Butthole Surfers
EP by
Butthole Surfers
ReleasedJuly 1983
Recorded1982–1983
San Antonio, Texas
StudioBOSS Studios
GenrePunk rock
Length18:36
LabelAlternative Tentacles
ProducerButthole Surfers, Mike Taylor
Butthole Surfers chronology
Butthole Surfers
(1983)		 Live PCPPEP
(1984)
Back cover
Alternative cover
Later editions of Alternative Tentacles' 12-inch vinyl version of Butthole Surfers' debut EP include the words "Brown Reason to Live" on the cover.
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
The Austin Chronicle[2]
Pitchfork Media6.2/10[3]
Robert ChristgauA−[4]
Rolling Stone[5]
Sputnikmusic[6]
Trouser Pressfavorable[7]

Butthole Surfers is the debut studio EP by American rock band Butthole Surfers, released in July 1983. It is also known as Brown Reason to Live and Pee Pee the Sailor (see "Title controversy"). All songs were written and produced by Butthole Surfers.

The album was originally released on Alternative Tentacles. The center label on vinyl printings invited listeners to play the record at 69 RPM, a joke referencing the famous sex position. The album's back cover features a mildly distorted image of famed Mexican luchador Santo. Kurt Cobain listed the EP in his top fifty albums of all time.[8][9]

Music

The album consists of seven songs that mostly feature heavily distorted guitar with largely nonsensical, barely intelligible lyrics, alternately sung by lead vocalist Gibby Haynes and guitarist Paul Leary. Haynes also plays saxophone and drums on some tracks. Unlike later Butthole Surfers albums, no electronic instrumentation is present.

Having parted ways with their original drummer, Scott Matthews, shortly before entering the studio, Butthole Surfers used a number of different percussionists on this album. The last of them, King Coffey, is still with the band to this day. Bassist Bill Jolly was also a relatively new addition, joining after original bass player Quinn Matthews quit at the same time as his brother, Scott.[10] Jolly would also play on the Surfers' first official live release, Live PCPPEP, and their first full-length album, Psychic... Powerless... Another Man's Sac.

Title controversy

Though this EP is also known as Brown Reason to Live, Butthole Surfers is its official title. Firstly, "Butthole Surfers" were the only words to appear on the front cover of its original release. Furthermore, Latino Buggerveil's 2003 reissue of the EP, together with 1984's Live PCPPEP on a single CD, is titled Butthole Surfers/Live PCPPEP. Perhaps most importantly, it is listed as Butthole Surfers in the "Discography" section of the band's official website.[11]

That said, Brown Reason to Live has a strong claim to title rights, and many fans refer to it by that name. The 12-inch vinyl edition was, and still is, sold as Brown Reason to Live through original label Alternative Tentacles, but it is unclear if it was initially released as such. Also, though the words "Brown Reason to Live" did not appear on the original album's packaging, 'A BROWN REASON FOR LIVING' was etched into the run-out grooves of early pressings of this release and 'Brown Reason To Live' was included below the band's name on later Alternative Tentacles printings (see image).[12] Finally, Latino Buggerveil's reissue of this album is listed as Brown Reason to Live (together with Live PCPPEP) on iTunes.

Background

The sessions for Butthole Surfers were made possible by an earlier Butthole Surfers concert at Los Angeles, California's Whisky a Go Go, where they had opened for Dead Kennedys and T.S.O.L. The band gained an early admirer in Dead Kennedys' lead vocalist Jello Biafra, who also ran Dead Kennedys' Alternative Tentacles record label. Biafra told the band that, if they got someone to loan them studio time, Alternative Tentacles would reimburse the studio once the album was complete.

According to guitarist Paul Leary, the band then talked Bob O'Neill, owner of San Antonio, Texas' BOSS Studios, (a.k.a. Bob O'Neill's Sound Studio, a.k.a. the Boss), into loaning them the required time.[10] Joe Pugliese, a San Antonio music promoter, recalled that lead singer Gibby Haynes slept at the studio during these sessions. Mike Taylor, an engineer at BOSS Studios, assisted with the EP's production. Taylor would later record and assemble the contents of 1984's Live PCPPEP.[13]

Track listing

All songs written and produced by Butthole Surfers.

Side 1

  1. "The Shah Sleeps in Lee Harvey's Grave" – 2:09
  2. "Hey" – 2:06
  3. "Something" – 4:36

Side 2

  1. "Bar-B-Q Pope" – 3:36
  2. "Wichita Cathedral" – 2:22
  3. "Suicide" – 1:24
  4. "The Revenge of Anus Presley" – 2:25

Personnel

  • Gibby Haynes - lead vocals ("Hey," "Wichita Cathedral," and "Suicide"), saxophone
  • Paul Leary - guitar, lead vocals ("The Shah Sleeps in Lee Harvey's Grave," "Something," and "Bar-B-Q Pope")
  • Bill Jolly - bass
  • King Coffey - drums ("Bar-B-Q Pope" and "Wichita Cathedral")
  • Brad Perkins - drums on "The Shah Sleeps in Lee Harvey's Grave" and "The Revenge of Anus Presley" [14]
  • Various musicians - drums (all other tracks)

Charts

Chart (1984) Peak
position
UK Indie Chart[15] 21

References

  1. ↑ Huey, Steve. "allmusic ((( Brown Reason to Live > Review )))". Allmusic. Retrieved March 17, 2010.
  2. ↑ "Butthole Surfers: Butthole Surfers + Live PCPPEP Album Review". www.austinchronicle.com.
  3. ↑ "Butthole Surfers: Butthole Surfers/Live PCPPEP". Pitchfork.
  4. ↑ Christgau, Robert. "Butthole Surfers". robertchristgau.com, Retrieved on March 17, 2010.
  5. ↑ Brackett, Nathan. "Butthole Surfers". The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. November 2004. pg. 123, cited March 17, 2010
  6. ↑ "Butthole Surfers - Butthole Surfers (album review ) | Sputnikmusic". www.sputnikmusic.com.
  7. ↑ "TrouserPress.com :: Butthole Surfers". trouserpress.com.
  8. ↑ "Top 50 by Nirvana [MIXTAPE]". Archived from the original on 18 October 2014. Retrieved 8 May 2013.
  9. ↑ Cross; Gaar; Gendron; Martens; Yarm (2013). Nirvana: The Complete Illustrated History. p. 30. ISBN 978-0-7603-4521-4.
  10. 1 2 Michael Azerrad, Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground 1981-1991 (New York, Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 2001) 279
  11. ↑ Discography page at the Butthole Surfers' official website
  12. ↑ Brown Reason to Live page Archived 2011-06-03 at the Wayback Machine, online store, Alternative Tentacles website
  13. ↑ Joe Nick Patoski and John Morthland, "Feeding the Fish: An Oral History of the Butthole Surfers," Spin Magazine, 1996 Archived 2007-11-09 at the Wayback Machine, archived at Butthole Surfers fan website, Negro Observer Archived 2006-12-15 at the Wayback Machine
  14. ↑ "Butthole Surfers - The Anal Obsession". www.buttholesurfersanalobsession.com.
  15. ↑ Lazell, Barry (1997). Indie Hits 1980-1989. Cherry Red Books. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
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