No Joke!
| No Joke! | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | October 3, 1995 | |||
| Recorded | 1995 | |||
| Studio | Phase Four Studio, Phoenix, Arizona, Westlake Studio, Los Angeles, California | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 54:51 | |||
| Label | London | |||
| Producer | Meat Puppets, Paul Leary | |||
| Meat Puppets chronology | ||||
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| Singles from No Joke! | ||||
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No Joke! is the ninth studio album by the Meat Puppets. The album was released on October 3, 1995, by London Records. It was the follow-up to the band's album Too High to Die and was the last Meat Puppets album with bassist Cris Kirkwood (until his reunion on 2007's Rise to Your Knees) and drummer Derrick Bostrom (until 2019's Dusty Notes). A video was filmed for the song "Scum", directed by Dave Markey.
Artwork
The cover art "no joke" used on the album was originally created by Curt Kirkwood's daughter, which the band chose to use as the album's title and cover art.[1]
Music
In September 2000, Al Shipley wrote that No Joke! had a "droning alt-metal sensibility".[2]
Reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | [3] |
| The Austin Chronicle | [5] |
| Christgau's Consumer Guide | [6] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B+[7] |
| Rolling Stone | [4] |
Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic described No Joke! as an "average" Meat Puppets record, explaining that although the songs were "competent", it lacked the "wild spark" and "bizarre sense of humor" that characterized their 1980s work.[3]
Eric Flaum of Rolling Stone was more praising, awarding the album 4-out-of-5 stars and stating that No Joke! showed the band's creativity at "full throttle".[4]
Track listing
All songs written by Curt Kirkwood except tracks 10 and 11 written by Cris Kirkwood.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Scum" | 3:53 |
| 2. | "Nothing" | 6:27 |
| 3. | "Head" | 4:17 |
| 4. | "Taste of the Sun" | 3:58 |
| 5. | "Vampires" | 4:35 |
| 6. | "Predator" | 4:31 |
| 7. | "Poison Arrow" | 3:12 |
| 8. | "Eyeball" | 4:04 |
| 9. | "For Free" | 4:29 |
| 10. | "Cobbler" | 3:25 |
| 11. | "Inflatable" | 3:28 |
| 12. | "Sweet Ammonia" | 4:17 |
| 13. | "Chemical Garden" | 4:15 |
Personnel
- Meat Puppets
- Derrick Bostrom - drums, paintings
- Cris Kirkwood - bass, vocals, illustrations
- Curt Kirkwood - guitar, vocals, paintings
- Technical
Chart performance
Album - Billboard (North America)
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | The Billboard 200 | 183 |
References
- ^ Meat Puppets Interview, retrieved February 21, 2022
- ^ Shipley, Al (September 26, 2000). "Meat Puppets - Golden Lies". Pitchfork. Retrieved February 10, 2019.
- ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Review: No Joke! - Meat Puppets". AllMusic. Retrieved August 4, 2009.
- ^ a b Flaum, Eric (November 2, 1995). "Review: Meat Puppets - No Joke". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on July 5, 2009. Retrieved August 4, 2009.
- ^ Hernandez, Raoul (November 2, 1995). "Review: MEAT PUPPETS - No Joke (London)". Nick Barbaro. Retrieved August 4, 2009.
- ^ Christgau, Robert (October 15, 2000). "Meat Puppets". Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s. Macmillan. p. 202. ISBN 9780312245603.
- ^ "Music Review: 'No Joke!'". Entertainment Weekly. September 15, 1995. Retrieved October 23, 2017.