Melvins - The Trilogy (3xLP, 2000)

1999-2000 was a great time to be a Melvins fan. Not only did they put out three albums in well under a year, they also managed to make those albums highly listenable. A crazy concept, I know. To top it all off, they released this, the limited edition 3-LP set that collected (or claimed to) all three discs of the trilogy: The Maggot, The Bootlicker, and The Crybaby.

While the entirety of those albums is not actually represented here, most of it is, and if you're like me, you had already purchased all three on CD, so you were covered. I received this collection as a Christmas present from my brother, and it turned out to be a most fortuitous one: this is now one of the most valuable records in my collection. It's also one of the most interesting, presentation-wise. Each LP is a picture disc, with corresponding-and-opposite images represented on either side. You can check the photos here for a more detailed breakdown. Needless to say, this is the only thing I own with a swastika on it, and it still creeps me out to look at it. Gutsy move, Melvins. But despite the mixed messages, the cover art and the LPs themselves are really beautiful to look at, and really well put-together. Still, sort of creepy though.

The music is equally creepy, but in that lovable Melvins way. The Maggot is drawn-out and slightly challenging, with a fucked-up track listing that is best ignored. Front-to-back that shit. It's a great album.

The Bootlicker is possibly my favorite Melvins album. Tracks like "Mary Lady Bobby Kins" and "Up the Dumper" still sound amazing to me. Heck, the whole damn thing does. "Let it All Be" is pure bliss for the full ten minutes. An incredible song. And of course, you get the complete disarray of "Prig" at the end to remind you who exactly you're listening to. This one spent some serious time with me during the year following its release. Couldn't get enough, and still can't.

The Crybaby has always been a tougher sell for me. Covering "Smells Like Teen Spirit" with Leif Garrett on vocals just never seemed right to me. Not only does the version sort of suck, it always struck as me as being in poor taste. But anybody messing with Nirvana strikes me as bad taste, and that's my cross to bear. The rest of the record fares better, with the highlights being Mike Patton's guest spot on "GI Joe" and the Pink Floyd-y "Mine is No Disgrace." Not the ending I would have liked to have seen for this trilogy, but with the Melvins, things rarely work out the way you think they might.

"Mary Lady Bobby Kins"

Melvins - Gluey Porch Treatments (CD, 1987/1999)

This is the 1999 reissue of the Melvins' first album, and I'll tell you: if you are a Melvins fanboy, this is a must-own. Not only does it contain all the lo-fi glory of the actual album, but it also includes "garage demos" of a bunch of the songs. The sound quality is horrible in both cases, but it's incredibly horrible on the demos. Again, the Melvins test your patience. This is actually a pretty tame example.

Anyway, this is (almost) the beginning of the band, and for what it is, it's a great record. I actually haven't listened to this in years, so I don't know how much I'll have to say about it. The sludge you would expect is here, and though the recording is shit, the band still manages to sound powerful. Dale Crover, as always, sounds like he's trying to splinter his drums, and it's great fun to listen to.

This was when Matt Lukin (later of Mudhoney) was still in the band, and though the bass player in the Melvins has never been the focus, it's nice to know he's there. The strange thing, Melvins-wise, about this album, is that none of the songs (aside from the perfect opener, "Eye Flys") is particularly long. In fact, the majority of 'em are quite short. And some are even fast in spots. Yeah, they were still finding their niche.

If you enjoy the demos on this CD, you are officially a Melvins nerd. Congratulations.

"Happy Gray or Black"

Melvins - Houdini (CD, 1993)

My Melvins collection is sadly lacking in quantity. It's a damn shame, but somehow, collecting the Melvins stuff on vinyl is an expensive undertaking. I have yet to venture down that path. I'd like to pay $100 for a copy of Lysol, I just haven't been able to bring myself to do it yet. You understand.

One of the albums I do have is this one, the band's major label debut. First off, it's hilarious that the Melvins ever got signed to Atlantic records, and even funnier that the label ended up putting out more than one of their albums. Ah, the early 90's. You know as soon as Kurt Cobain listed the Melvins as his favorite band, the label dudes were falling all over themselves to meet up with Buzz and Dale. I wonder what they thought when they actually heard the band.

As far as the Melvins go, this album is crazy accessible. But I think it's safe to say that none of these tracks ever got anywhere near the radio. Though it's wonderful to consider that "Night Goat" got released as a single. A great song, but it wasn't exactly "Black Hole Sun." But, in Melvins' terms, it kind of is. There's like, a chorus and shit!

Seriously though, this album rules. Don't get too caught up in the Kurt Cobain co-production credits, or the fact that he dicks around on guitar on one of the tracks. This is all about King Buzzo showing all he's got to offer, blazing through quickies like "Honey Bucket" and "Copache," and dragging out sludgers "Hag Me" and "Joan of Arc" like only he can. And while they're at it, why not give the drummer some? I think that's what's happening on the ten-minute "Spread Eagle Beagle," but I've never been sure.

It's not like the Melvins were going to make an album that was completely easy to handle. "Spread Eagle Beagle" is a challenge, and so are a few of the others. "Pearl Bomb" uses what sounds like a CD skipping as the percussion track; "Set Me Straight" frustratingly ends as soon as you feel like it's picking up steam.

The most easy-on-the ears jams here are the first three: "Hooch," "Night Goat," and "Lizzy." Tracks like "Lizzy" show up on a lot of Melvins records. Buzz seems to always toss in one melodically coherent cut, just to let you know that he is capable of writing semi-normal rock songs - he's just doesn't have much interest in it.

You gotta be careful which Melvins albums you buy (unless you're an extremely patient and forgiving person), but this one's a safe bet.

Also - I saw the Melvins when they toured for this record. This is about what it was like. That first drum part went on for at least 15 minutes. The crowd was fairly thin by the end.

"Lizzy"

Meat Puppets - Too High to Die (CD, 1994)

Like a high school girl who latched onto "Backwater" on a whim, this is the only Meat Puppets album I own. When and why I bought it, I can't remember. I was probably going through a "90's bands who jumped from indies to majors" phase, or something of the sort.

I've barely ever listened to this, but I've been spinning it over the last few days. And it's pretty good. It sucks that that's all I can really say about it. I'd like to be able to compare it to their other albums (the band had been around for over a decade at this point), but I have no frame of reference.

I am a fan of "Backwater," and while that's certainly the catchiest track here, there's plenty of other good stuff. I just haven't ever taken the time to really dive deep into it. I think at some point I planned to get into the Meat Puppets. Probably should have started at the beginning.

There's still time.

"Backwater"

Paul McCartney - Снова в СССР (LP, 1988)

I picked this record up sometime in the last year, and now I can't remember why. It must have been cheap. This is an initially Russian-only LP that eventually found a U.S. release. I have the Russian version, which is pretty sweet. Though I don't think it's rare or anything. Still, the print is all in Russian, so that's kind of cool.

Anyway, it's just Paul doing a bunch of golden oldies, and I think I've listened to it once. I'm all for artists getting back to their roots, I just don't usually enjoy the results. When you've got such a great songwriter, it's only natural to want to hear them do their own shit. Of course, I'm far from the ideal audience for a record like this.

Still, nice to have. And the songs are fun.

"Don't Get Around Much Anymore"

Paul McCartney - Tug of War (LP, 1982)

Compared to the lo-fi starkness of McCartney II, this record sounds slick as heck. And it really is. But more importantly, it's McCartney's first real post-Wings statement, and it finds him rushing into the 80's with some serious ambition.

Listening to it now, it sounds a bit overly polished and perhaps blatantly striving for radio play, but it's also an interesting window into where Paul was at during the time. The duets with Stevie Wonder (the lengthy funk of "What's That You're Doing?" and the hammy feel-gooder "Ebony and Ivory") are both a bit much for me, but it's definitely cool to hear these two bigwigs teamed up with each other. But before either of those, the title track shows us just how massive in scope McCartney's ideas were. The song is layered to the gills with strings, smooth backup vocals, and intricate arrangements. It flows seamlessly into the catchy-as-shit "Take it Away," which Paul must have known would be a huge hit. It's very 80's, and not my favorite single of his, but it's a big song.

"Here Today," McCartney's tribute to the recently-deceased John Lennon, is a moving song, both uplifting and terribly tragic. It's "Eleanor Rigby"-ish in its structure, and strangely short. Hard to know how to feel about that one.

The second side of the album is less mainstream poppy, and the mix of songs makes for some nice stylistic diversity. The duet with Carl Perkins isn't really my cup of tea, and "Dress Me Up as a Robber" is a little too slick and slinky for me, but "The Pound is Sinking" and "Wanderlust" are both pretty nice.

This was the beginning of McCartney in the Eighties, and people certainly dug it. But man, "Ebony and Ivory" still just sounds like such a stinker to me. Eh. If he wanted radio play, he got it. So that's something.

"Take it Away"

Paul McCartney - McCartney II (LP, 1980)

What the hell was Paul McCartney doing between 1971 and 1980? Oh yeah... Wings. Well, when he was done dicking around with those jokers, he went into his home studio and started dicking around with a new-fangled synthesizer. Seems he didn't initially intend on releasing the results, but we should be damn glad he did. McCartney II is a really unique record, and a damn fine one as well.

Maybe I just like the idea of Paul playing all the instruments himself, or maybe I like the idea of him releasing his home recordings. Either way, this is one of my favorite McCartney solo records. Maybe my absolute favorite. "Coming Up" is...how would you describe it? Stoned disco? The falsetto is both hilarious and awesome, and so are Paul's muffly vocals in the verses. Listen to this track in headphones for the full effect. There's a lot of peripheral shit going on, and it's worth dissecting a little bit.

"Temporary Secretary" is my favorite track on this LP, mostly because it's just so un-McCartney and so fucking weird in general. I could see how it would get on some folk's nerves, but the drum machines and sequenced blips, combined with Paul's nasally vocals - it's just too good. Things take a big detour from there, with the lo-fi blues of "On the Way" and the underrated loveliness of "Waterfalls." Sure, it's a little corny, but that's where Paul shines. (And when I say "underrated," I mean in the context of the guy's whole career. It's a well-liked song, just not as much as some of his other ones.) "Nobody Knows" closes out the second side with some blues-shakin', and the heavy drums and distorted vocals make it work nicely.

Side Two is where shit gets mad fiddly, with "Front Parlour" sounding like Paul's just trying out his new synth toy and seeing what works. "Summer's Day Song" is fake strings and layered vocals, and though it's not as huge as it might like to be, it's cool. The unfortunately titled "Frozen Jap" sounds strangely like an instrumental version of "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun," and the hand claps are pretty damn funny. "Bogey Music" is a bizarre electronic boogie that, again, features Paul really tweaking the knobs. "Darkroom" is another blippy number, and must have endlessly amused a stoned McCartney.

The record closes on a more standard note, with the timid balladry of "One of These Days," which, even though it sounds like a slightly souped-up demo, is really a nice little song. McCartney isn't really known for being an experimental dude, but the stuff he does here makes me wish he would have done more.

"Coming Up"