Meat Puppets II

Meat Puppets II

by Meat Puppets
Meat Puppets II

Meat Puppets II

by Meat Puppets

Vinyl LP(Long Playing Record)

$21.99 
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Overview

A year and a half separated the Meat Puppets' first and second albums, and that time made all the difference in the world; sounding uncertain and fidgety on their debut, they had clearly found their groove, and 1984's Meat Puppets II was not just a quantum leap over their earlier recordings, it defined the parameters of their sonic landscape and is still justly regarded as their finest work. The Meat Puppets' earliest material found them trying to reconcile their obvious love of country and psychedelic rock while bashing away at hardcore tempos, but on Meat Puppets II they relaxed a bit and learned to let each song follow its own lead, and the jolly irony was that as they became more comfortable with their eclecticism, they also created a more unified approach that flattered the instrumental skills of guitarist Curt Kirkwood, bassist Cris Kirkwood, and drummer Derrick Bostrom, as well as the group's songwriting. The speedy chicken picking on "Magic Toy Missing," the punky roar of "Split Myself in Two," the languid noise of "Lake of Fire," and the relaxed, spaced-out groove of "Aurora Borealis" may not have had much in common on the surface, but the group's sense of stoned, sunny wonder permeated them all, and Curt's stellar guitar work and spaced-out vocals were a massive improvement over the blunt yet mushy attack of the first album. And though Meat Puppets II was a long way from slick, Spot's slightly more precise production and engineering gave the album a roomier, more approachable sound, and Curt's judicious palette of guitar overdubs allowed this to stumble gracefully in between vintage hard rock and neo-Grateful Dead influences. It would take Kurt Cobain's endorsement of the album almost ten years after the fact to alert the mainstream to the importance of Meat Puppets II (Nirvana covered three songs from the LP in their MTV Unplugged concert), but the album's playful trippiness was a welcome blow against the hegemony of the nascent indie rock scene, and decades later its energetic charm and resinous insights remain a delight. ~ Mark Deming

Product Details

Release Date: 02/09/2024
Label: Megaforce
UPC: 0020286242499
Rank: 18910

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Meat Puppets   Primary Artist
Cris Kirkwood   Bass,Vocals
Curt Kirkwood   Guitar,Vocals
Derrick Bostrom   Drums

Technical Credits

Tami Blevins   Release Production
David Nichols   Remixing
Naomi Peterson   Photography
Adam Larson   Package Design
Dennis Pelowski   Management
Tom Carson   Liner Notes
Robert Hilburn   Liner Notes
Mike Hissong   Remixing
Neal Holiday   Photography
Chatherine McCabe   Photography
Michael Gross   Video Director,Video Producer
Tony Allard   Video Director,Video Producer
Steve Chadie   Engineer
Ian Gilchrist   Release Production
Troy Hansbrough   Release Production
Cris Kirkwood   Composer,Cover Art
Curt Kirkwood   Mixing,Composer,Cover Art
Derrick Bostrom   Composer,Remixing,Cover Art,Liner Notes,Package Design,Release Production
Meat Puppets   Drawing
Stuart Sullivan   Mastering
Keith Richards   Composer
Spot   Mixing,Engineer
Jeff Weatherby   Engineer
Mick Jagger   Composer
Michael Azerrad   Liner Notes
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