This post is for all of you who kept your copy of the first album. I know there are a few of you out there for whom the apparent disparities between Meat Puppets records is no mystery, who were able parse the whole tapestry without feeling betrayal every time we released a new album. There may even be a few of you who wish they could hear more from the first album sessions. Well, your patience has finally paid off: here’s almost an hour of outtakes.
Like a lot of young bands, we assumed we could get by in the recording studio with nothing but enthusiasm. We discovered that the studio required a very different set of skills than did live performing. For instance, it’s hard to flop around and rock out when you have to keep your headphones from falling off. Veering off mike is also not an option. For a band that relied so heavily on its feral group mind, taming the beast long enough to make a recording both authentic and audible was a challenge.
To get a whole album’s worth of acceptable performances took three separate sessions (though perhaps only the three of us could have told them apart). The vocals on the first session are actually overdubbed. But after leaning against the wall for an hour, convulsing into a mike while wearing “cans” over his ears, Curt proclaimed the effort to be worthless. The second session went so badly no tape survives from it. We returned the following week determined to emerge with keeper takes. We blew off trying for fidelity: we just shoved all the instruments together and stuck a bunch of mikes around — separation be damned. We imbibed whatever we could get our hands on until we were good and twisted and just let howl for as long as the instruments would stay in tune. Anxious to get it over with, we proclaimed ourselves to be satisfied and beat it.
Now, you the fans can decide if we were right. Almost every song from the first album is represented here in an alternate version, some of them multiple times. You can also check out our tune-ups, as well as a healthy selection of warm-up covers. Some of them made it onto the Rykodisc reissue of the first album, but royalty restrictions forced us to leave some of them off. Now you can have them for free!
Thanks once again to Jon Boshard for keeping his copies of these tapes long after I lost track of my own, and for sharing.
(Note: In making these recordings available to the public, I’ve decided to use file sharing services, rather than make my web host take the full brunt of the bandwidth hit. These services can be unpredictable, so I’ve uploaded to three different ones. Please be advised that these are large files, and some ‘net connections will be unable to handle them. The files have been tested on both Macintosh and Windows platforms and they work fine. Files on this site are presented “as is.” I can’t offer tech support, nor can I mail them to folks unable to download them. (Let the browser beware.) Good luck, and happy listening!
DOWNLOAD PART ONE: MirrorCreator | Mediafire
DOWNLOAD PART TWO: MirrorCreator | Mediafire
Too bad all these sites seem to require you purchase a membership in order to download the files. Or am I just a ‘tech-tard’?
I don’t know you well enough to be able to comment.
You’re a”tech-tard,” select the “free” option on the first page of the Rapidshare link, and then just wait for your download ticket to appear on the next page.
BTW, whoever is running the show here the site is far better for sharing content.
thanks Bostrom, no better time to bring us back to the roots of arguably the best 3 peice band
^^^ Garage Rockin’ Goodness ! ^^^
are these recordings from the first session, with vocals overdubbed?
then the album is from the 3rd session?
if so, curt’s vocals still sound pretty live & outta control. the band does sound a little more “bottled” than on the album. i really love these songs. it’s feral, but without a trace of angst. very colorful.
” i can’t tell the difference between my enemies & my friends”
and i hear a second of “johnny b goode” between the 2 sections of “saturday morning.”
great stuff.
Part one is from the first session, part two is from the third session.
All the master takes that wound up on the album are from the third session, EXCEPT for “Walking Boss,” which is from the first session. However, Curt dubbed an acoustic guitar onto it during the third session.
My apologies for leaving that info out in my post!
Hah, awesome stuff! I love the Stooges cover.. and all the Teenager runs. Can’t have enough takes of that in my opinion.
Good job Bostrom! People have been begging me to make copies for them for years. I hate saying ‘no,’ so now I can send them right to the source. I appreciate your keeping ‘the dream’ alive.
The reason you mention is the best reason I can think of for creating this blog.
Thanks Derrick! I love these session recordings you post.
Great stuff, Derrick! I agree with Gregg Turkington (in his Rykodisc liners) when he describes the first album as being one of the most underrated debuts of all time. So true. There is no other record that sounds like the MPs debut- an art-punk masterpiece with not a hint of self-consciousness. I first listened to it in the mid80s when I was making my way through the back catalogue. It’s long been a favorite and it would drive me nuts when friends (and other critics) weighed in that it was “rudimentary” and “undeveloped.”
Thanks for sharing this and the MPsII instrumentals. Essential.
Thanks for sharing, Derrick! Also, on the present-day Puppets website, I noticed a mention of a “Meat Puppets documentary.” Are you at liberty to disclose anything about it? Or can you at least confirm that you are in some way involved in it?
It’s weird listening to these after having the original album burned into your brain for years.I didn’t realize how much of the guitar stuff was improv,all the little stuff.Thanks for posting stuff like this,It’s awesome how so much of the stuff you talk about in the reissue booklets pops up here eventually!Keep up the great work on the site!
Hey, how do you feel about people covering the monolithic hits of Meat Puppetts II? It’s recently been my dream to cover “Lost.” I’ve seen the reaction to the NIRVANA covers, so I prefer to ask you first.
Holy crap!! This is amazing…I have long held-out that the 1st album was just as good as MPII – just noisier and more abrasive – and only slightly less of a kick in the head than the first 7″. Thanks Derrick. By the way – saw your former bandmates last night – and I have to say they were great. No nostalgic bullshit with the crowd – just walked out and played their songs – and then left. I was glad I went. I know you have your reasons for not being with them now, but I enjoyed it. Setlist in Boulder 5/24/07: Sam, TD King, Snow, Up On the Sun, Plateau, Rain, Lost, Whistling Song, Flaming Heart, This Day, Never To Be Found, We’re Here, Attacked by Monsters, Wind and Rain, Station, Disappear, Comin Down, Lake of Fire, Oh Me, Things, Backwater.
Thanks for the outtakes…the World of Webcams dl is fast and free.
Thanks for posting this.
Does anyone know what happened to the Wohlers live repository? The link I’ve used in the past appears to be dead. That is (was?) a very fine site.
The Wohlers site will return shortly. Peter usually posts over at the Yahoo board, so he’ll no doubt announce its new location there.
I have no opinion about people covering Meat Puppets songs. Our own versions were cover versions as well, except that we wrote them.
The only thing I know about the documentary is that Joseph Cultice is putting it together.
Derrick, thanks for posting this. I just took out Classic Puppets from the local library and I’m getting more into the band.
I never listened to your albums , it will be the first.thank you
Awesome! It’s pretty fuckin cool to get music straight from the artist… Thank you for the lovely musical stylings.
1st up thanks a lot Derrick, all the stuff you have provided is much appreciated. I first heard meat puppets on the blasting concept album (i was maybe 13) and i thought it was the worst music i had ever heard in my life…now at 31 i find my self going back to the debut album over any other meat puppet record, for me its very hardcore but full of dynamics and just has this energy..I just downloaded part 1 so far but just wanted to thank you..and look forward to getting into this stuff.
This is another question that is unrelated to the article. I was just enjoying a rerun of the pilot of Beverly Hills 90210 and could have sworn I saw The Meat Puppets playing at a party, was I just seeing things?
That’s us, in another adventure worthy of a whole blog post of its own.
Oh please Derrick, please provide that blog. I beleieve Curt and Cris are playing the guitars backwards. I always watch 90210 just for that one alone. Too funny. Please tell us you punched out Brandon just like Stephen Malkmus was claimed to have done ( a sissy fight if there ever was one).
OMG! That Beverly Hills thing is so class, on youtube here: http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=5KXZozVip9Y
Funny that the Meat Puppets are so out of place there, hence the “That band were horrible” comments from viewers.
I would be extremely interested in hearing about how you ended up on that!
This internet radio issue is horrible! I’m calling my Senator tomorrow, and I hope they co-sponsor. They are conservative, and that could factor.
Posted by Jimmy: “http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=5KXZozVip9Y”
I-i-ivory Whales … high on cornbread!
Ha-ha … how bizarre.
I suppose meeting the cast was fairly low key, since it was the pilot, well before the show was a hit and any of them had a chance to become highly pampered and holier than thou. I caught an interview with Jessica Alba a few years ago, where she told the story of playing a bit part on that show, and being on the set. She was under strict instructions to not speak to, or make eye contact with the main cast stars, like Jenny(sp?) Garth. She said it was as if they didn’t think the hired “Mexican Girl” was appropriate company for them.
Derrick ~
Thanks for the download! I haven’t listened yet, but will soon. Words can’t express the level of entertainment value to me of the early recordings.
From Eyes Adrift to the “new” Meatpuppets to the tunes you guys played when I was still a gleam in my father’s eye, I want to say THANKS! As a relocated Pacific Westerner, I can say that the South really is not a decent place for a west coaster, but every once in while Curt will make his way to Raleigh, and I just want to show my appreciation.
Question: what are the covers here, besides the ones that made it to the album (Tumblin, Walkin Boss)?
It’s been great looking through this site. I grew up in Phoenix in the 70s/early 80s, and when I look at these dates or listen to early boots, I think how blissfully unaware I was of what was being created just a few miles away — Phoenix wasn’t the cookie cutter clusterfuck/land developer’s paradise that it is today — stuff that would later move me to spasms of THC-addled moshpit ridiculousness (in the best way), point me in the direction of other Great American Music, etc. But alas, all that would have to wait ’til I was just a wee bit older & wiser. My first concert was Journey at the Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum in 1983. Don’t hate.
1970 (I Feel Alright) – Stooges No Values – Black Flag I Had A Dream – John Sebastian Around The Bend – Creedence Clearwater Revival
Thanks for these…Its great to discover new aspects from these great albums and hear the outtakes…I hope there might be more from other albums
Here’s another TV related Meat Puppets clip I found on YouTube: http://youtube.com/watch?v=sWDIE2GfzNw
The Pups helping out Michael Moore! Hope to read how this came about sometime.
Odd…give to those who take!!!
Just discovered this site, and the downloads. Will look forward to getting a copy when I’m on a faster machine.
In anticipation, thanks for sharing.
Derrick,
Thanks so much for putting these up. The first album has an appeal that hasn’t lessened a bit over the last 25 or so years, and getting to hear something like this–especially for free–is a treat that few bands’ fans get to experience.
In particular, Milo, Sorghum and Maize, my favorite song from the album and one of my favorite MP songs period, was nice to hear again–especially because I’ve never heard it on any live recordings or elsewhere. Am I right to assume that it was a track whose appearances outside of the studio were few and far between?
Can’t wait to hear this stuff. My brother turned me on to MP and it changed my outlook on making music. I used to want to do the art-rock stuff, but I realized how much more rewarding shoot-from-the-id music is. You guys were the whole reason I left the military in ’88 to move to Athens, GA. Loads of great memories from there. Saw you at the Georgia Theater…classic show. I miss those days, but I guess these days will do for now. Thanks for all the downloads, Derrick. Truly a classic band.
Peach out!
I think the Meat Puppets rock. I’d like to hear more from you guys.
Thanks for sharing these. MP I is one of my all-time faves, never dreamed there were outtakes!
dude ive been searchen forever fr the tabs to buckethead if anyone gtsem email me at hellsing66666@yahoo.com
Hi Derrick. Thanks for posting these outakes. First saw you guys in the 80′s , Manchester UK then a week or so later in London. Happy days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Elmo & the Electrocutioners?????
Awesome brother.
You know what? I don’t want to look a gift horse in the mouth, but I figured this might bug you and you might actually appreciate hearing about it.
In the first track, I hear some digital cell phone interference. Baaa-dih-dih-ba-ba-ba-ba…
I bet this noise is not in the original recording.
At first, I thought it was my phone invading the unshielded analog lines between my computer and speakers, and I cursed it for the millionth time, but then I realized my phone was upstairs… Now I’m listening for the second time and the noise is the same place.
It may not be in the original recording, but it’s on the CDR that I got from Jon. I just ripped ‘em straight off the disk.
hi derrick, fantastic! the first session is the punkier, but what happened to the second session?, most of the songs are unfinished; is the second session the unfamous lsd session?. anyway “meat puppets 1″ is a fuckin’ great album. i’ve got an original copy of “in my car” ep with a hand drowned picture, is it yours?. thanks for all.
What ever was recorded from the second session wasn’t kept. I think we just used the same tapes for the third session.
Impressive material. I’m from France and discovered the MP around 1987 in the french tv broadcast “Musicalifornia”. Your band is very underrated in Europe. It’s good to hear again your stuff sounding like early Black flags and Bad brains. This early 80′s period was maybe the last interestning era of rock music, MP sounded dirty and frustrated. Great thanks for sharing this.
remind to buy you a coke if we ever met derrick. much appreciated