Meat Puppets II

I will not include the bonus tracks from the 1999 CD reissue in this review.

If you're familiar with Nirvana, then you're likely also familiar with Meat Puppets. This psychedelic cowpunk outfit would prove to be influential to many alternative and grunge artists. In the case of Nirvana, it was to the point where Curt and Kris Kirkwood were invited to perform songs from this album with them for their MTV Unplugged performance. After giving Meat Puppets II a spin, I can hear the influence they had on those later bands.

This is a pretty manic country punk record, this side of the Gun Club. Opening up with the rapid-fire flurries of "Split Myself in Two" and "Magic Toy Missing", I can make out some cool twangy guitar licks from Curt alongside the tight rhythm section of Cris and Derrick Bostrom. Pair that with Curt's shaky vocal ramblings dealing with trepidation and self-discovery, and the resulting sound of this album feels very timely for the alternative acts that would follow. Sure, the lo-fi production made some songs lack a certain punch, and I wasn't much into the repetitive "New Gods" or the closing track "The Whistling Song", but it's amazing how much craftsmanship they fit into such a tight package. Obvious highlights are the songs Nirvana would later cover with them, like "Plateau" and "Lake of Fire", but I also dug the atmospheric exploration of the instrumental "Aurora Borealis", the straightforward country tune "Climbing", and the acid-drenched angst of "Lost".

Overall, Meat Puppets II is a solid record; a stylistic shift for the band that proved substantial.

certainly one of the albums of all time, pretty mid also. kinda reminded me of the modest mouse album in that this guy cant really sing either lol

2.5

Was just gonna be like "oh, this isn’t for me" but Lake Of Fire pissed me off. How the hell did Nirvana take that mess and make it sound good? I wish I never heard the original. This album is BAD

This is a fucking sick album.

This is a great album????

3/11/26 - listened while walking the dog and driving to golf. I didn’t really like it and am very interested in knowing why this made the list. Debated between 1 and 2 stars. The Nirvana covers were the highlight but only because I knew them, and the originals are much worse than the covers.

Top Songs - uhhhh

Ordentlicher Mix aus Country und Rock.

I had to listen to Meat Puppets II two or three times to properly form an opinion. On first listen, I thought it was fairly underwhelming and slightly scrappy, and a bit directionless. But with a second and third listen, it began to open up. What initially felt rough started to sound better.

There’s a surprising amount of variety across the record. It shifts from ragged punk to hazy country-tinged ballads and even the odd instrumental detour. There’s always something happening, yet it never feels cluttered. The album flows easily, and despite its rough edges, it’s an easy listen. Nothing jumps out as a huge, “wow” moment, but taken as a whole it’s a consistently solid, slightly offbeat experience.

It’s not an album packed with standout anthems, but it has personality and atmosphere in spades. The more time you give it, the more it rewards you.

Favourite tracks: What to Do has a gentle, almost twee charm to it, and the instrumental 100% of Nothing is a standout moment of space and mood.

Least favourite tracks: There’s nothing here that feels like filler, every track adds something to the overall feel of the album.

Album artwork: A cool, distinctive cover that suits the album’s slightly psychedelic, left-of-centre vibe perfectly.

Direct and varied songs. I really liked it. Of course, the songs Nirvana covered are among the best ones. I also enjoyed the instrumental Aurora Borealis. 4 stars after just one listen.

Još nisam imala album koji ovako naglo preokrene nakon prve pjesme. Kontam aha ovo će biti dosadna imitacija punka, onda postane dosadni indie country, i onda nazad na dosadnu imitaciju punka. Čudno iskustvo slušanja.

I'm about four songs in, thinking about how prepared to give this two stars before I even started it. I had definitely listened to their stuff another band popularized, and because this songs sounded so much different (and worse) than the other band's performance, I just made an assumption that "Meat Puppets suck." That was definitely an error. They're different. They're weird. They don't suck.

I find myself quite enjoying the weird desert-baked country and I'm not even mad about the unpolished vocals. Even the songs I previously dismissed have a certain something I'm glad I paid attention to and didn't dismiss our if hand this time. That said, there are a couple of songs I would skip if listening to this again

Thanks, 1001 Albums. Among the David Bowie and Leonard Cohen albums, you have hidden for me something very cool.

3.49

proto-pavement?

On the first track they come on like Neil Young's noisier cousin, all discordant screaming and weird anger.

Then they settle down into the sort of thing punk psychobilly cowboys might line dance to.

The album is peppered with instrumentals, a bit of gospel, some Nashville, some flat out rock.

It's all over the place like a madwoman's undies and exactly how well known they'd be if Kurt Cobain hadn't announced them on the Unplugged album is up for discussion, but they're kind of fascinating in a strange "can't look away" kind of manner

Favorite track(s): Lost, Plateau, Oh, Me, I'm a Mindless Idiot

Prior to this my only knowledge of Meat Puppets was through Nirvana covering them.
The vocals are shocking which makes the instrumentals a relief, even though they are hardly brilliant.
Plateau, oh no and lake of fire are obvious standouts (despite the vocals) but i suspect my opinion is distorted on these by the Nirvana covers.

Well this is shouty. And also sort of initially sounds like a group of people having their own individual panic attacks while performing. And then goes a bit country. And then I recognised a song from a Nirvana Unplugged cover. And then we're back to a (new to me) dissonant guitar-noodling instrumental.

It's sort of impressive to make an album that's so weirdly eclectic, and yet I don't really like any of it.

I really debated the score here, because this absolutely isn't as offensive to me as other albums I've scored 1/5, but I didn't like the music that much and hated the singing. My only thing that really pushes the score a little is that the songs were mercifully short, and that doesn't get you a full star of recognition. A regrettable, not for me,

1/5

Delightfully diverse and strange.

4/5

Well, it kind of sucks. It sounds like some grungy kids decide to kind of do grunge, and kind of do country. There are a couple good songs on this album, but those are pretty much the songs that Nirvana covered.

good and interesting statement in an era that could absorb and use it. not a musically excellent album, but deserves attention.

I definitely understand why Kurt Cobain liked this band.