Up on the Sun

Up On The Sun is the Meat Puppets' third album and the followup to their now legendary Meat Puppets II which introduced the world to cowpunk, a mixture of country and punk music. While that album as well as several of their releases are easy to define (ex...Meat Puppets I is their punk album, Huevos, the power-trio album, Monsters, the heavy album), Up On The Sun is beyond categorization. It is also their most cohesive listen and ranks with Meat Puppets II and Too High To Die as their best work. While their first two albums were furious and very ragged, the songs here are much tighter. Their brand of cowpunk is replaced by songs that are equally based on mood and melody and the results are stunning. Curt Kirkwood's vocals are very somber and this along with his moody guitar work truly carry the album. The excellent tracks "Away", "Buckethead", and "Swimming Ground" are both upbeat and catchy while "Animal Kingdom" has a strong new-wave vibe with Curt's unique guitar work providing the appropriate background. Songs like "Hot Pink" and the title track are very laid back and feature creative interplay between Curt and his bass-playing brother Cris. The tracks "Enchanted Pork Fist" and "Creator" offer glimpses of their punk sound but are much more structured than tunes like "New Gods" and "Split Myself In Two" from their previous release. The band continue to write great instrumentals as both "Maiden's Milk" and "Seal Whales" add to the album's low-key vibe. Other strong tracks include the haunting "Two Rivers" and "Too Real." As with all of their remastered releases, Rykodisc has added several bonus tracks. There are two additional versions of "Hot Pink", a looser version that's pretty decent, and a longer and weirder instrumental version that drags on for over 8 minutes. There's also a killer instrumental called "Embodiment of Evil" and "Mother American Marshmallow" which is essentially a strung out version of "Maiden's Milk." All told, this is a great and very original album which is at its best when listened to in its entirety. If you know the band for Too High To Die or Meat Puppets II, this album may catch you off guard. However, as their longtime fans know, the Meat Puppets change gears with each album, and Up On The Sun is one of their best. Highly recommended.

Do I personally like this album the most by proto-grunge delights Meat Puppets? Absolutely. Is their music the most accessible without being mainstream grunge? Correct. Is there really any reason to not like this album if you enjoy indie rock? Of course not. You know this already. How’s the vinyl, you ask? It’s as good as the music. Nothing fancy. There are no extras or frills here. There’s a vinyl record and a jacket to put it in. I believe the disc came in a typical paper cover, which should be promptly replaced with a proper sleeve. It plays at 33 as you’d expect. The pressing is clean and sounds clear and deep. If you have a record collection at all then buy this.

Buen disco, el envío fue rápido

One of their more complex works with excellent guitar, possibly their best, and lyrics just as suited to their style as their oft-quoted best album in II. If you buy II first then this should be the second or third album of theirs you try out IMO. The remastering is fantastic and you won't be disappointed there. Give it a try.

Saw them in '87 @ The Bayou in Baton Rouge, and now have all of the whistling right-here in my grips. 2 versions of the title hit on this particular rendition!! A real sing-a-long experience it is!!

Come on its the Meat Puppets. They are one of the most influential 80s-90s acts and this album is one of their better works.

Up On the Sun continues the psychodelic cowpunk that the Puppets virtually invented, coming close on the heels of their great sophomore record, II. It sounds like you've taken a bit too much...eh, y'know, in places. Five stars for the music. ZERO STARS FOR AMAZON FULFILLMENT! They mailed this to my house TWICE (once after I returned the severely damaged product), mailing it completely unprotected in a flimsy plastic bag that wasn't even close to the size as the record, and of course, it was damaged in transit. Either the robots at Amazon have never seen an LP, or the GenZ minion who packed it has never seen a record before and simply has no concept that they are fragile, heat sensitive and damage beyond repair easily. I have never had Bezo$Vi$ion Inc. be so careless before, even with socks. Go figgr.

Great reissue.

Die Meat Puppets sind schon ein komisches Phänomen der Rockmusik. Irgendwo zwischen Hardcorelärm, harmonischen Country-Klängen und atmosphärischen Postpunk hatte sich die Band in den 80ern ihre eigene kleine Nische geschaffen. Auf ihrem 3. Album "Up On The Sun" spielte die Band einen sauberen, technisch äußerst versierten Stil mit einem leicht schrägen, psychedelischen Einschlag. Der halsbrecherische Hardcoresound war dagegen völlig verschwunden. Auf Experimente und besondere Effekte verzichtete das Trio, dafür ist das Gitarren- und Bassspiel der beiden Brüder Cris und Curt Kirkwood um so mehr eine Attraktion und bildet einen völligen Kontrast zu den schon fast lächerlich einfach getrommelten Rhythmen von Derrick Bostrom. Ebenfalls auffällig und ungewöhnlich ist die fast durchgehend unverzerrt gespielte Gitarre Cris Kirwoods. "Up On The Sun" klingt stellenweise seltsam verschlafen, schüchtern, aber immer gewollt ein Gefühl von Euphorie, aber auch Geborgenheit zu vermitteln. Es ist aufrichtige Musik, aber auch welche mit dem Drang zur Selbstironie und Verspieltheit.

I just bought 3 copies of this on vinyl. For fans of guitar rock, the Kirkwoods provide the epitome of the lost classic rock album for the ages. Just as Bob Wills is the missing link between RockNRoll, Country and Jazz - Up On The Sum is the missing link between the Grateful Dead, Punk Rock and Grunge.

No había oído a esta banda y me deje guiar por una reseña de su último álbum en una revista nacional de música. Gran, gran acierto. No pude resistirme a adquirir este otro trabajo. Son un grupo de rock como manda el canon: de guitarra-bajo-batería. Todo músculo, nada de grasa. Si te gusta el rock and roll no lo dudes, no te defraudará, rock cañero, con sentimiento y que emociona.

Forse l'album più maturo di questa importante band, un lavoro eclettico che presenta le migliori sfaccettature del genere. buona giornata.

All of a sudden the Meat Puppets had chops. Psychedelic guitar work (with lots of lovely delay sounds), harmonised singing that's out of tune with the music but in perfect tune with each other, some of the best songs they ever wrote, really nice bass tone matches really nice bass playing. Best Meat Puppets album.