Independent Worm Saloon [PA]

Performer: Butthole Surfers
Engineer: Pat McCarthy; Patrick McCarthy
Producer: John P. Jones; John Paul Jones; Butthole Surfers
Distributor: EMI Music Distribution

Notes: Butthole Surfers include: Gibby Haynes (vocals); Paul Leary (guitar); King Coffee (drums). Personnel: Paul Leary (guitar). After Pioughd's semi-misfire and Rough Trade's subsequent collapse, the Surfers were in a surprising position. Not only were they courted and signed to Capitol thanks to the Nirvana-led alternative explosion, they also got high-profile arranger and Led Zeppelin legend John Paul Jones to produce the new album. When Saloon surfaced in early 1993, some accused the band of basically cloning Haynes' memorable collaboration with Ministry, "Jesus Built My Hot Rod," for the entire album. It's true that "Some Dispute Over T-Shirt Sales," simply takes the lyrics from that number and grafts it onto a quick rip from the band, but Saloon is far from a clone of Ministry or anything else. More energetic than the straggling Pioughd and benefiting from Jones' brilliant ear and tight, crisp arrangements, Saloon starts with the fierce "Who Was In My Room Last Night?"; from there, the Surfers tear through hilarious and strong numbers. Creating radio-friendly unit shifters was clearly the last thing on the band's mind, as numbers like "The Annoying Song," with Haynes sounding like what a radar dish would do if it could sing, and the wittily solemn acoustic ditty "The Ballad of Naked Man" demonstrate. The Surfers' taste for rude grostequerie surfaces throughout -- the foul "Chewin' George Lucas' Chocolate," the series of vomit sounds that conclude the record after "Clean It Up"'s heavy trudge and the extremely disturbing artwork are just a few examples. Combined with numerous examples of Surfer-mania at its finest -- the dipsomaniacal rager "Alcohol," the electric country hoedown "You Don't Know Me" and more -- and Saloon is that rarest of records, a major-label debut that surpasses the indie release preceding it. ~ Ned Raggett

Rolling Stone (6/10/93, p.70) - 3 Stars - Good - "...If INDEPENDENT WORM SALOON offers little in the way of songs to hum, few records can beat it for sheer guitar-choking feedback ecstasy..." Entertainment Weekly (4/2/93, p.52) - "...grinds along like roadhouse Motorhead..." - Rating: B Q (4/93, p.79) - 3 Stars - Good - "...tales of drug-addled Americana....musically, the Buttholes are almost uncontrollable..."

Few bands can lay claim to a title like "most deranged band ever" in quite the same way the Butthole Surfers can. Formed in Austin, Texas, in the early 1980s, the group combined punk and metal riffage, tribal drumming, and sheer noise with singer Gibby Haynes's hallucinatory psycho-ward ramblings. The Buttholes' live shows were at times terrifying, and their early albums were challenging, exhilarating, and utterly unique, making them a long shot to ever ink a major-label deal. Nonetheless, the band released two albums on Capitol in the mid-'90s and even scored a genuine radio hit with the song "Pepper." The band jumped to Hollywood records for 2001's WEIRD REVOLUTION.

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