Meat Puppets - Alive in the Nineties
Alive in the Ninetieswon't disappoint the Meat Puppets' true fans, who will appreciate this low-low-fi affair's microcosmic virtues and historical importance. Mostly a compilation of bootleg video material captured via crummy camcorders in the early to mid-1990s,Alivefinds the Puppets at an artistic and commercial crossroads: newly signed to Polygram, touring in support of Stone Temple Pilots, and on the cusp of a commercial radio hit. (The latter never happened, but "Backwater" reached No. 43 on pop charts.) Leaving aside the bad visuals,Alivedocuments the Puppets' efforts to keep faith with old fans (via informal music-store appearances) while broadening their base (via arena concerts, European television, MTV-level music videos, etc.). The band's crazy playbook of acoustic blues ("Station"), thumping blues-rock ("Lake of Fire"), and circular mysteries ("Plateau") are well-represented here, as are the more discouraging, screwy speed metal of "Automatic Mojo" and the atrocious "Sam."--Tom Keogh