Meat Puppets’ ‘Too High To Die’ Has Been Remastered On Vinyl
The 1994 album features the group’s hit ‘Backwater.’
Meat Puppets’ 1994 record Too High To Die is available on vinyl for the first time in years. The classic alternative LP has been remastered from the original ¼” production master tape.
Too High To Die (its name a parody of The Ramones’ Too Tough To Die) was produced by Paul Leary, guitarist of Butthole Surfers. The album received generally positive reviews upon release, and boasted high sales thanks to the success of the single “Backwater,” arguably the group’s biggest hit. “Backwater” reached number two on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, while Too High To Die reached the top spot on the Billboard Heatseekers chart. The album was certified Gold by the RIAA only a few months after release, on October 6th, 1994.
In addition to “Backwater,” the album’s 13 tracks include “We Don’t Exist,” “Roof With A Hole,” and the album closer “Comin’ Down,” which features an alternate version of their 1984 song “Lake of Fire” as a hidden track.
“Lake of Fire” was famously covered by Nirvana as part of their November 1993 MTV Unplugged performance. That iconic session saw Meat Puppets’ Curt and Cris Kirkwood backing the group on guitar and bass for “Lake of Fire” as well as two additional Meat Puppets covers, “Plateau” and “Oh Me.”
In 2014 Curt Kirkwood told Tone Deaf that he’s still proud of Too High To Die, sharing: “My favourite things about [the album] are the production and the diversity of the material…there’s lots of fun stuff to play from that record and the mixes sound pretty unique.” He continued, “I wouldn’t change a thing… I think it’s as good as it could be.”
He additionally shared that his favorite songs off the record at the time were “Flaming Heart,” “‘Never To Be Found,” and “Why.”
