Drei Monate verweilten sie für dieses Album in Studio und arbeiteten an diesem hoch-psychedelischen Werk, das im Frühjahr ´87 veröffentlicht wurde.

(Glitterhouse)

"The Meat Puppets at their psychedelic peak. A tightly crafted labor of love that took them more than three months to record, "Mirage" was released in Spring of 1987 to increasing interest from mainstream rock circles. Writing for the Washington Post, Joe Sasfy proclamed it "their finest, as close to a polished artistic arrival as you'd want from a frisky anti-pop band committed to musical spontaneity and adventure." And in the Los Angeles Reader, Chris Morris hailed "Mirage" as "rarified rock impressionism at its heightened best."

(vom Rykodisc-ReIssue)

As many Meat Puppets fans had realized by 1987's Mirage, the trio would change gears and broaden their sound with each successive album. This was never more apparent than on their fourth full-length release. Synthesizers were used to add textures to the tunes, while the drums sounded metronome-perfect, almost as if a drum machine was supplying the patterns. Strangely, although Mirage was the trio's most experimental album, it also turned out to be one of their most psychedelia-based works. The groovy little ditty "Get on Down" turned out to be one of the band's first videos aired on MTV, while the title track, the melodic "Leaves," the country rocker "Confusion Fog," the unrelenting "Beauty," and the album-closing punk freak-out "Liquified" are all standouts.

(by Greg Prato, All Music Guide)

"When Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore was interviewed on The South Bank Show's dorky Noise Of New York special back in the late 1980s, he was asked why he thought there was so much interest in the new wave of American rock bands. ''Because we single-handedly blew the concept of the non-guitar-based future of rock'n'roll out the window,'' he spat. Damn right. On 1987s Sister, this NY quartet took the caveman aesthetic of garage punk and jump started it with alternative guitar tunings, bursts of white noise, plenty of freely improvised blurt and some timelessly beautiful songs. They were the first group to really articulate the common aesthetic that linked such outsider strains as free jazz, modern avant garde composition and hardcore; it was all, according to Moore, about breaking out and freaking with it, so to speak. And although your average dope still opts for the Daydream Nation double LP as Sonic Youth's creative pinnacle, Sister is the one that'll ruin your record-buying habits for life. One blast of this sucker and Travis will never quite do it for you again. All the now-classic Sonic elements are present; aggressively cranked guitar lends Catholic Block an almost locomotive intensity while the hallucinogenic Beauty Lies sounds like a dream beaming across centuries. But it is the rockers that define the set, especially the euphorically raging White Kross. The greatest rock'n'roll record of the 1980s."

It's the classic rock & roll story: a talented and scrappy band gradually emerges from a fertile local scene, gets its act thoroughly together over the course of three steadily improving albums, and just as it's ready to make its mark on the wider world, it falls apart. Dumptruck's third album, For the Country, was its last; the core duo of Seth Tiven and Kirk Swan had split up with Swan's departure, and legal troubles would sink the band for good shortly after the album's release. There are harbingers of doom in Tiven's downcast lyrics, but these are his strongest and most well-crafted songs yet; "Island," the faintly Memphis-flavored "Hung Out on a Line," and the country-rock jangle of "Wire" all pack a serious wallop, and the band manages to make good use of Welsh producer Hugh Jones' state-of-the-art studio without coming across as slick or overprocessed. The occasional touches of Hammond organ and pedal steel guitar (that's the legendary B.J. Cole on steel, by the way) give Dumptruck's sound just the right added dimension on songs like "Wire," "Island," and the fine title track. As is the case with most bands that have followed Dumptruck's trajectory, the last album is the best place to start; then work backward to D Is for Dumptruck. Highly recommended.

(by Rick Anderson, All Music Guide)

Charlie Haden's Quartet West launched the ensemble that would become his most popular grouping throughout the '80s and '90s. Haden, who had made a name for himself as an avant-garde bassist in Ornette Coleman's band and elsewhere, including the influential Liberation Music Orchestra, returned to a bop-influenced, more mainstream sound with this grouping. While the album may not be stretching many boundaries stylistically, this format does little to dilute Haden's impressive performances, and his love for this material is made obvious with his intricate arrangements, especially on the two Ornette Coleman tunes, "The Good Life" and "The Blessing." ("The Blessing" appears as one of two bonus tracks on the CD version, with the other being Billy Strayhorn's "Passion Flower.") "The Good Life," in particular, is infused with energy, and is a showcase for some nimble, joyous, effortless playing by pianist Alan Broadbent. Haden has three originals here, the strongest of which, "In the Moment," shows off some of the rhythmic complexity that he has displayed in his previous work. Perhaps the true highlight of the album, though, is a version of Charlie Parker's "Passport" that brings together the whole band in one exuberant expression of energy.

(by Stacia Proefrock, AMG)

"Taking drugs to make music to take drugs to" was how Rugby's Spacemen 3 famously described their modus operandi. Indeed, their music referenced all of the greatest psychedelic moments in rock history, from narcotic blues through MC5-styled sonic attack and yet managed to sound like no-one else before or since. The group was formed by Jason Pierce, who went on to found Spiritualized, and Peter Kember, aka Sonic Boom. Perfect Prescription was their second album and when it came out on Glass in 1987 nobody really paid it any attention. Anyone who remembers the UK music scene of the mid-1980s will recall what a resolutely un-rocking time it was, and the very thought of gargantuan feedback laden riffs was just too greasy for your average consumer. Yet, from this distance Perfect Prescription sounds absolutely classic. Walkin' With Jesus is one of the most ecstatic drug songs ever, with two chords beautifully sounding the way to nirvana. It fades into Ode To Street Hassle, a lush string-driven homage to Lou Reed before ascending into the heavenly orchestras of Transparent Radiation. The second side is earthier, all detuned blues and alien riffs, but every bit as psychoactively stimulating. They made another couple of albums after this but the two collaborators were becoming increasingly distant, at the end working separately on their songs like Lennon and McCartney. They've both gone on to do great things but they've never yet come close to replicating this kind of magic

"We do this homage to Tim Buckley because he knew like no one else how to express and evoke ambiguous human emotions with his vocal art that affects the ear and gets under your skin. Tim Buckley's enthusiasm gave us the handle to a door that we like to open up for your discovering an important part of his lifework. With this tribute we try to bestow the esteem on Buckley's music which it deserves today." (Linernotes)

"Led by the late Jeffrey Lee Pierce, and at various times featuring post-punk luminaries like Patricia Morrison (The Sisters of Mercy) and Kid Congo Powers (The Cramps), The Gun Club perfected a style of music that can only be termed "punkabilly blues." Formed in Los Angeles in the early '80s, the band were vaguely aligned with similarly roots inspired groups like X and the Blasters, but later picked up and relocated to the Lower Eastside, resting more comfortably around the New York, downtown set and Pierce's mentors, Blondie's Debbie Harry and Chris Stein. A series of influential releases established The Gun Club as one of the underground's most important groups.

Mother Juno, first released in 1987, was a triumphant comeback LP for the group after several years of inactivity. Mother Juno earned the band their widest following to date and featured in many critics' polls of the best albums of the year." (Buddah Re-Release)

“Huevos” erschien 1987 nur ein paar Monate nach dem eher experimentellen “Mirage”. Gitarrist Kurt Kirkwood war seit seiner Kindheit ein Fan von Z.Z. Top und Einflüße der bärtigen Texaner mischen sich hier mit den typischen, Meat Puppet´schen Unwägbarkeiten zu einem der straightesten Alben des Trios.

(Glitterhouse)

"Hard driving riff rock, Meat Puppets style. "Huevos" was recorded in four days and released less than six months after "Mirage". But where that album was spacey and lush, "Huevos" is rough and spontaneous. Writing for the Village Voice,Howard Hampton declared it to be "steeped in bliss", while in the the Los Angeles Times,Gina Arnold called it "the band's best effort yet"."

(vom Rykodisc - ReRelease)

"From out of the scrub brush on the edge of the desert comes a trio who were making their brand of music well before alt-country and Americana were the new thing to come down the pike. Don't get me wrong, I love the alt-America stuff, but there is something right and real about the Puppets and the songs they sing. This record is a bit more mellow than I remembered the first time around, but that in no way reduces the amount of pleasure to be gotten from a few repeated listenings. The cover art appears to be painted in thick layers in a slightly southwestern palette. Hey, any cover with a bottle of Tobasco on it is welcome at my table, any meal of the day."

(Tralfaz-Archive)

Recorded and released just a few months after the experimental Mirage, 1987's Huevos was a return to the Meat Puppets' earlier, more straight-ahead direction. The band (guitarist/singer Curt Kirkwood in particular) had always voiced their admiration of ZZ Top, and Huevos contained Billy Gibbons & Co.'s influence more than any other Puppets release. But don't be misled — it wasn't a ripoff, the trio simply incorporated ZZ's sound into their energetic, unpredictable rock. It also didn't hurt that Huevos contained the band's best set of songs since 1985's classic Up on the Sun, comprised almost entirely of heavy rockers ("Paradise," "Look at the Rain," "Crazy," "Fruit," "Automatic Mojo," "Dry Rain," etc.). Another major improvement of Huevos over Mirage was that Derrick Bostrom's drums no longer sounded metronome-perfect and robotic, giving the performances a much livelier edge. The bonus tracks included on the '99 Ryko reissue included several demos of Huevos tunes, including a lengthier and much more laid-back version of "Sexy Music," as well as a medley of "I Can't Be Counted On" and Jimmy Reed's "Baby What You Want Me to Do."

(by Greg Prato, All Music Guide)

"Streamlining the muted, organic atmospheres of the previous Gone to Earth to forge a more cohesive listening experience, Secrets of the Beehive is arguably David Sylvian's most accessible record, a delicate, jazz-inflected work boasting elegant string arrangements courtesy of Ryuichi Sakamoto. Impeccably produced by Steve Nye, the songs are stripped to their bare essentials, making judicious use of the synths, tape loops, and treated pianos which bring them to life; Sylvian's evocative vocals are instead front and center, rendering standouts like "The Boy With the Gun" and the near-hit "Orpheus" -- both among the most conventional yet penetrating songs he's ever written -- with soothing strength and assurance."

(Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide)

"The Musician's Musician." "The Master of the Eclectic." There are probably a dozen more titles by which this "guitar player" is known. To even refer to him as a guitar player is probably a gross mislabeling of this musician. He defies any sort of categorization; this is his greatest strength and for some his weakness. The theme for these nine cuts is rhythm of all different ilk. I won't even give the parameters because he seems to have none. I wondered how many different instruments he played on this album (I thought I counted five different types of guitar); it only says guitar and vocal for his credits. Listen to his version of "All Shook Up," more bop and rhythm than Elvis could put into four of his songs. It seems musicians line up to play with him, and they feel he did them a favor by letting them play on his albums. He always gives them plenty of space to do what they do. This CD will make the dead start tapping their toes." (Bob Gottlieb, All Music Guide)

The Triffids were never labeled as a Christian band, but there's an undeniably spiritual feel to several of the songs on Calenture. Moreover, vocalist David McComb spews his words with the fiery passion of a backwoods preacher. The orchestral sweep of "Bury Me Deep in Love" recalls the Waterboys' expansive sound; the lyrics are unmistakably religious as McComb looks for salvation in a chapel. Fans of Nick Cave will immediately be seduced by McComb's bluesy croon; deep and brimming with palpable sorrow, McComb's voice never dwindles in intensity. "A Trick of the Light" opens like a lullaby with its twinkling synths; the pitter-patter of the drums augment the track's dream-like ambience. The lyrics, however, read like the tortured confessions of a man obsessed with an ex-lover: "You remind very much/Of someone that I used to know/We used to take turns crying all night." The striking images in Calenture illustrate the predicaments of each song's characters. The hallucinations suffered by the woman in "Kelly's Blues" are vividly drawn: "Her tree blew over/I shook her branches down/The wind and I, we howled around her door/Now there's a buckle in the sky, lightning on the shore." The grim "Vagabond Holes" details the anger of romantic rejection with unflinching bitterness. Stoked by sinister guitars and pummeling drums, McComb unleashes a volley of vindictive thoughts: "No one's going to love you when you're wrinkled and old/No teeth in your gum, your hair the colour of snow." The Triffids released one more LP, The Black Swan, before the band split up and McComb sadly passed away. McComb's explosive rage at the finale of "Vagabond Holes" should've been the Triffids' last gasp, an unsettling blast of scarred emotions that isn't easy to shake off.

(by Michael Sutton, All Music Guide)

Whereas fIREHOSE's debut, 1986's Ragin', Full On, was issued quickly to get the new outfit off the ground (two of the three members were still reeling from the death of their previous band's frontman, the Minutemen's D. Boon), their sophomore effort, 1987's If'n, included more cohesive and focused songwriting. Touring together had obviously made Watt-Hurley-Crawford tighter as a unit, and several of their best all-time compositions reside here. Although the debut incorporated other musical forms besides punk and hard rock (funk, jazz, etc.), If'n was the first fIREHOSE release to feature folk-style originals — such as Crawford's "In Memory of Elizabeth Cotton." Standouts include the album opening highway anthem "Sometimes," the groovy '50s feel of "Honey, Please," the laid-back "Backroads," and the irate rockers "Anger" and "For the Singer of R.E.M." Also featured are several Mike Watt lead vocal spots — the perennial concert favorite "Making the Freeway" (included on the 1993 mini-album Live Totem Pole EP), the humorous "Me & You Remembering," "Operation Solitaire," and the closing epic "Thunder Child."

(by Greg Prato, All Music Guide)

"1987, als der Großteil der österreichischen Popmusik wie eine Mischung aus kanadischem 70er-Jahre-Pop und billigstem Elton John-Kunsthandwerk für arme Leute klang, also ziemlich zahm und ebenso lahm, daß sie selbst der mediokren Pop-Journaille gefallen konnte, deren begnadet-tauben, treffsicheren Sinn für das Mittelmäßige man wirklich nur mit größter Mühe erdulden konnte, veröffentlichten die Brüder Wörister (Boris und Mark) ihr Debütalbum "Trying To Remember How To Forget" - die großartigste Popmusik einer österreichischen Band bis zum heutigen Tage.
Große Gefühle, schwermütige Akkorde, rebellische Attitüde - die Sprache der jugendlichen Melancholie. An den Brüdern - Marc Punc (Wörister, Vocals), Boris Wörister (Guitar, Backing Vocals), Willy Brumec (Keyboards), Gerrit Korobath (Bass), Gernot Butschek (Drums & Backing Vocals) - war aller Austro-Pop glücklicherweise vorbeigegangen; die musikalischen Einflüsse und Vorbilder reichten von R.E.M. über die Bollock Brothers bis hin zum Liverpool-Pop der Smiths und ähnlich gearteter Bands.
Die bunten Blumen auf dem Cover verhüllen melancholisch angehauchten Gitarrenpop wie auch jugendlich-forsche Rebellions-Attitüden.
Boris, der ältere der Wörister-Brüder, der bei allen zehn Songs für Text und Musik verantwortlich zeichnet, war nicht nur der ruhende, ausgleichende Pol der Band, sondern brachte auch deren zärtliche, sanfte und einfühlsame Saite stärker zum Klingen. Das Leiden an der Welt wird bei ihm und seinen Songs zu einer sanften Umarmung.
Sein jüngerer Bruder, Marc (Punc) Wörister wirkte dagegen wie ein ewig zorniger James Dean-Epigone aus der Wiener Vorstadt, der im Studio wie auch auf der Bühne geschickt das Tempo variierte und so die rebellisch-aufmüpfige Note der Brüder stärker in den Vordergrund rückte.
Schon der Eröffnungssong des Albums "Feet Don't Fit" gibt den musikalischen Weg vieler Stücke vor: trockene Gitarren, perfekter Rhythmus und Marc Wöristers genuiner Gesang. So folgen wahrhafte Pop-Perlen wie das beschwingte "Suddenly She's Happy Again", das dezent-melancholische "All Those Years" ("remembrance is a bad disease / she does not like anniversaries / where did she lose all those years"), das vorwärtsdrängende "Let's Pretend To Be Happy", sowie das subtil-subversive "Nothing To Be Sure Of". Songs, aufgebaut auf schlichten Ideen, die aber mit größtem Stilwillen, Klarheit des Bewusstseins und verblüffender Intensität umgesetzt wurden und heute, dreizehn Jahre später, noch so frisch wie am ersten Tag klingen.
Aufgrund der offensichtlichen R.E.M.- und Smiths-Vorliebe könnte man den Brüdern Eklektizismus vorwerfen, wäre da nicht der Brennpunkt Marc Punc: Sein rebellisches Sentiment und seine lodernde Wehmut bündeln alles, in seinem Gesang verschmelzen sämtliche Einflüsse und Anleihen zu einem großen Ganzen. So auch im Song "One Last Ray Of Sunshine", dem schönsten aber wohl auch melancholischsten Stück des Albums, das einen Sommer lang an eine erfreuliche Zukunft der österreichischen Popmusik glauben ließ." (Heimo Mürzl)

A moody, melodic debut that evokes the spirit of Nick Drake and Sandy Denny with its brooding images of loss. Mandolins, accordion, acoustic bass, and sparse percussion (usually tambourines and bells) almost qualify this as a contemporary folk album, but Houston's biting and somber approach draws from her punk and alternative-rock roots. The writing is inconsistent, and Houston's fragile voice is sometimes not as forceful as the material seems to demand, but overall this is one of the more underrated alternative music statements of the late 1980s. (by Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide)

"Greatly expanding upon the seemingly unlimited promise of his self-titled debut, Lyle Lovett returns with the exemplary Pontiac, which finds him sharpening his renowned songwriting skills while moving further away from traditional country without a single misstep. Opening with the arch "If I Had a Boat," Lovett proceeds to subvert the Nashville formula at every turn, next delivering "Give Back My Heart," a not-so-subtle dig at country's key demographic, and "L.A. County," which twists the classic revenge song to its ultimate extreme; in between he delivers a pair of stunning love songs, "I Loved You Yesterday" and the elegiac "Walk Through the Bottomland," the latter adorned by haunting vocal support from Emmylou Harris. Still, it's the second half of Pontiac where Lovett really spreads his wings, rejecting Nashville conventions to move headlong into jazz and blues territory; tipping his hand with the wonderfully snarky "She's No Lady," he quickly asserts himself as a jack of all musical trades, capable of mastering big band workouts like the slinky "Black and Blue" as well as beautifully mournful ballads like "Simple Song," Pontiac's centerpiece and arguably Lovett's finest moment to date." (Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide)

Sneaky Feelings were an often overlooked group of the '80s New Zealand rock scene whose closest comparison is the Verlaines. Leader Matthew Bannister's songs may have been a little too savvy for the gritty underground sound of Straightjacket Fits or the Gordons, and likewise too quirky for the mainstream that embraced Crowded House and Split Enz. For being somewhat of a cult title in the underground for two decades, Waiting for Touchdown is a highly crafted and beautiful collection of guitar pop songs, exhibiting a sound and sensibility that would crop up much later in the U.K. indie sound of Arab Strap and Belle & Sebastian. On hearing this album it's easy to see what all the critical acclaim and fuss surrounding the band was about. Those who have exhausted their Flying Nun collections — Chills, Straightjacket Fits, the Clean — will welcome this as being more than a footnote in the history of New Zealand pop.

(by Skip Jansen, All Music Guide)

"Louis Tillett ist so etwas wie die graue Eminenz der australischen Rock- musik. Der Songschreiber, Sänger und exzellente Pianist unterhält diverse Bandprojekte, produziert und ist Gastmusiker bei unzähligen Plattenaufnahmen. Läßt der Albumtitel Düster-Depressives vermuten, so belehrt der Tausendsassa seine Hörer eines Besseren. Anstelle von Schwermut und Weltschmerz zaubert Tillett eine frische und intelligente Mixtur aus Jazz, Blues und Rock aus den Rillen. Respektlos wagt er sich in Coverversionen sogar an den exzentrischen Free-Jazzer Roland Kirk und das New-Orleans-Denkmal Allen Toussaint heran."

(Stereoplay)

Ego Tripping at the Gates of Hell is a delightful synthesis of all the music styles that Tillett has been experimenting with over a decade of music with bands such as Wet Taxis and Paris Green - a mixture of jazz, soul and blues performed by a man with a rock'n'roll heart. "Fear not, the independant scene in Australia is not quite as moribund as you might think - there's still life in them there grooves! Witness No 1 for The Defence is Louis Tillett whose first solo album, the wonderfully titled Ego Tripping at the Gates of Hell, is as superb as anything released by an Australian artist in the past twelve months. Ego Tripping at the Gates of Hell is a delightful synthesis of all the music styles that Tillett has been experimenting with over a decade of music with bands such as Wet Taxis and Paris Green - a mixture of jazz, soul and blues performed by a man with a rock'n'roll heart.
Tillett's career started as singer and keyboard player with Wet Taxis in 1977 and subsequently he's played piano on records by Laughing Clowns, Celibate Rifles, Died Pretty, and the New Christs. During 1983 Tillett recorded with No Dance, an acoustic trio that also featured Brett Myers from died Pretty and Damien Lovelock from Celibate Rifles. Prior to the recording of Ego Tripping at the Gates of Hell Tillett was playing with Paris Green, a jazz and blues inspired outfit.
The decision to record a solo album was out of a partial frustration with working within the confines of a band structure. "There's good and bad things about working with a band," Tillett said last week. "If it's successful the musicians come together and there's a power in it and you get a sound - but then you're restricted by that sound. The idea of this record was to get away from what people expect from Wet Taxis. When kids are spending $5 or $6 to come and see Wet Taxis you have to fulfill your end of the bargain and be Wet Taxis.
Tillett has always worked outside the mainstream of rock'n'roll, mainly because he doesn't want to play the games usually associated with mass success in this country. "The idea was to do something straight from the heart, something emotional," he said. "I think that music is failing miserably at the moment because it's dominated by marketing people who want to create something that's predictable.To me, music is an indulgence in emotions, whether it be happy, sad or something in between."
Ego Tripping at the Gates of Hell does that magnificently and it's my guess that his concert date at the Mandolin Cinema (150 Elizabeth St City) on Friday will be exactly the same. Tillett is appearing with his twelve piece band, The Egotrippers from Hell, along with a solo performance from Louis Burdett. Not to be missed if you want my opinion."

(Stuart Coupe, The Sun Herald, Jan 24 1988)