Personnel: Kevin Bowe (guitar, dulcimer, percussion); Elmo Kirkwood (guitar); William Joseph (piano).
Audio Mixers: Colt Leeb; Kevin Bowe.
Audio Remasterer: Bruce Templeton.
Recording information: Ted Marcus' Apartment; The Saltmine, Mesa, AZ.
Photographer: Matt Rodgers.
The further removed legendary twang-punks Curt and Cris Kirkwood get from their brief, "Backwater"-fueled period of commercial success, it's more difficult to believe that they every strayed from their original loose-and-limber formula. There are some odd diversions on SEWN (like the nearly romantic sort-of ballad "Sapphire"), but for the most part, everything on TOGETHER will satisfy diehard fans, who have adopted the Puppets as their own hard-edged update of the Grateful Dead. It's fun to hear the brothers burn the house down on "Rotten Shame" and make straightforward concessions to country staples on "Smoke," but "The Monkey And The Snake," with its pitter-pat percussion and goofy, whistle-anchored chorus, is the best reminder that the Puppets are alive and recording meaty albums.
Professional Reviews
Spin (p.92) - "[T]he interplay of Curt's drowsy vocals and freaky guitar can still induce vertiginous spells -- witness the dreamy yet insistent 'Blanket of Weeds'..."
CMJ - "[T]he Meat Puppets continue to produce the same genre-blending sound that made Kurt Cobain such a fan....'Sewn Together' provides the full, lucid sonic experience."
Pitchfork (Website) - "SEWN TOGETHER is competent psych-tinged rock....The vocal delivery fits the mood of each song....SEWN TOGETHER is gently rustic..."
