Humpty Dumpty LSD

Album Review

Die-hard Butthole Surfers fans are often compelled to own every rare recording that they can dig up, and this disc is one that they will be foaming at the mouth over. Humpty Dumpty L.S.D. is an odd assortment of tracks that span the career of these psychedelic nightmare-weavers, from their early days of cockroaches and megaphones to their more refined and radio-friendly period. A number of songs were initially released on a variety of hard-to-find compilations, such as "Eindhoven Chicken Mask," which appeared on Touch & Go's God's Favorite Dog compilation, as well as the Butthole Surfers/Daniel Johnston collaboration "All Day," originally located on A Texas Trip. A couple tracks are actually early versions of songs that were recorded at a later date, such as "Day of the Dying Alive," which eventually became "Jimi" from the album Hairway to Steven. Other songs, like "Hetero Skeleton" and "Perry Intro," originated from the recording sessions for the album Rembrandt Pussyhorse. While it is an interesting and enjoyable retrospective, it is also evident why some of the material was never released until now. It's definitely a disc that can be appreciated more by the fanatically inclined rather than the masses looking for a follow-up to their hit, "Pepper," due to the raw and unpolished nature of some of the tracks. Also, a few of the songs are clearly the bare-boned structures of works in progress or ideas that never fully panned out, which tend to come off a bit long-winded at moments. Regardless, it is an interesting disc that follows the turbulent history of one of the world's most notoriously bizarre and hypnotically frightening bands.