As the final album the Meat Puppets released for SST Records, Monsters is a fine piece of work, although it apparently received negative feedback from a portion of their fanbase and the band split up for awhile. However, aside from a somewhat mushed sonic production that squashed the guitars down a bit too much, Monsters is a good release.

The most notable aspect of Monsters is that singer/guitarist Curt Kirkwood had finally harnessed his vocals to the point where he wasn't so off key that listening to their music could be a chore. While still rather flat and plainative, the vocals on Monsters are fitting and are no longer a severe detraction. The band also wrote in a more straightforward rock fashion for the album, losing a certain amount of the cowpunk weirdness of earlier releases for something that might be closer to ZZ Top meets modern rock of the late 80s. Curt Kirkwood's guitar playing and leads still excel through Monsters, with some of the extended songs allowing for him to weave together impressive and fluid tapestries of rhythms and leads. "Touchdown King" is absolutely marvelous and creates a very nice mood for the listener. The album does have a couple of mediocre numbers that do bring the album down on a whole, such as the meandering "The Void" or "Party Till the World Obeys".

The 1999 Rykodisc reissue appends three extra tracks, including a different pair of versions of "Flight of the Fire Weasel". The liners notes also include interesting and informative notes about the period of time that the album was originally released, including a tidbit of trivia that Monsters was originally slated to be their first major label release on Atlantic, although that ultimately fell through. Nevertheless, Monsters ranks as a strong achievement for the band and one of their more recommended albums.

Review by John Chedsey

Review date: 06/2001

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By the time the Meat Puppets reached the nineties, Curt Kirkwood had finally shed the off-key singing for a more comfortable listening experience. He still has the lonesome desert voice but it's odd how much decent singing can help a song out. Though Forbidden Places isn't as unsafe as the band's earlier work, it still contains some decent material. "Sam", "Open Wide" and "Another Moon" are all quite good in their own way. Kirkwood's guitar playing is of course exceptional, perhaps showing a little appeal to the jam-happy Phish crowds out there. The down side of this album is the pseudo country excursions or simply uninspired songs. The Meat Puppets apparently were aiming for a more mainstream rock community with their 90's material but at the expense of the fans who preferred the edgier material from the 80's. The end result is an album that is red hot when it is on, and a complete lame duck when it is not.

Review by John Chedsey

Review date: 06/1999

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