Out My Way
It was often hard to pin the Meat Puppets down: just when you thought they were hard-core thrash (1981'sMeat Puppets), or an electrifying blend of desert country, hillbilly, and psychedelia (1985's seminalUp on the Sun), the Kirkwood brothers would come out with something like 1986's six-trackOut My Way. Much more classic rock and country than their previous offerings, it still gave their fans a typically warped perspective--particularly on the sing-along title track and a completely maniacal version ofLittle Richard's "Good Golly Miss Molly." If guitarist Curt was by now wanting to move a little more towards accessibility, it sure didn't show. The seven bonus tracks here (recorded around the same time) include the self-descriptive Orb-like "Backwards Drums" and aMekons-esque rambling version ofGeorge Jones's "Burn the Honky Tonky Down." By this point, the Phoenix trio were cruising on easy.--Everett True