The hardcore punkers must have regarded the Meat Puppets as if they were aliens, back in 1984 for playing this weird blend of punk, country, and bluegrass. It's an acquired taste--untrained vocals, quirky lyrics, sloppy playing, and an overall rustic feel. The band's trademark sound later became more polished on gems like Up On The Sun, but II is the source. This music was very different from the SST-label punk released back then, and definitely not to everyone's liking.

And yet, despite its rough and unpolished feel, this record is compulsively listenable and enjoyable in its dry, acid-drenched Mojave atmosphere. Curt Kirkwood's off-key vocals grate at first but quickly grow on the listener, while his guitar solos attain moments of magic that 90% of polished professional musicians would struggle to reach. Yep, guitar solos, in a "punk" band. Imagine that. Curt's brother Kris (bass) and drummer Derrick Bostrum make up a loose, easygoing backing.

From top to bottom, there are no weak tracks, and most of them are stellar. Famously, Plateau, Oh Me and Lake Of Fire were all covered by Nirvana on their '93 MTV Unplugged concert. I used to think Cobain's reworkings were superior, but now I'm not so sure. I love the shimmering electric outro found on this version of Plateau, Curt's plaintive voice on Oh Me, and the epic feel of Lake Of Fire. Other highlights included here are the frantic Split Myself In Two, the disillusioned Lost, the great instrumental Aurora Borealis, and the fine closer The Whistling Song. The bonus tracks don't really add much, nor do they take anything away from this classic album. You can hear the influence of this album all throughout the Seattle alternative and indie genres.

Overall, if I was headed on a road trip to the deserts of New Mexico, this would be the first album in the CD changer. Essential to anyone with a taste in indie or alternative.


Deep Fried Desert Grissle!   June 15, 2005
 8 out of 12 found this review helpful

I'm an Arizona native and these guys used to throw oranges at my friend when he walked to school. Although they kind of drifted off into obscurity after their last real hit "backwater" in mid-ninties, this album is their crowning achievement. Amazing that it's now 20 years old and still continues to delight and confound those who discover it.

Oh yeah - reviewer Janitor X is a complete moron. He also gave Pavement's Crooked Rain and the Pixies Doolittle album one star.
He's one of those idiots you see driving a datsun pickup blaring Mastadon out the window. It must be weird to be retarded but not know it, huh?


Good gravy, this is a good record.   January 13, 2000
 7 out of 8 found this review helpful

Oh, I wonder-wonder hoom-a-doo-doo-who? Who has bought this album and owes it soley to the fact that Kurt Kobain and company played not 1..not 2...but THREE songs with Kris and Kurt Curkwood on MTV's Unplugged and muttered "All these songs are from their second album." ?

Cuz that's what I did. Don't expect anything like their (1994?) top-40 hit Backwater; that song's as different from the material on II as their full-length debut--an odd synthesis of slop-hardcowpunk songs that I would NOT recommend to just anyone--is. Kirkwood's off-key, troubled voice grows on one in an EXTREMELY appealing fashion, as the boys slap their instruments through these varied songs that lie somewhere between punk and country; folk and ballad (Listen at the very LEAST for the Neil Young-esque "The Whistling Song"). Awesome.

Warning: Takes several listens to fully appreciate, but once one is hooked, they will no doubt curse the rather short-length (under a half an hour? ) of this fine, fine rock masterpiece. The End.


New Fan of Meat Puppets   December 16, 2000
 7 out of 7 found this review helpful

First encounter with Meat Puppets was when I heard "Backwater" on the radio several years ago and decided to buy the album but never got around to it. Heard "Plateau" on Nirvana MTV unplugged and didn't think much of it the first time I heard it. Then after listening to the song several times I began to love the guitar outro. I was looking for a change from REM and Nirvana. Nirvana seems to have been influenced by the Meat Puppets. REM sounds a lot different.

I bought my first Meat Puppets album "Up On the Sun" and loved it, especially Hot Pink and Maiden's Milk. Decided to buy two more albums "Huevos" and "Too High To Die". "Backwater" is on Too High To Die" but I liked "Huevos" better. In fact I liked it so much, I bought all of the rest of the Meat Puppets CDs including the live one "Live in Montana". "Meat Puppets II" is excellent, especially the songs "Plateau", "Aurora Borealis", and "Lake of Fire". Their first album "Meat Puppets" is punk rock and too hard for me to digest (especially with the kids in the car) and "Monster" is pretty good. I am looking forward to breaking the seal on the other albums (12 CD's total).

To summarize the Meat Puppets: weird, amazing guitar playing, great songwriting, good lyrics, good (sometimes great) singing.

Thank god for the Meat Puppets.


One of the best underground rock albums of the 80s   June 29, 2005
 6 out of 7 found this review helpful

If you only know the Puppets for their hit "Backwater" they had in '94, than you're in for a surprise. This is definatly less grunge and more punk and country influenced. You probably know some of the songs from Nirvana's great "Unplugged" special on MTV, but even those covers can't match the originals. Curt Kirkwood's vocals may be annoying on the first listen, but subseqeunt listens will show him to be an adept punk frontman, and this album certainly sounds good on repeated listens. Quickly paced, there isn't a single skippable track on this album. The melding of two different styles (punk and country) surprisingly works very well. If you can't imagine the combination, just trust me it's good. No other band since (with the exception of Social Distortion) has done the "Cowpunk" thing so well. Anthems for a generation of alt-rock misfits.