Monsters | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||
Studio album by | ||||
Released | October 1989 | |||
Recorded | 1987–89 | |||
Studio | For the Record, Orange, California | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 46:01 (Original) 59:46 (Reissue) | |||
Label | SST (253) | |||
Producer | Meat Puppets | |||
Meat Puppets chronology | ||||
|
Monsters is the sixth studio album by American rock band the Meat Puppets, released in October 1989. Their last release on SST Records, it was reissued on Rykodisc in 1999 with additional bonus tracks, recording notes by Derrick Bostrom and liner notes by music journalist Mark Kemp. As an added bonus, the reissue includes an "Enhanced CD" partition for play on home computers. Monsters offers the promotional video for "Light". The clip was produced and directed by Bill Taylor and features shots of the Puppets live in concert.
Derrick Bostrom stated in 1999 that the album originated with demos for major labels, but that the band decided to record Monsters with SST anyway because it took too long for majors to take notice. Kirkwood added that the album had been a response to acts like Bon Jovi and that with Monsters he wanted to show that the Meat Puppets could be a mainstream rock band. [2]
Monsters was described as a "heavy rock attack" by Stephen Thomas Erlewine in an AllMusic biography of the band, [1] while Roaul Hernandez of Austin Chronicle remarked that the record was "metal all the way". [2] Greg Prato stated that the Monsters was best described as a "cross" of the two preceding Meat Puppets albums, Huevos and Mirage . [3]
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Chicago Tribune | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Robert Christgau | A− [5] |
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
NME | 6/10 [7] |
Spin Alternative Record Guide | 6/10 [8] |
AllMusic's Greg Prato gave a mixed review of Monsters, commenting that while songs were "hindered" by "synth textures" and individual instrument recording, the record had "several highlights" including a "vicious" album opener in "Attacked By Monsters", and the "tough rocker" "The Void". [3]
All songs written by Curt Kirkwood.
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Attacked by Monsters" | 4:43 |
2. | "Light" | 4:15 |
3. | "Meltdown" | 3:06 |
4. | "In Love" | 3:50 |
5. | "The Void" | 6:32 |
6. | "Touchdown King" | 6:07 |
7. | "Party Till the World Obeys" | 4:20 |
8. | "Flight of the Fire Weasel" | 3:16 |
9. | "Strings on Your Heart" | 5:10 |
10. | "Like Being Alive" | 4:42 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
11. | "Wish Upon a Storm" | 4:27 |
12. | "Flight of the Fire Weasel, Pt. 1" | 4:25 |
13. | "Flight of the Fire Weasel, Pt. 2" | 4:44 |
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, and Derrick Bostrom (drums). The Kirkwood brothers met Bostrom while attending Brophy Prep High School in Phoenix. The three then moved to Tempe, Arizona, where the Kirkwood brothers purchased two adjacent houses, one of which had a shed in the back where they regularly practiced.
"Lake of Fire" is a song by the American alternative rock band the Meat Puppets, written by vocalist and guitarist, Curt Kirkwood. It appears on their second album, Meat Puppets II, released in April 1984. An alternate version appeared as a hidden track on their 1994 album, Too High to Die.
Too High to Die is the eighth studio album by American rock band the Meat Puppets. The album was released on January 25, 1994, by London Records. It was produced by Butthole Surfers guitarist Paul Leary. The album's title is a parody of The Ramones' 1984 album Too Tough to Die.
Curtis Matthew Kirkwood is an American musician, best known as the guitarist, singer and primary songwriter for alternative rock group Meat Puppets, and for playing with Nirvana on MTV Unplugged in New York.
Up on the Sun is the third album by the Meat Puppets, released in 1985 by SST Records. The album features a cleaner and more technical sound with a more psychedelic rock feel, in contrast to the sloppy punk approach of their first album (1982), while continuing with the mystical, poetic lyrics and country-inflected songwriting of Meat Puppets II (1984).
Derrick Edwin Bostrom is an American musician. He is a founding member and current drummer of the band Meat Puppets.
Christopher "Cris" Kirkwood is an American musician who is the bassist and a founding member of the Meat Puppets, an alternative punk rock band.
Forbidden Places is the seventh studio album by the Meat Puppets, released in 1991. It is their first release on London Records.
Meat Puppets II is the second album by the Phoenix, Arizona, band the Meat Puppets, released in 1984. It is a departure from their self-titled debut album, which consisted largely of noisy hardcore with unintelligible vocals. It covers many genres from country-style rock to slow acoustic songs to psychedelic guitar effects.
Meat Puppets is the first album by American band the Meat Puppets, released in 1982. The album is unlike their later, better-known releases due to its hardcore punk sound.
Huevos is the fifth studio album by the Arizona alternative rock band the Meat Puppets. It was released October 27, 1987 on SST Records. The album title is literally the Spanish word for "eggs," although it carries a slang meaning associated with testicular fortitude. Most of the songs were recorded in one take. The cover art is done by guitarist/vocalist Curt Kirkwood.
Out My Way is an EP by the alternative rock band the Meat Puppets, released in 1986. It features a more hard rock-oriented sound than on previous releases, leading some critics to say that the sound is similar to the southern/hard rock stylings of ZZ Top. The EP was reissued in 1999 by Rykodisc, with additional bonus tracks.
Mirage is the fourth studio album by the Arizona alternative rock band Meat Puppets.
No Joke! is the ninth studio album by the Meat Puppets. The album was released on October 3, 1995, by London Records. 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 and drummer Derrick Bostrom. A video was filmed for the song "Scum", directed by Dave Markey.
Golden Lies is a 2000 album by the Meat Puppets. After the You Love Me EP, in 1999, Golden Lies was the second studio release from the second line-up of the band. Although Derrick Bostrom and Cris Kirkwood do not appear on the album, they were still considered members of the Meat Puppets.
No Strings Attached is a 1990 compilation album of Meat Puppets songs released by their ex-record label SST Records. It was released after the band left SST Records to join London Records. The compilation includes songs from their first album Meat Puppets (1982) through to their 1989 album Monsters. The Meat Puppets had no involvement in this release.
Alive in the Nineties is the first video released by the American rock group the Meat Puppets. The video was released in 2003 while the band was on hiatus. The video is professionally shot and was recorded while the band was touring with the Stone Temple Pilots.
Rat Farm is the fourteenth full-length studio album by the Meat Puppets. It was released on April 16, 2013, through Megaforce Records.
Shandon Sahm is an American drummer, who is a native of San Antonio, Texas and is best known for his two stints as the drummer of the Meat Puppets, from 1999–2002 and 2009–2018.
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 Elmo Kirkwood, son of the Puppets' lyricist and guitar player Curt Kirkwood; Elmo plays backing guitar. It is also the MP's first album to feature keyboardist Ron Stabinsky. Dusty Notes also notably features the return of original drummer Derrick Bostrom.