Meat Puppets

The Meat Puppets were one of the great indie rock bands of the '80s, and one that grew substantially from its furious hardcore beginnings through country-punk and on into a more hard rock kind of sound. Classic Puppets is a second attempt to anthologize their SST years (the No Strings Attached comp went out-of-print when the rights went to Rykodisc), and it does a decent job, but it seems almost like an afterthought. All the hits are here for the newcomers, and there are a handful of unreleased tracks tacked on to the end for the completist. This collection just comes off as a bit lackluster. If you want to check out the Meat Puppets, start with Meat Puppets II or Up on the Sun. You'll be glad you did. ~ Sean Westergaard, All Music Guide