

I see the influence on Kurt Corbain

Was about to give up on this one as it’s not on Spotify or Apple Music but I’m glad I didn’t. This was pretty amazing. Additional star for not being unnecessarily long and another for rocking this good and different during the dreadful 80’s

I feel like there is something I’m not getting here. Vocals aren’t great for most of the album. I like The Whistling Song and Lost.

This album is lightning in a bottle, I have always loved it. It taps so many areas that interest me and pulls them together in a way nobody else had done before, punk, country. Beat poetry, psychedelic and a touch of humor. All beautifully played. I do think It’s one of the greatest albums.

A generally fun 28 minutes of varied and quirky rockabilly punk peychadelia. Rating: 2.5/5 Playlist track: The Whistling Song Date listened: 24/12/23

Why

The seems like it is at a 2x speed and the vocals are just not melodic at all

This is kinda cool. The influence on Nirvana was awseome to hear.

This record isn't bad, it's kind of interesting, certainly quirky, but I suspect it would have never gotten on this list except for the Nirvana covers of their tunes.

so mcuh fun. holy shit

I'm surprised at how much I enjoyed this album. A significant chunk of it was instrumental and occasionally got a bit heavy, but overall the mix of tracks was very impressive and makes good use of the album format. I wasn't a huge fan of the vocals though, which is why I won't give 5 stars. Stand-out: New Gods

It was sometimes punk, sometimes country and always a mix of everything. Enjoyable.

It’s like Nirvana, only sloppier, slower, less rhythm, and surpassingly worse at guitar. Let alone the signing, and all of its droning.

It’s a pretty interesting solid record. I prefer the cover versions of “Plateau” and “Lake of Fire” by Nirvana, but the rest of the album was surprisingly enjoyable.

This was a mixed bag, but let's call it a three.

Damn, Nirvana was hella influenced by this band. And I feel like a dummy for not knowing about the details of their Unplugged performance - wow. I enjoyed this album far more than I expected. It's dusty Western prog/alternative rock. I'm glad this was on the challenge. I'll listen to more of this band.

Kind of decent! An interesting combination of country rock and punk and early grunge. A few songs really sound like Beck and a few more were covered by Nirvana so this thing definitely had some influence. 6/10

Not bad, not great

first listen i have never heard anything like this and i listened to the whole album while assembling cheap utility shelves

4/10 Songs were ok, but the execution is so poor, especially the singing. Highlights: Aurora Borealis Im a Mindless Idiot Lake of Fire

Punk e tals nada de mais e algumas bem ruinzinhas

I most definitely knew some of these songs, two for obvious reasons. Kurt sure drank heavily from the Meat Puppets fountain when developing his signature vocal sounds. A very worthy inclusion in the list.

Surprisingly tuneful for a band called Meat Puppets.

If it wasn't for Nirvana I would have never heard of the Meat Puppets. Now they show up on this list. It is Effing great! Standouts: Plateau, Lost, Magic Toy Missing, Aurora Borealis, Climbing, Oh Me, Lake of Fire, What to Do (bonus), 100% of Nothing (Bonus) Others: Split Myself in Two, We're Here, New Gods, I'm a Mindless Idiot, Whistling Song 4.5

So so good.

Nice this. I’d heard a few tracks before during my teens from my Nirvana obsessed pal, but didnt know anything else about them really other than their influence on Nirvana and plenty of lofi bands. Which is quite clear to see, I think Dinosaur jr, Pavement, etc have a lot to thank these for! Preferred the songs with singing, over the more bluesy/americana type tracks (although I did enjoy the Minutemen-esque drumming to a few of them). Fairly sure Nirvana covered Lake of Fire or at least ripped it off. Great song though. Will be back.

19 songs, 48 minutes, you know it's going to be punk... except it wasn't for large parts of it. Very eclectic. Apparently they played on a few songs on nirvana unplugged and the singer did remind me of Kurt in parts. I liked lake of fire and lost and a couple of others stood out but I'm not sure I'd say the whole album was good.

Grew on me, listened to it twice. New Gods was the standout. Cohesive and yet not really. Punk-adjacent.

The style of vocals on this album were an interesting choice. It was pretty unintelligible in large parts and I didn't enjoy it much. The best thing I can say was that the instruments sound pretty good. Highlights: Split Myself In Two

Wasn't convinced by this but it grew on me. The singers voice can be quite grating. I listened again this morning and enjoyed it much more. Think I preferred the slower songs. Recognised "lake of fire" but not sure where from. Highlights: Split myself in two Plateau Aurora borealis Think I'll probably be back! 3.5 but feeling generous

I like the Meat Puppets, but all their best songs are on other albums. Plateau is very good though. Discovered Aurora Borealis though. That's a fun one. The version of Lake Of Fire on their album Too High To Die is way better than the version on this album.

you know who lives and breathes Meat Puppets? SHICK does. SHICK is all about delicious puppets of meat poured all over him while he is in a bath full of chicken Bisto. he feels like the beef flavour is to hearty for him. don't get him started on Bovril.

Meat innit

Cowpunk, rock psicodélico, bluegrass, folk, Americana. Me ha hecho gracia. Venga, un 4.

Cowpunk, countryfolk. Escuchable ... Hay un punteo que me recuerda a Guedeon Della (Just For A Day).

We all know why this became famous. However, although I like it's alt folk rock approach, there's not much going on here as demonstrated by the slew of instrumentals at the end of the album

J'ai été extrêmement déçu de constater que Nirvana et son leader Mathis avaient bâti leur carrière en piochant dans le répertoire des Muppets. Ceci explique en partie les différents "Maaaa" qui ponctuaient leurs albums.

Cet album fait figure de mise au point, il nous permet en effet de comprendre pourquoi Mathis, le professeur de guitare de robpecunière, est régulièrement pris de crises de MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Liked some of the songs and the guitar riffs, not a huge fan of the guys voice though.

Great guitar work. This is Garage Psych at its finest. Beutifuly produced, abandoning any lo-fi tendencies and noiserco of thier previous release. A classic album bolstered by some MTV unplugged publicity some years later.

I was going to say that like a lot of people my age I discovered the Meat Puppets because of Nirvana’s MTV Unplugged session, but I realized that’s only partially true. My actual first encounter was hearing Backwater, which was a big alternative hit in 1994, and I liked it so much I taped it off the radio onto a cassette on my boombox. That they were signed to a major label and receiving airplay in the first place can most likely be attributed to Nirvana— record execs were signing all sorts of alternative bands in the post-Nirvana boom, especially bands Kurt approved of. At the time I thought the Meat Puppets were a new band. They sounded like all the other young groups on alternative radio at the time. (I would make the same mistake with Violent Femmes…) I had no idea they’d already been around for over a decade until after I’d heard Unplugged. I think I may have gotten Too High to Die first, though I only liked Backwater and quickly traded it in. I remember being excited when I found a copy of Meat Puppets II in the cutout bin at the CD store at my local mall. I also remember being flummoxed by what I heard when I first put it on. I liked the three songs covered on Unplugged, but what the heck was going on with this album? There were elements of country, there were several instrumentals, the playing and singing were kinda sloppy, the distortion on the guitar sounded flangey (which was definitely not cool in the ‘90s), and the whole thing sounded cheaply recorded— this was definitely not the Butch Vig/Chris Lord-Alge radio-friendly pop punk I was used to. All of those things may have been detractors at the time, though they eventually became the reasons I grew to love the album. (Listening to it now, I wonder how much of it unconsciously influenced me to want to make a country punk album when I played in bands in the 90s and early ‘00s— something none of my band mates ever were interested in, haha. The sound in my head was pretty much what several of the songs on here are, more punk than country, unlike the popular alt-country bands of the era.) Anyway, this is a weird but charming album. It surprises me that I don’t own any other Meat Puppets records. The only other one I remember ever listening to is Too High to Die, and I can only recall Backwater from that one.

I know nothing about this band but wasn't expecting the style of this album based on the name alone. Really manic vocals but I kind of enjoy the rockabilly otherwise. It vaguely reminds me of some White Stripes.

Living just outside of the second largest city in my home state, while growing up, we were always catching shade for being behind the times. With that context in mind, my friends and I were allergic to anything remotely country and so this "cow punk" album was mostly avoided. Anyone who has dug through the crates, and maybe listened to some Nirvana, could guess this reaction to this album was prior to 1994 and the airing of Nirvana's MTV Unplugged performance that spawned a Meat Puppets revival of sorts. Not every song on this record is my thing but I enjoy more of it than I would've ever known if not for Nirvana (and I guess this 1001 Records project...).

I dont know how you manage to make a punk band album sound kind of bland, but this does it. I can see what they were trying but it just doesnt sound good at all.

Pretty audacious of the author to put his high school punk band’s album on this list. Some of the melodies are good. The singing is done in a style I can’t stand.

Really see the influence they had on nirvana's at least on cobain's singing style.

This album is a little to rough

Came and went. Didn’t really love the vocals

It starts out strong, with a brutal, almost metal-ish punk track. Then as the album went, it stretches and stretches into the country territory, with nice guitar stuff. Overall it's pretty mid, but it's interesting enough to be worth a listen.

there's nothing on top but a bucket and a mop (for this WAP)

Very strange mix of musical styles from a band I'd never heard of before today; Wikipedia gives their music genre as Cowpunk, Psychedelic Rock, Bluegrass, Folk, and Americana - they seem to be as confused as I am! Dreadful album.

This was cool. Surprised I hadn’t heard of them before since I was in college at that time

Weird. After listening to it 3 times, I'm still not sure if good weird or awful weird.

Good energy, and a different sound from a lot of this list

wtf is this

If there's a cowpunk album you've got to listen to, it's that one. So much fun.

Hey that's pretty good! This album is like trying to milk a cow on coke and ending up depressed for the rest of the day.

I didn't think I would like this album, but I ended up liking it a lot more than I thought. Punk with excellent songwriting and full of emotion.

You go to a dive bar that happens to have a band playing. After a few drinks you pick up their CD for sale next to the stage to take a look. You put it back down realizing you’ll never listen to it. That is Meat Puppets II.

some cool instrumentals but those were the best parts. never glaringly bad though so probably a low 3

Great album, realized I already knew a couple of the songs as Nirvana had covered those on their Unplugged live album.

Prefer the instrumentals clever progressions in Aurora, Mindless Idiot where I think they are at their best. Sonically pleasing and inventive mostly, with some very loose interludes. Not especially keen on the vocals, but lyrically interesting. Forerunners of Nirvana for sure in New Gods and Lake of Fire , and thrashy Teenager

The music made me zone out at a couple different points and I would have to relisten in order to figure out how I felt about a given song. Seems like that could have been partly by design and definitely created a unique listening experience, with many songs growing on me. The instrumental tracks broke up the record nicely and I liked them standalone. Could sense the talent in the guitar riffing but I wasn’t enamored by it, but the high tempo helped make it enjoyable. 5.5/10

6/10. Had its moments

A quick excursion to the intersection of punk and folk. 6/10

Respect

I discovered Meat puppets through Nirvana which makes it really tough to not prefer the cover versus the original. I don't like the singers voice but they have some really great songs.

Love it

Meh

3.5/5. Not terrible. This was my first time hearing the original version of "Lake of Fire" which was cool. There were parts of this that I was huge about, but the instrumentals are pretty solid.

Super fun. Really busy but I liked it

Meh

Surprisingly broad scope of sound and style

Fun album, can't believe I've never listened to it. It's not something I loved but it's neat to hear what influenced Kurt Cobain so much.

What a fun album. It’s punk. It’s rockabilly. It’s country rock. It’s just a boatload of fun.

I think that I should like this more than I do. If I had heard it earlier in life I probably would've loved it. Maybe it's because I've just heard their influence in so many others that hearing them now has less effect. All in all, I'd probably give it a 3 or 3.5 for my enjoyment. I liked the country tinged songs more than the more "psychadelic" stuff. I'm giving it a 4 for being so influential to others.

Yea pretty good mix of sounds

When this first came on I thought omg because the first track is not for me. Luckily it got better. What a weird album though. And I did keep imagining Kurt Cobain’s voice, which helped tbh. Again wishing this was a 10 point scale. I want to give it 3.5

Really good album of countrified punk, varried and interesting and unique. I was predisposed because I very much like the songs that Nrvana covered on their unplugged album. But all the songs on this sprawling epic had something to offer. Loved it. 4 stars

Ok

Interesting sorta experimental album… i wasn’t super keen it on it though.

I mostly knew these guys from the Nirvana covers. I liked some stuff, like the instrumentals, a lot. Particularly Aurora Borealis. Really, the playing and songwriting was good throughout. The main detractor for me is the singer's voice. I get that the style isn't intended to be raw, but the lazy-sounding off-key stuff was a bit much for me at times. I see why Nirvana liked them. But mostly I'd prefer to hear the Nirvana covers, with slightly more competent sounding singing.

This is a foundational album. It sees the Meat Puppets soften their punk/hardcore edge and introduce elements of country rock. The result is an incredibly textured album that is punctuated by the half screamed lead vocals. As a whole it just works. It's fascinating how much I can hear the rumblings of grunge in this album. I knew I would have to reckon with the Meat Puppets eventually, but I am very glad I did.

Beter als verwacht Proto punk

C'était bon, masi pas toujours facile à écouter. Certaines pièces, les chants sont durs à écouter, clairement c'est volontaire par contre. On voit comment cette musique a évidemment été une fincluence majeure pour le mouvement grunge. Je peux pas dire que j'ai tant aimé, mais un autre album qui valait la peine d'être écouté. 6/10

Ok

I recognized the band name from the last track on the Sublime album 40 oz to Freedom, called Thanx, basically a list of people and bands they want to thank. Listening to this album, I can hear how this band influenced Sublime with some of the more punk tracks. This album is all over the place with genres, country, punk, early grunge, basically anything they wanted to play, also similar to Sublimes music. I can definitely hear how this influenced Nirvana, two of the tracks, Plateau and Lake of Fire, were covered on the Nirvana live from NY album.

It's punk i guess. Country punk. With a cool bass solo. Will not listen again but was interesting.

Very mixed bag

Prob this is somewhere between 2 and 3 but overall it's interesting enough to make me generous

The album was surprisingly good, especially after the opening, hardcore track there were more acoustic and psychedelic rock songs on it, some of them I've known because Nirvana covered them later. I liked it!

Scrappy, pre-grunge rock.

A 48 minute album that felt like two hours with no redeeming qualities

Proto-grunge, obviously a huge influence on Nirvana and their peers. Enjoyable and fun, without ever ascending to the heights of some of the bands who followed them. I will be diving into the rest of their stuff (when I get time!)

I feel like so many of these 80s bands just flew under my radar. Probably because I was like four years old when this came out. But I think even my four-year-old self would have liked this. It's whimsical and light without ever becoming cloying, with some great tunes and lovely noodley little guitar bits. Just a perfectly formed album.

I wanted to like it but I just do NOT vibe with muffled, noisy music. It really gets in the way of my enjoyment of the other aspects of the songs.

I actually liked it a great deal I didn’t care AS much for the country-rock type songs, but I really liked a lot of the chill tracks and the hazy noisier distorted guitar songs. In the past I really disliked most songs with any “noise” but now I can oftentimes enjoy it I recognized “Lake of Fire” from that Nirvana cover on their live album

90% drasl, 10% þokkalegt instrumental prog-like shit.

felt i was listening to a inside joke i was not aware. Is the guy singing out of tune something people enjoy?

First off, this cover looks almost exactly like Since I Left You by the Avalanches in my brain. The actual music I was mostly surprised I didn't hate because I got real offput by the vocals at the start. Fortunately, it grew on me and I liked the variety of genres they went through from song to song. It wasn't anything amazing but I wasn't itching to turn it off by the end. Only other note is that I swear I've heard plateau before but maybe it's because it sorta sounds like nirvana.

I think this is pretty rubbish. The songs don't have much form to them at all, they're just kind of loose and chaotic. I don't like the singing at all. It's so whiny and weak and nothing. It's kind of telling that the best track is the instrumental one.

Seems unpolished and unfinished. Interesting sound, but more tailored for a garage than a venue.

Not having heard this before, what is most striking is how good Nirvana's covers of the three songs on this album. Kurt takes what is delivered here as a 5 or 6 and makes it a 10. It does highlight the weakness that the lead singer has a relatively uninteresting tone and delivery. An ordinary conversation. With that said, the music is very interesting and intricate. The instrumental pieces are some of the best (Aurora and Idiot), though the Whistling Song is also strong.

Messy, occasionally fun instrumentals and twangy country rock, but mostly messy tuneless kids play. Nothing like Minutemen.

Like being stuck at a party with an annoying know it all who thinks that they’re much cleverer and edgier than they are. Or talking to an ‘artist’ who has no clue, and turns out they’re a real estate agent and cross fit trainer. Boring, annoying and really not worth anything.

So, I take it this is comedy. Or at least ironic?

Not bad! Kept my interest while driving, even if not all tracks were to my liking.

With a decent vocalist, this could have been a 5-star album for me. Because the music is so often sublime. The three instrumentals are among the real highlights. Nowhere moreso than in Magic Toy Missing, where Curt Kirkwood’s guitar playing flows from country picking to the psychedelic with such ease. Aurora Borealis & I’m A Mindless Idiot are also thoroughly interesting. And, despite the shitty vocals, the songs are well-written, but I just can’t get over that voice. At least someone knows how to whistle.

The cover really gives it away; this was written and recorded quickly, with minimal editing and on drugs. Obviously, the Kirkwood brothers had some country knowledge and chops, and when they let those influences into their punk framework (along with a healthy dose of psychedelia), you get a quite interesting thing. Much more interesting than the bulk of the early 80s SST hardcore thing. Using Spot, the eclectic in-house producer at SST, obviously helped. I can hear the influence on subsequent lo-fi bands like Pavement or Guided by Voices (especially the "no editing" thing) and on psychedelic bands like the Flaming Lips et al. That said, this is pretty sloppy, the singing ain't great, and there is a fair amount of material that probably should have been left on the cutting floor. I saw the Meat Puppets at the Lansdowne Hotel in Sydney in 1992 (I think), and my memory is that they were sloppy as all hell, and not in a particularly fun way. I was unimpressed. Would this album have made this list if it wasn't for the three songs that Nirvana covered (with guest appearance by the Kirkwoods) on the Unplugged session? I've never really heard a satisfactory version of why they did those three songs, except for speculation that Kurt Cobain was so disengaged and out of it that they needed the extra material (and musical support) to pad out the session. It's an Ok album, and I happily listened to it three times through, but it is a pretty minor footnote to musical history.

Some things you just don’t vibe with. I can see why someone could like this, just like I could see why someone couldn’t like the Lemonheads album I rated highly. Although, listening to the Lemonheads album as I write this, I think they’ve got a sharper instinct for songwriting, and a better lead singer. Not that I think the Meat Puppets guy’s voice is bad, I’ve willingly listened to worse voices. I think it may be a thing about album structure. I don’t actively think this is bad music at all. I think that there are too many too similarly structured songs too close together. A lot of the instrumental tracks sound a lot like instrumental versions of the songs that came immediately before them. Now that I’ve been introduced to it, I’m sure I’ll go back and listen to the album again at some point, but at the moment I’m not impressed. But as I said at the top, some acts you just don’t vibe with. In terms of early 80’s alt rock, I think Meat Puppets may be the band I just don’t vibe with

This scuzzy, varied and occasionally beautiful album continues to surprise me, 15 years since I thought I'd check out the band that wrote the best bits of Nirvana Unplugged. On a good day, it's in my all time top 10.

Phenomenal. Never gets old, so great and never duplicated. One of the best albums ever recorded. 10/10

Very good

Y'know, this is a tough one. I get how influential these guys are to grunge and, very specifically, to Nirvana. But, it was a tough listen. I do know that the Meat Puppets got more melodic later in their career, so do love them for that. However, the off key singing is a bit off-putting.

I really like the first part of this. And then I really hate it. I'd listen to the start again though.

Tää oli paikoitellen tylsä ja paikoitellen hyvä. Olisin kaivannut kaahailua lisää. 3/5

Tää bändi oli tuttu vain Nirvana-covereista, mutta käy ilmi, että tykkäsin paljon enemmän kuin Nirvanasta! Huikea puolituntinen, pitää tutkia näitä lisää. Vahva 4, melkein tekisi mieli antaa viisi.

Muutama riittävän kiinnostava biisi esti ettei olisi kakkoseksi jäänyt. En ehkä ihan saanut kiinni.

Honestly? Barely listenable. There are a couple of nice songs on it, but it turns out Kurt Cobain already heard them and did vastly superior covers of them. The rest is mediocre.

Ну такое се

Enjoyed it more than I expected from the group name. Especially as it calmed down after a couple of tracks

A bit too shouty. Sounds like a worse version of Nirvana to me.

A touch long, but pretty good. Not hard to see how much they influenced Nirvana.

Ramshackle yet full of chill gems, the second Meat Puppets album is loaded with the familiar and the waiting-to-be-discovered, ensuring those who become acquainted with this album regardless of its run time (almost 30 minutes in the original release, almost fifty in the repress) that there will be nothing but raw brilliance throughout. No surprise that this was a favorite of Kurt Cobain's. Favorites: Split Myself in Two, Lost, Plateau, Aurora Borealis, We're Here, Oh, Me, Lake of Fire, The Whistling Song, Teenager(s), What to Do, 100% of Nothing.

Rumours swirled when Nirvana said special guests would appear at their acoustic MTV concert. Would this be another “Last Waltz”with rock and roll royalty?Would Scorsese make the film? Confusion and a chorus of “wtf’s” were rampant when the special guests turned out to be The Meat Puppets. The fast pace of the first song reminds me of Jim Carroll’s “People Who Died”. Given his high pitched voice I surprised myself by enjoying this. The album them delves into songs influenced by country and other weirdness. It’s reminiscent of the Wilco and perhaps Chilli Peppers. The MPs have enough of the “We don’t care if we’re popular“ attitude that I can see why Nirvana liked them. There’s even a whistling song appropriately called “The Whistling Song” and some fine guitar playing.

When we received the Nirvana Unplugged release, I felt the Meat Puppet contributions were a definite plus. Here, I prefer their more country-inspired numbers, as well as some of the instrumentals (or maybe I just don't like Curt Kirkwood's voice?) Fortunately they revisit their hardcore routes infrequently.

If Pavement did Country punk. It was ok but didn’t resonate with me.

Album 146 of 1001 Meat Puppets - Meat Puppets II Rating : 3 / 5 Favorite Track : Aurora Borealis Anybody not ran off because of the first track will find that this is a very enjoyable album. Aside from the atrocious vocals, the musicianship is very good. There are some short, catchy tracks that are fun to listen to. But the vocals...not good. Still an overall fine album.

A wild ride through nearly every genre out there - sags a bit in the back half, but man is the front loaded with amazing tracks. Manages to dip its fingers into a bunch of musical pies without feeling too scatterbrained but rather just the right amount. One of those out of left field finds that make the whole project worthwhile, would’ve never found this without getting it here.

One of the most important albums in my life. The Whistling Song is my song until the day I die.

Love this - besides the big songs that Nirvana made famous, the whole album is a mish-mash of punk psychedelia, country rock and generally good vibes. It's especially more unique due to it's rough edges, which kind of puts in a class of it's own.

Aika vekkuli ja viihdyttävä levy. Rockia, punkkia, grungea ja vähän noiseakin. Ei alkanut kyllästyttämään missään vaiheessa.

I like the Meat Puppets but I’m less familiar with this album so it was good that it came up today in the rotation here. They are versatile, talented, and, in some ways, a bit ahead of the curve. Good stuff here.

Really enjoyed how ramshackle this is at times but then some of the guitar playing is sublime

Bunch of different things going on here. Most of it good.

Sucesión de canciones algunas un poco más calmadas, otras con toques más sucios. Alguna canción reconocible gracias al Unplugged de Nirvana. En ocasiones, también con toques country y con predominio de banjo.

Rather average

I mean, they do their thing. But I’m not into it. I should be, it fits my sensibilities on paper. It’s just not for me. It’s not. I’ve always thought they were very meh and this hasn’t changed my mind one bit.

Not my taste

Wow I put this off for so long based on how heavy the first track was!!! Then I just decided to finally listen today while I finish some work and wow I'm so amazed by the variation on this album. The funkier tracks I really enjoyed like I'm Not Here and also I found Aurora Borealis really interesting and creative. I just listened to it all (not with great focus mind-you) and I can't actually remember whether there were any vocals at all?? Which is mad to me and not a great sign. Such a strange album though and it kind of makes me like it so much more just for the fact of how surprising it was at every turn haha!

Luke will tell me off for not giving this a 4 but I did only enjoy this so much. I didn't not like it and some songs I did, but I wasn't a blown away as Luke was telling me I should be (awkward!)

This was pretty good. Not amazing, but I did enjoy it. Kind of faded into the background but in a good way. From the style and the date, it must have influenced a lot of stuff I like so can definitely see the appeal.

You have to admire the musical diversity of Meat Puppets. Each song has something different to offer, something surprising.

Much better than I expected.

alt country meets garage rock. sounds like a weird combination, but it kind of works. i’m in for it.

I've quite literally been to garage parties with better bands than this. I'm sure they influenced whoever and yeah Plateau and Oh, my ended up being fairly good songs when performed by other people, but they really needed to be performed by other people. Why is this on here?

Pretty good edgy 80’s rock that I didn’t know was around when it was around.

It's a decent listen with muddy performances. Whether there is intention or not, I find it's something that holds the enjoyability of these songs back

Curt Kirkwood has annoying vocals but the band just has something. 4 stars because the instrumental tracks are great.

Some cool noise rock not sure how I feel about the voice but the songwriting more then makes up for it

Man this was a rough one and I'm only giving 2 stars because the Instrumentation was pretty good, because otherwise I cannot point to one song on the album I enjoyed, I thought it was really bad actually. I think there's fun to be had for sure but the lead vocalist cannot sing for shit and that ruins almost every song on here I genuinely was considering giving it the lowest score for that but upon reflection it has energy to it, the instrumentation is good and I respect what it's going for but none of the songs are good so going to slap it with 2 stars baby.

I was sitting there listening to this album thinking, \"wow, this sounds very similar to some of the early Ween stuff,\" low and behold the Dean Ween and Meat Puppets at one point did tour so that slight hunch was correct. Yeah, bloody loved it. A quirky but upbeat album, good stuff. Wish there were a few more vocal tracks is all, just to hear more great stuff from them! Stand out songs: - Plateau - New Gods - What To Do - Aura Borealis - I know I said I wanted more vocal tracks but this is good stuff right here!

Truly an awful album. Some of the worst singing I’ve ever heard. The only halfway decent songs are the ones covered on the Nirvana Unplugged album (and much better there because Cobain could sing at least a bit). Hard not to think this is on the list only because Cobain loved them for whatever reason. I love Lake of Fire but even that doesn’t save this from being one star, sorry.

3.5

The lead singer is tone deaf

low key punk rock one of the songs is covered on nirvana's unplugged 2.5

I mean... okay? It's... something. There are times when the guitar work or lyrics are really smart but only moments. And man, ol' boy Curt there just can't carry a tune, can he? I don't know. I'm not sure I get the appeal of this one or understand why it's on the list. While I recognize several of these tracks, the album itself is a mess. The only reason I'm scoring this as high as I am is because Spot's production is just really great (as one should expect).

I'd never even heard of the Meat Puppets before, so this was a pleasant listening experience. Lots to love here, great guitar, interesting lyrics and delivery. I can see how the vocals might put some people off, but they were a good fit as far as I was concerned. Nowhere near perfect and it petered out a bit towards the end a little. Definitely worth 4 stars though.

Very uneven album, but I like the sound. The vocals? Not so much.

On my first listen I was really enjoying the start, but eventually I started losing interest. It turned out I was accidentally listening to the deluxe edition with half a dozen demo tracks at the end sooo problem solved ✅ But on the flipside, the demo version of Aurora Borealis at the end was one of my favourite tracks 🤷‍♂️ Less flashy than its album counterpart, but just kinda groovy and chill. This was a great discovery! Full of ideas, nice short tracks, lots of energy but also kind of meandering about. Thanks 1001 albums generator ❤️

I sometimes think the requirement to get on this list is to have an album that is anti-melody. I suppose the art of Rock n Roll is being anti-establishment and not sounding like old people. If that’s the requirement for this list, then this album qualifies. I just enjoy melody with my protest poetry. This album had a mixture of out of tune guitars and screaming vocals, ala Nirvana without the heroin. But then it had some beats that had me tapping my fingers. So there’s something there… 2.1/5.

Rating: 7/10 Best songs: Split myself in two

Was definitely different to what I was expecting. Enjoyed it moderately.

Rock ecléctico. Interesante.

Meh did not care for this

Some of the songs are decent, but I wouldn't go so far to say they're good. I guess one good thing is I now have heard where Nirvana covered Lake of Fire from. Honestly, this sounds like a lot of the inspiration for Nirvana.

Fun enough, but just not very good? I think maybe you would need to have some previous experiences with Meat Puppets to be able to fully appreciate what they were doing here.

Cobain could have gone with Vedder, Cornell… But he went with Meat Puppets on Unplugged. That alone says a lot. At times they come across as brilliant songwriters on “Oh, Me”, “Lake of Fire” and “Plateau”. At other times the level is not quite there. It’s still a record I would easily recommend.

Sounds like beautiful chaos. I discovered this band when Nirvana did the Unplugged set, which included 3 songs from this album. I can get why Kurt liked them.

sa s'écoute. country/punk/rock. pas mauvais. 6.5/10

Fist time through this one I wasn’t impressed. The more I listen the better I am enjoying it. Favorites: Keeping Pigs Together Others: Some Kind of Kink, Don’t Go Nowhere, The Rough and the Quick 3/5

instrumentals are good, although often seemed awkwardly rushed. Vocals are terrible.

Wait, this came out in 1984? What the hell were they thinking? What the hell were they listening to? This is an absolute mess of a record in the best possible way. Hardcore bluegrass anyone? Tracks seem to alternate from catchy and engaging to annoying and unlistenable and I suspect on my next listen the catchy / annoying alternating will switch around. Bizarre.

I bought this CD in about 2003 as one of those JB Hi-Fi $7 deals. I felt ripped off. The meat puppets were not a good band - noisy, out of tune, amateur slop. Hard to digest, no real talent. The craziest thing is that this album is a masterpiece compared to the one before it. Overall take home message on this band in general: Kurt Cobain led a lot of us up the garden path. I'm guessing they sent him a thankyou card though. 2/5.

The music was alright but the singer couldn't sing ! Consequently I enjoyed the instrumental elements of the album. That's going to be tough to rate ? I’m going a harsh 2*

Enjoyed it. If I listened longer it may go up but a standard 3 is fine for now.

Never heard of the Meat Puppets until Nirvana’s Unplugged album came out. This is my first listen to the album. They have a great sound. Why have I not heard this before? I was 17 in 1984…. This could have been with me my whole life… Right from the start, it rocks. Plateau might be one of the best songs I never heard before! Standouts: Plateau, Oh Me, Lake of Fire, Lost Others: Split Myself in Two, Climbing, I’m a Mindless Idiot, The Whistling Song, What to Do (bonus track) 3.5/5

This album is a strange one to actually sit down and listen to, since, like most people, I became familiar with the Meat Puppets through Nirvana's Unplugged album, which featured three of the songs on this album. It feels weird to hear those songs in their original context. This album is really cool, though. It's funny how many hardcore punk bands were able to really find their niche after abandoning that fairly limited subgenre (see also: Boys, Beastie). This is a really cool early alternative album with a lot of country elements fused into it, with some psychedelic rock mixed in for good measure. The music is really great and feels innovative for 1984. The vocals are...not great, but that also doesn't feel like their goal. Overall, it's a really cool album 4/5

Yes, yes and yes. Give me that dissonant noisy goodness. This is just so raw and honest that I can’t find it anything less than perfect.

i actually really liked it

This was pretty great, wish I had given it some attention when it was contemporary. I remember hearing the Meat Puppets for the first time, as many did, when they appeared on Nirvana Unplugged. Their subsequent album didn't do much for me, but I never went back and listened to their older stuff. I love the mix of country and psychedelic and punk. It's funny they are credited with being an early "cow punk" band as some of their tracks remind me of The Cows.

Great album. I feel like the singing holds it back a little, which is a weird thing for me to say. But the Nirvana takes on unplugged that are more melodic are just definitively better versions. The guitars and instrumentation are fire though. 3.75/5

Had a bit of a Meat Puppets phase back in the day, but never really come back to them. They’re good! Like a heavier REM B

really bad

Cowpunk, countryfolk. Escuchable ... Hay un punteo que me recuerda a Guedeon Della (Just For A Day)

Aside from a few duds, this album has quite a bit to offer. It sets itself up as a passable 80s punk album, but a few tracks in, you realize the band has a lot of surprises in store. I really dig the guitar effects scatted throughout that compliment the song structures. Not to mention the killer instrumentals.

I find much of the guitarwork on this record to be interesting, compelling even, but the cowpunk vocals and trailer park vibes do not work for me.

I know these guys from Nirvana's MTV Unplugged show. Jesus, this is crazy. A bit too crazy. Not a fan of the vocals at all. Too many throwaway songs, but I enjoyed the ones that Nirvana covered. Sorry to report that I didn't like this. I was going in with high hopes and generally like noise, but I just didn't click with it, I guess. Maybe something to return to later.

не, не моё

Quirky and almost child-like. Didn't leave an impression

This seems to anticipate and frankly transcend a lot of alt/indie/grunge developments to come after it. Definitely at the top of that game.

Did not enjoy

I didn’t enjoy the opener, found the first couple of songs repetitive in and of themselves. But ended up feeling a little sad the album had ended. Go figure.

I liked it a lot more than I expected to.

Very creative

Classic cowpunk.

Oh cool, cowboy punk! I don't love the vocals on this one, but the instrumentation is good. Also a surprising amount of variety, especially for a punk record. This definitely isn't for everyone, but it's got charm.

Where jaunty country esque with tuneless, flat singing. Noisy. Reminds me of Bright Eyes a bit.

Surprisingly surprising. Much deeper than I was expecting, and great tunes.

Pleasant and a surprise. A new rabbit hole to lose myself in

One of the best American Guitar albums ever made.

All over the place. Terrible vocals. Here and there some interesting guitar work, but it might as well have been a fluke.

Weird album, incoherent and with doubtful vocal performance, but somehow it works. Good pick by Kurt Cobain for his MTV show.

As a general rule, the music is alright, but the singer leaves a bit to be desired.

Not too bad and not what I expected

I enjoyed this! I only knew them from the Nirvana unplugged but I enjoyed this album. Little country/bluegrass in there.

Good

Not unbearable, but forgettable.

Very interesting album with a range of different genres, although ultimately just shy of 4 stars for me personally

Meat puppets- This was a tough one. plateau has some interesting stuff I guess. Tempos are all over the place There could be some cool guitar and bass stuff its super sloppy sounding - I might like a better version of this but for the most part it was not enjoyable. Vocals are terrible. Punk / alternative country vibes. Lake of fire - I knew the famous Nirvana version from the Unplugged was a cover but didn’t realize the meat puppets wrote the original. I’ve tried to listen to a few times but it’s super challenging.

One of my least favorites so far. Really bad.

Not only do I hate this but I hate anyone who likes it.

Really dug this

This feels like the kind of album where you uncover some hidden depth on repeated listening, but it really didn't do much for me on the first listen. My opinion on first time through is a 2, but I'm going to give it the benefit of the doubt and add a star.

Ont-ils influencé Jack White? J’ai pensé à lui à quelques reprises. Eux-mêmes marient de nombreux courants de façon réjouissante. Beaucoup aimé les guitares d’Aurora borealis

Was slightly dreading when I saw the band name but what a high energy killer first opening song. However then goes a bit country - if it had been all like the first song it would have been a 5. There's enough great music in here to make it a really good album, however the country tinge to it impacts the enjoyability by a lot. 3.5

Some songs deserve 3 stars, some deserve 4 stars

bettter than I expected

Really good record that everyone should try once. This band honestly has so much and it deserves the praise it gets

The sound these guys have is so shitty and awful but in an intentional way that makes it fun to listen to. Just the kind of shitty that comes full circle into becoming good

Excellent! 4.5/5

Cowpunk y psicodelia rock, este trío influyó notablemente en otros grupos como Pavement o Nirvana, los cuales les rindieron culto en su Unplugged.

Extremely loose and messy. This is what they were going for, maybe, in which case full marks. This can be great, but most of the songs aren't strong enough to come through for me. Also too much country after I had two straight hours of bluegrass yesterday. Sorry MPs, you're a victim of the algorithm. The songs Nirvana covered obviously are the draw, and it's interesting to hear them. I do really like the end of Plateau here, and Lake of Fire is stretched out, raw, scratchy and crazed. The rest I can leave, ta very much.

Este disco está aquí sólo porque Nirvana les hizo 3 covers en el unplugged. Igual son las mejores canciones del disco, pero no son para este listado.

Vivid memories of learning that all my favourite Nirvana songs were actually by some weird band called Meat Puppets

I'm a very casual fan of Cheap Trick but this live album really showcases what made them special. Super high energy and equal parts catchy and noisy. So many bops.

The variety on display here is really intriguing, as is the range of quality. How good would this have been with a decent production team behind it? Giving this 4 slabs of meat, mainly because I really want to come back to this. 🥩🥩🥩🥩

Genuint så heat hu ha ja int hört talas om detta

Raw, jangly, groovy

Jättebra

Very weird. Some of the lyrics were humorous. The lead singer cannot sing. It is not good. The only upside is the album was 30 minutes. I have no desire to listen to this album again or other songs by the Meat Puppets. It is better than a one but not really a two.

Definitely enjoyed this one a lot more than I'd thought. I was afraid this would just be unlistenable hardcore noise, but it was certainly more varied and interesting then that. There were a few tracks that were a bit hard to listen to, but then some were also worthy of five stars. Rounding the total up from 3.5 And Kurt Cobain really liked this album I guess, which is also something at least.

Just great! I knew it before but listening to it always makes fun

Musically might be a 4 but I've never been able to tolerate the vocals

Enpä ole tainnut kuunnella näitä koskaan ennen? Tiesin Nirvanan lainanneen Plateaun, mutta oli siellä ainakin pari muutakin. Kovin poukkoileva levy joka taitaa olla tyylille tavanomaista. Ehkä paras levy tähän asti aivan puskista tulleista bändeistä.

Ja, dit is gewoon niet nodig he? Het zijn misschien niet eens de nummers die ruk zijn, maar de uitvoering maakt je gewoon verdrietig.

Ik ken de Meat Puppets eigenlijk alleen van Nirvana unplugged. Ik kan hun nummers alleen nog horen als Kurt ze zingt. Hun eigen werk maakt toch minder indruk

Als ik de 3 nummers van dit album niet in de Nirvana Unplugged versie zou hebben gekend, zou ik dit meteen hebben afgeserveerd. Nu was ik wel benieuwd ook in de rest van dit album. Maar dan blijkt dit eigenlijk gewoon verschrikkelijk gejammer in de marge te zijn. Kurt hoorde er iets briljants in blijkbaar maar ik trek dit echt slecht.

Leuke stukken, afschuwelijke stukken. Zo wil ik deze plaat graag samenvatten.

A bizarre mix of punk and country, though despite being an oddball kind of album it didn't really stand out to me that much. Might go and listen again eventually just in case it gets better on the second listen. Favourite: Magic Toy Missing

The first psychobilly album? Perhaps. There are streaks of lovely jangly melody in this, along with some amusing lyrics. I largely found the instrumental tracks more arresting. Perhaps a second re-listen will garner more than my tentative initial two stars.

This album does not put its best foot forward with the first song, but after that I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. I like the instrumental interludes.

4.5 nawet za aurora borealis

This was much better than I expected. Sort of loose and raucous but also well crafted and interesting tunes. Will listen again. 4 stars.

It's fine enough; some good songs. But even though the variety here is fun, it does lead it to be inconsistent, and the vocals... I'm usually all for "unique" vocalists but this was a rough go. Overall it's a good record but there is a lot that I don't seem to get out of it.

Woof, vocals rough. The instrumentals were pretty good, but not good enough to redeem.

Another "why is this on here album", sounds like they tried to mimic the doors or something and this is an AZ band, not UK but I didn't latch onto anything.

Had no idea what to expect from this one but really enjoyed it a lot! Punk light, if that's a thing. Shocked that it was made in the '80s, feels much more recent. Lots of excellent guitar work and melodies on here, I especially loved all the instrumental tracks on the back end. It seems like a few of the track titles repeated for me, but I don't think it was the same song twice. Anyway, plenty to love on here. This is the sort of unknown album that I love to get on this journey! Favorite tracks: Magic Toy Missing, Oh Me, Lake of Fire, I'm a Mindless Idiot, 100% of Nothing, Aurora Borealis. Album art: Abstract, melting colors. Reminds me of that Action Brown Cocodrilo Turbo cover if you left in the sun a few days. Pretty cool. 4/5

pleasingly weird but so noodly

Compare this album's average rating of 2.97 against Nirvana's Nevermind rating of Nevermind at 4.41 and come up with a head scratcher. Nirvana was essentially a Meat Puppets cover band and because some guy bit into the wrong end of a shotgun, they have the third highest rated album on this list. Nirvana is and was overrated. Meat Puppets are all over the place and can't follow a musical thread. 3/5.

Meat Puppets are good or not good not sure I think I like them enough

Some goofy dudes noodling around. At their best they sound like Nirvana, which doesn't surprise me given their influence on Nirvana. At their worst they sound like Some goofy dudes noodling around. Which is what they are.

Debated whether to give this a 3 or a 4 for a while, but ultimately I don't think I liked it enough to listen to repeatedly. It's good though, some very off the beaten path punk music. Might come back to it if I'm in the mood I guess? 3.5 rounded down.

Un bizarre d'album qui va dans tout les sens, mais c,est pas mauvais . 3

eh

Bizarre, genre-bending... somewhere between punk and country, like the country that likes driving in the desert looking for aliens. Obviously I'm familiar with this through Nirvana Unplugged, but I'll admit I like their version of "Plateau" better. Favorite tracks: "Plateau", "Aurora Borealis"

Severe inconsistencies in quality between tracks. The first and only time I've heard of the Meat Puppets was in Nirvana's Unplugged album. Listening to this album now, I can see why I managed to live my life without them thus far and will surely manage the rest of my life the same.

Was it not necessary in the 80s to be able to sing?

I’d only ever heard of these guys from the lake of fire cover on Nirvana unplugged. Not too bad but nothing special.

Interesting and quite refreshingly diverse album. .swings from genre to genre which makes it a bit uneven but stimulating.

3/5. A unique and one of a kind album. I learned what Cowpunk was so that was cool. Somehow it feels like it is not trying at all but also trying too hard. Still good enough for 3 I think.

Helt okej!

Album was interesting for sure. I would consider this a textbook album. Through you for a loop but still sounded great and something I needed

Gruwelijk kattengejank, muziek nog wel leuk maar zang te kut. 1

9/10 fantastic album it’s just so fun and weird I like Up on the Sun a little bit more, it’s got a more proggy edge to it but yeah both these albums are great

1.5

Pretty easy to see why Kurt Cobain would be into these guys. They did it better without him. Best track: Lake of Fire

First album so far that has felt out of place on this list. The frontman's voice was shakey and funny at best, god awful at worst and usually the latter. Poorly mixed, guess they didn't care about that though. Made me feel like I was trapped in some cook out in Nebraska, probably blind drunk and lost (perhaps that's what that song was about). I'm A Mindless Idiot was the stand out. Good intricate folksy blues that. Definitely helped that there was no singing involved. Read they influenced Nirvana which is fair enough, but that doesn't mean it's good. Couldn't help but want to TURN THAT NOISE OFF. A first solo dolo star.

It has to be done

This album is on the 1001 list but Exmilitary isn’t. In the words of Liz Truss, “that is a disgrace!”

Proper grungy, who gives a fuck if it sounds shit ROCK. As made famous by Unplugged with Nirvana. Some decent tracks on here. With a classic or two. Sot Plateau Lake of fire Oh me I’m a mindless idiot 3/5