The Dead Milkmen Albums (7)
'Stoney's Extra Stout (Pig)'
Release Date 10/24/1995
Tracks 15
Label Restless
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What The Critics Say
A studio album recorded upon their return to Restless, Stoney's Extra Stout (Pig) continues in the vein of their output for Hollywood Records, with their attempts at being serious coupled with self-consciously wacky imagery that doesn't even sound like an attempt to be funny. Thankfully, the Milkmen called it a career with this one. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide
'Chaos Rules - Live at the Trocadero'
Release Date 11/8/1994
Tracks 19
Label Restless
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What The Critics Say
As they prepared to wind up their career, the Milkmen returned to their old label for this extended live set, which features material from their first five Restless albums. The original gigs from which this album was culled (two shows in Philadelphia performed two years apart) also contained material from the group's Hollywood albums, but due to legal restrictions, those songs were excised from this release. The album is probably better for it, as these songs document the group's prime period, even if these versions don't quite compare to the originals. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
The Dead Milkmen's first album on Hollywood Records is far from their best, and other than a few stand out numbers, it pales in comparison to their earlier and less reverent records. The inclusion of "If I Had A Gun" and the throwback gem "Wonderfully Colored Plastic War Toys" almost make the record worthwhile, but the Milkmen's gross out humor and repetitive song structures (which were oddly enough a good thing) seem to be something of the past. The epic "The Secret Of Life" manages to make the most of a slightly mature new sound for the group, and the riotous "The Conspiracy Song" is a paranoid delusion that could have only been cooked up by these Philadelphia natives, but other than these songs the record trails off a bit more than necessary and some of the jokes that once made the band such a pleasure to listen to just don't work as well anymore. This record marked the group's departure from Restless Records and in the eyes of many fans it also marks the end of an era where the band could do no wrong. Dead Milkmen diehards will still obviously find parts of the record to love, but compared to what preceded it, Soul Rotation's hits are too few and far between. ~ Peter J. D'Angelo, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Having built up a sizeable cult with surprising mainstream exposure here and there, the Milkmen got as close as they ever would to high-profile success with Beelzebubba. The basic formula and approach of the band hadn't changed a lot, but they did get it all together to create another near-perfect single, "Punk Rock Girl." Sprightly and catchy, it mixes the unexpectedly tender, sweet side of the band with the usual drawling humor from Anonymous -- everything from accordion to utterly random Beach Boys (or is that the Mamas and the Papas?) references crop up. Beyond that splash, it was Milkmen time as usual: over the top, sarcastic, and more. Production was the clearest and most radio-friendly it ever was. The band's eternal hatred for trendoids, poseurs, and morons unsurprisingly continued to flourish from the first song in: "Brat in the Frat" targets the title character in question but spends some time demolishing the radical wannabe as well. Similarly amusing slams and smackdowns crop up throughout: "Bad Party," the snarky "Everybody's Got Nice Stuff But Me," and so forth. As an album through and through, Beelzebubba suffers from the same problem as Eat Your Paisley in many ways -- a load of potentially inspiring ideas that often don't add up in the end. "RC's Mom" is a good example; if the music is meant to parody funk, it doesn't do it as well as, say, Led Zeppelin's "The Crunge," and if it's a celebration, it's pretty obvious and boring. As for the vocals, well, never mind. But so long as songs like "My Many Smells" and "Born to Love Volcanoes" are around, there's still hope yet. ~ Ned Raggett, All Music Guide
'Bucky Fellini'
Release Date 1/1/1987
Tracks 16
Label Enigma/Restless
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What The Critics Say
A step up from the good but not great Eat Your Paisley, Bucky Fellini begins with a parody of the bandmember introductions from Sweet's "Ballroom Blitz" and raises another fun and funny stink. The most entertaining and ridiculous thing the band ever did takes deserved center stage -- "Instant Club Hit (You'll Dance to Anything)." Consisting of drum machine fills, intentionally basic basslines and Rodney Anonymous' instantly recognizable sneer, it's a hilarious, all-too-knowing rip on '80s new wave / dance culture. With lines like "Oh, baby, look at you, don't you look like Siouxsie Sioux" and "'I met Andy Warhol at a really chic party/Blow it out your hair, dude, cuz you work at Hardee's!" it's hilarity personified (and bizarrely enough won them an appearance on an MTV dance show, where they encouraged a bout of stage diving). Nothing equals that song's sublime satire, but the Milkmen still stir things up with a touch more fire and sass than before. Naming a song "I Am the Walrus" that has absolutely nothing to do with the Beatles song proves that the jokers are in full effect. The goofy, country-tinged "Watching Scotty Die," features Joe Jack Talcum's surprisingly good Dobro playing. In honor of the album's Texas recording locale, some native sons are honored via covers. Daniel Johnston's "Rocketship" keeps its charm in a full-band arrangement, while the LeRoi Brothers' "Big Time Operator" gets an appropriate rave-up that also trashes Lone Star blowhards like Stevie Ray Vaughn and Charlie Sexton. Add in songs trashing Graceland and titles like "(Theme From) Blood Orgy of the Atomic Fern," and the result is another successful batch of silliness. ~ Ned Raggett, All Music Guide
'Eat Your Paisley!'
Release Date 1/1/1986
Tracks 16
Label Enigma/Restless
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What The Critics Say
Having created a near-perfect blend of whiny humor and punk catchiness on Big Lizard in My Backyard, on their follow-up the Milkmen ended up falling a bit short. It's not a drastic, disastrous fall-off by any means, but part of the problem is the album's lack of a perfect single; where the past had "Bitchin' Camaro" and the future would have "Punk Rock Girl," Eat Your Paisley doesn't have a specific "must listen" number to recommend it. The closest might be "The Thing That Only Eats Hippies," a nutty rant about a Japanese-style movie monster out to nosh on '60s relics ("now it's got a sweet tooth for long hair") that fits the odd album title. Then there's "Beach Party Vietnam," which admittedly says it all in the title but still has a catchy chorus and appropriately off-kilter vim, and the dark cheer of "Happy Is," sunnily reflecting on corpses and death a bit like the Soft Boys' "I Wanna Destroy You." Beyond that, though, things are more hit and miss. The same overall combination of questionable taste, sometimes oddly sweet energy, and wiggy smirkiness runs rampant, but very little connects the way it should, raising a smile but not demanding repeated listens. The band is most successful when showing its continually improving musical chops, as with the ghost-of-New Order bass from Dave Blood that starts off "Fifty Things" or the appropriately winsome chime of "I Hear Your Name." There is one nicely off number at the end, "The Fez," a slow, heavy crunch that features Rodney Anonymous going off about how "ripping off the Butthole Surfers is how we make our living!" ~ Ned Raggett, All Music Guide
'Big Lizard in My Backyard'
Release Date 1/1/1985
Tracks 21
Label Enigma/Restless
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What The Critics Say
It may not be deathless, but 1984's Big Lizard in My Backyard is that rarest of beasts (as a random listen to any Barenaked Ladies disc will show): a collection of rock & roll silliness that outlives one playing. That mid-'80s favorite "Bitchin' Camaro" already demonstrated that ability plenty of times over. Portraying two guys yammering about Doors cover bands and "going down to the shore" before finally getting to the main point -- the way-cool car of the title -- it somehow finds the lost gap between pseudo-jazz grooves and punky snottiness. As left field a fluke hit single as it gets, its mix of bad taste, rock-star mockery and stoner humor still works well. As a whole, the album shows that the Milkmen know their rock & roll history, whether tackling serious issues with sarcasm or just aiming for straight-up silliness. The opening track "Tiny Town," is a quick thrash-and-scream about small minds in small towns and the blatant idiocy of "Takin' Retards to the Zoo," which is about just what it says it is, find the Milkmen's tongues planted firmly in their cheeks. The reggae-tinged "Gorilla Girl" is about a choice in sweethearts that meets with parental disapproval, while the tense, nervous bite of "Right Wing Pigeons," trashes the Reagan administration with style and smirks. Semi-seriousness crops up on the wistfully poppy "Dean's Dream" about "a girl with long blonde hair" or the instrumental finale "Tugena," which shows that when they want to, the Milkmen can rock out with the best of them. Never too heavy but deeper than expected, Big Lizard captures these disaffected class clowns getting it out of their system with energy. ~ Ned Raggett, All Music Guide
