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Selection: The Jesus Lizard - Goat

The Jesus Lizard - Goat (1991)


Goat was included in a ballot by Alan Stephen. These are his words on the record, followed by mine.

Alan: The best recorded performances by the best frontman of our generation. At the brink of a spiral of excess down to college radio fame after a split single with Nirvana, and a fortuitous right-place-right-time major label deal and subsidised touring that ultimately saw four alcoholics stagger off in their own directions (before regrouping as they approached 50 to jump around like teenagers again), the band are on amazing form here and show light and shade in the bastard blues squall they conjured like probably at no other time. As a frontman, Yow remains incredible to this day even when (as last time I saw him) being very, very restrained as the frontman of the 40th Anniversary Flipper. As a counterpoint, I once saw him join the Melvins wearing only a toga and dive into the audience after the first line of the song to eventually return without the toga. It didn’t seem to bother him much. His sweaty scrotum has been dragged across my face more than once. Lucky old me.

Joe: Whatever gets you off Al. As a younger man who went through a Significant Nirvana Phase I was aware of the split single with Kurt and the Boys but obviously never owned it. 'Goat' has been on my to-listen list for as long as I can remember though, so this was another great opportunity to tick one off the list.

Well it feels like fundamental noise rock. Sounds a little like Shellac but wilder, with bursts of needly guitar, and with the next-level manic vocals of David Yow. He even seems to go a bit Big Black-era Albini on 'Monkey Trick'. [editor's note - just read the JL's bassist was in Rapeman. D'oh]

It's fun to join the dots from records like 'Fun House' to Goat and then see why The Stooges got Steve Albini to produce their comeback album. That one probably won't make too many Top 40s though.
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