Critic's Review
Sean Westergaard, All Music Guide
The Meat Puppets were one of the great indie rock bands of the '80s, and one that grew substantially from its furious hardcore beginnings through country-punk and on into a more hard rock kind of sound. Classic Puppets is a second attempt to anthologize their SST years (the No Strings Attached comp went out-of-print when the rights went to Rykodisc), and it does a decent job, but it seems almost like an afterthought. All the hits are here for the newcomers, and there are a handful of unreleased tracks tacked on to the end for the completist. This collection just comes off as a bit lackluster. If you want to check out the Meat Puppets, start with Meat Puppets II or Up on the Sun. You'll be glad you did.
