Meat Puppets: Classic Puppets

By GRAHAM REID

(Herald rating: * * * )

One of the greatest of American neo-psychedelic punk bands (with a smattering of flat-tack country in their holsters), Arizona's Meat Puppets started as punk-thrash noisecore (the first few unlistenable tracks here) but quickly evolved into something special.

This 24-track collection (four previously unreleased tracks) charts their progress to being the Grateful Dead of post-punk (they cited the Dead ethos as an influence and guitarist Curt Kirkwood could send out spiralling, lengthy solos).

So think thrash-punk country which evolved into sun-baked psychedelica, little of which got its due until Curt and Kris Kirkwood appeared on Nirvana's Unplugged session when Cobain covered three MP songs.

A fair overview -- but only of their years on the SST label which means, for example, no Sam, Popskull, and No Longer Gone from their terrific Forbidden Places.

A more persuasive entry-level might be that album, or their mature and lyrically bizarre Up from the Sun and Huevos (reissued with extra tracks).

(Ryko/Elite)