Live in Montana

by Greg Prato Although the Meat Puppets were considered one of the most exciting and exhilarating alt-punk bands, the original lineup never got around to issuing a live album during their tenure from 1982-1996. Just prior to the re-release of all their '80s SST albums in 1999 on Rykodisc, the band's first live album ever, Live in Montana, was issued. Recorded on December 7-8, 1988 (at the Sundance and Top Hat clubs) while on tour supporting their Huevos album, several tracks from their forthcoming Monsters release are included as well -- the album-opening "Touchdown King," "Attacked By Monsters," and "Party 'Til the World Obeys." Also featured are versions of such classics as "Plateau," "Maiden's Milk," "Lake of Fire," and "Liquified," as well as surprise covers like "Cotton Candy Land," "Dough Rey Mi," "S.W.A.T. (Get Down)," "Blue Bayou," and a crunchy album-closing medley of "The Small Hours/Paranoid/Sweet Leaf." Although the trio often goes for feel over precision with the playing and singing (even more so than on their already loose early albums), the spontaneous electricity captured on Live in Montana is contagious.