Too High to Die
Too High to Die is the eighth studio album by American rock band the Meat Puppets. The album was released on January 25, 1994, by London Records. It was produced by Butthole Surfers guitarist Paul Leary. The album's title is a parody of The Ramones' 1984 album Too Tough to Die.
| Too High to Die | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | January 25, 1994 | |||
| Recorded | 1993 | |||
| Studio | The Warehouse, Memphis, Tennessee | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 52:06 | |||
| Label | London | |||
| Producer | Meat Puppets, Paul Leary | |||
| Meat Puppets chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Alternative cover | ||||
 Cover of the limited edition featuring the Raw Meat EP | ||||
A limited edition of Too High to Die included the 10" vinyl promo EP Raw Meat. The cover art on this limited edition features more color than the simply pink-toned normal cover.
The album was supported by a lengthy tour, which included spots opening for the likes of Blind Melon, Soul Asylum, and Stone Temple Pilots (and shortly before the album's release, Nirvana).
Reception and legacy
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [3] |
| Christgau's Consumer Guide |  [4] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [5] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B−[6] |
| Los Angeles Times | [7] |
| Rolling Stone | [8] |
| Spin Alternative Record Guide | 8/10[9] |
Too High to Die sold very well due to the success of its single "Backwater", which reached #2 and #11 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks and Modern Rock Tracks charts respectively. The album itself also reached #1 on the Heatseekers chart, making it one of the Meat Puppets' most successful and highest ranking albums to date. The album was certified gold[10] by the RIAA on October 6, 1994.
The rarely-seen video for "We Don't Exist" was nominated for "Best Metal/Hard Rock Video" at the 1995 MTV Video Music Awards, but lost to White Zombie's "More Human than Human".
In May 2012, the title of a book about the Meat Puppets' history borrowed part of the album's title, Too High to Die: Meet the Meat Puppets.[11]
In July 2014, Guitar World placed Too High to Die at number 44 in their "Superunknown: 50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1994" list.[12]
In October 2014, the Alternative Nation website listed Too High to Die at number 9 in their "Top 10 Alternative Rock Albums Of 1994" list.[13]
Track listing
All songs written by Curt Kirkwood, unless otherwise noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Violet Eyes" | 3:51 | |
| 2. | "Never to Be Found" | 4:46 | |
| 3. | "We Don't Exist" | 3:44 | |
| 4. | "Severed Goddess Hand" | 2:59 | |
| 5. | "Flaming Heart" | 4:49 | |
| 6. | "Shine" | 3:50 | |
| 7. | "Station" | Cris Kirkwood | 2:22 |
| 8. | "Roof with a Hole" | 3:34 | |
| 9. | "Backwater" | 3:42 | |
| 10. | "Things" | 4:06 | |
| 11. | "Why?" | 4:20 | |
| 12. | "Evil Love" | Cris Kirkwood | 3:07 |
| 13. | "Comin' Down" (features "Lake of Fire" as a hidden track) | 6:56 |
Personnel
Meat Puppets
- Derrick Bostrom – drums, paintings
- Cris Kirkwood – bass guitar, vocals, illustrations
- Curt Kirkwood – guitar, vocals, paintings
Production
- Greg Calbi – mastering
- Dave Jerden – mixing
- Paul Leary – producer, mixing
- Meat Puppets – producer
- Stuart Sullivan – engineer, mixing
- Brad Vosburg – engineer
- G.E. Teel - assistant engineer
- Josh Kiser – assistant
- Michael Halsband – photography
Charts
Album – Billboard (United States)
| Chart (1994) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Billboard Heatseekers | 1 |
| US Billboard 200 | 62 |
Singles – Billboard (United States)
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | "Backwater" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | 2 |
| Modern Rock Tracks | 11 | ||
| The Billboard Hot 100 | 47 | ||
| Top 40 Mainstream | 31 | ||
| "We Don't Exist" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | 28 |
References
- Prato, Greg. "Paul Leary | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
- Francis, Claire (April 30, 2014). "20 Years On: Meat Puppets – 'Too High To Die'". Tone Deaf. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
- Prato, Greg. "Too High to Die - Meat Puppets Review". AllMusic. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
- Christgau, Robert (October 15, 2000). "Meat Puppets: Too High to Die". Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s. Macmillan Publishing. p. 202. ISBN 9780312245603.
- Larkin, Colin (2011-05-27). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. p. 2006. ISBN 9780857125958.
- Eddy, Chuck (February 18, 1994). "Too High to Die". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
- Hochman, Steve (February 6, 1994). "In Brief". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
- Weisel, Al (June 2, 1994). "Too High to Die Review". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 1, 2007. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
- Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (1995). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. ISBN 9780679755746.
- Smith-Lahrman, Matthew (2014). The Meat Puppets and the Lyrics of Curt Kirkwood from Meat Puppets II to No Joke!. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 187. ISBN 9780810884137.
- "Too High to Die: Meet the Meat Puppets: Greg Prato: 9781493752324: Amazon.com: Books". Amzn.com. Retrieved April 16, 2017.
- "Superunknown: 50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1994". Guitar World. July 14, 2014. Archived from the original on July 15, 2014. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
- "Top 10 Alternative Rock Albums Of 1994". Archived from the original on June 3, 2015. Retrieved January 12, 2016.