Customer Reviews

Sewn Together

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Very few albums really grab me on first listen, even among my favorite albums. Sewn Together is one of those rare few. Weird, wonderful and beautiful, all at once. This is now my favorite since Too High To Die. Where Rise To Your Knees was experimental and occasionally a little self-indulgent (which was okay, since my tastes run parallel to theirs), Sewn Together is much tighter, without losing the sense of whimsy that the best Meat Puppets songs have always had. If you like the Meat Puppets, buy this album. It's just that simple.

I must preface this by saying I'm at the point that Curt Kirkwood can pretty much do no wrong in my eyes. But that being said, this is a genuine 5 star effort by the Puppets of Meat.

As much as I liked Rise to Your Knees, Sewn Together is definitely a more typical Meat Puppets album. Longtime fans will appreciate it because of its throw-back to some of the old styles we came to love so much from the old indie days. Songs like Sapphire and Smoke will remind you of some of the dark psychedelic songs of old (Like Being Alive, Wish Upon a Storm from Monsters) Meanwhile you'll think you're listening to Mirage or Up On the Sun again with the beautiful title track and Love Mountain (which you would almost swear is a leftover track from Mirage) Meanwhile Blanket of Weeds and S.K.A. show that they can still rock out. And as always some new ideas creep in there such as Curt's almost oriental sounding mandolin-playing on the country-esque I'm Not You.

In short what you will find on this album is great melodies, warped lyrics (no surprise there), finely played (but never overplayed) instruments, and an indie-psychedelic-rock-country mix that only the amazingly original Meat Puppets can provide.

Thanks for another masterpiece boys.

The fact that the Meat Puppets are even on the scene is a miracle in and of itself. After Cris Kirkwood's well-chronicled struggles throughout the 90's and early 00's few even entertained the idea of any new Pups material. Sure, Curt kept on making records (some fine, others so-so)and playing the occasional show, but something was always missing, namely Cris. So when "Rise" trickled out nearly two years ago with little fanfare, and even less press coverage, no one really knew what to expect. Could Cris still play...sing? Fortunately, the answer was a resounding YES, as "Rise" proved to be an interesting, but uneven
comeback.

What was more astonishing were the crazed live performances that took place during '07-'08. Anyone who saw them live or heard the tapes from that tour heard the full power of the live Meat Puppets
experience. The band was on top of their game, equaling, if not surpassing their legendary gigs of the 80's and very early 90's. Yet another miracle!! But, the miracles didn't stop with their mind-blowing live performances, no, then came "Sewn Together". I'll be honest, I didn't feel they had another classic lp in them, but was I ever dead wrong. "Sewn" certainly can stand with any MP juggernaut (II, Up On The Sun, Too High to Die).

Their sound may no longer be revolutionary, but their playing has never been better. The Kirkwood's sew togther quite a few different MP eras over the course of this lp, with nary a dud in sight. Curt's playing is from another dimension (why isn't he mentioned in the same breath as other guitar giants?), while Cris does his punk Jaco
bass deal like only he can. Drummer Ted Marcus is more than solid on the drums (Derrick Bostrom who?). No need to comment on individual tracks, because to me the lp has to be taken in as an entire listen, much like UOTS. It's exceedingly rare for artists this far along in the careers to make such an amazing "comeback", but the miraculous Meat Puppets have done it. Buy the lp and go see them live.

As a long-time fan who has absorbed every Meat Puppets release, as well as Curt Kirkwood's other projects, I have to say taht Sewn Together stands as a really great Meat Puppets record from beginning to end. I'd consider it in their top-four for my tastes (behind the big classics: MPII, Up On the Sun & Too High to Die) I've been immersed in the album since I picked it up on release day and it's as entrancing as anything I've heard from a Kirkwood since at least Too High To Die (though I love Golden Lies, as well).
The record may not have the sprawling diversity of some of the other albums I mentioned as the Puppets seem more content to space out and explore in a more compact range here, but the results are consistently successful.
I really enjoy the title track's loose country vibe (reminiscent of Curt's solo album "Snow" a bit, or how the band plays the title track from that album live.) "I'm Not You" and "Rotten Shame" are two other quick catches which I think any MP fan will latch onto right away. There's also some of the slower type tunes that are reminiscent of Curt's work over the last decade.
And there's also a track with whistling, taking you back to the great whistling moments of "Whistling Song" and "Maiden's Milk", perhaps.

Sewn Together is a triumphant return to form for the Meat Puppets. Curt Kirkwood's guitar work continues to sound like no other and he's singing in a huskier register these days, at times sounding like Gordon Lightfoot (most notably on "Blanket of Weeds"). The songs here are mostly midtempo, sounding closer to the psychedelic Mirage than to the hard rock Huevos or the cowpunk of Meat Puppets II. However, the passion of the performances is evident throughout and brings the songs up a notch. Tracks like the aforementioned "Blanket of Weeds", the hard rocking "Rotten Shame", the country rock of "I'm Not You", the majestic "Clone", and the joyous "Nursery Rhyme" are all very good. There are also a lot of little things that work well like the piano touches in "Sapphire" and "Smoke" and the mandolin in "I'm Not You". Other good tunes here are the riff heavy "S.K.A." and "Love Mountain", which sounds like an outtake from Up On The Sun. While Sewn Together doesn't break any new ground and doesn't touch their best work, it is easily their best since Too High to Die and there's not a bad song to be found.

I heard this album on the band's Myspace page and had to have it. It's the kind of album that you can play over and over and find something new and enjoyable each time. Great songs, perfect instrumentation and production. This band makes me feel young and inspired again. Blanket of Weeds is just a stone great track. Get it!

Great job here from the Meat Puppets. I really enjoyed Rise to your Knees, but Sewn Together is a truly great album, and the title track and Love Mountain rank up there with the best they've ever played. Great album; highly recomended.

This new album builds upon their comeback album Rise To Your Knees very nicely. The songs here feel more natural and laid back than most of RTYK, with tracks like 'Sewn Together', 'Clone' and 'Smoke' among Curt Kirkwood's best songs in years. They've still got it.

Wow what a CD. I am a new "groupie" to the Puppets. I had ordered this thru Amazon, loved it and went to the local used cd shop and bought 4 of their earlier cd's. Very amazed at these guys. I guess i had seen them in an earlier life open up for the Smashing Pumpkins at The Mpls. Aquatennial years ago. That show they said brought 50-70 thousand downtown mpls. Just saw them in Rochester Mn at a St John's Block Party. Very entertaining. Keep up the good work boys.
Kirkwoods rock!!!

lead singer kind of sounds like Dunkan Shiek but the music is all modern/alt rock that is quite catchy.
This album wont dissapoint