The Dead Milkmen - Big Lizard In My Backyard
1985 Fever Records

Track Listing:
1.  Tiny Town
2.  Beach Song
3.  Plum Dumb
4.  Swordfish
5.  V.F.W.
6.  Rastabilly
7.  Serrated Edge
8.  Lucky
9.  Big Lizard
10. Gorilla Girl
11. Bitchin' Camaro
12. Filet Of Sole
13. Spit Sink
14. Violent School
15. Takin' Retards To The Zoo
16. Junkie
17. Right Wing Pigeons
18. Dean's Dream
19. Laundromat Song
20. Nutrition
21. Tugena

Line-Up:
Vocals:  Rodney Anonymous, Joe Jack Talcum
Guitars:  Joe Jack Talcum
Bass:  Dave Blood
Drums:  Dean Clean

Website:  www.deadmilkmen.com

Shev's Rating:  A
Average Album Rating:  A

Quick Summary:
Ahh...the debut album that started The Dead Milkmen legacy.  This was quite the prodigious release back in the day, and definitely not The Dead Milkmen that grew popular and made appearances on MTV years later.  Instead of all their trademark keyboards, miscellaneous instruments, and extensive, drawn-out songs, Big Lizard In My Backyard focused on slovenly raw punk and highly offensive humor.

While Dave Blood does a notable job on bass and Dean Clean does a decent job on drums, the main complaint about this album is the fact that Joe Jack Talcum plays the guitar as though he has yet to discover his groove.  None the less, this is a small price to pay as technical ability isn't the focal point.  This whole album thrives on grit and repugnant black humor.  Forget melody and complex structured songs...this is just plain fun from start to finish.  Littered with classics, Big Lizard In My Backyard is highly recommended to those that dig their punk modestly simple and down right dirty.

Song summaries include...

1. Tiny Town - Awesome, fast, sloppy song based on small town society.  Fantastic stuff. A
2. Beach Song - Pure novelty song switching between mellow, bass-driven garbage and mid-paced drivel with surf influences and annoying "Nooooo!" vocal fills.  D-
3. Plum Dumb - I normally hate overly simplistic, repetitious songs, but this is so hurried and careless that it's hard not to appreciate it.  A-
4. Swordfish - Noisy and poorly performed.  Dave Blood on bass is simply awful.  Works for me.  B
5. V.F.W. - With nothing to offer musically, V.F.W. relies on droll lyrics, profanity, and build-up to get by.  C-
6. Rastabilly - Not much music involved as this seems to be a cross of early blues mixed with some southern flavor.  More of a joke/filler song than anything.  C-
7. Serrated Edge - Hilarious song with fairly simplistic music complimented by a great bass line moving at a comfortable, mid-tempo pace.  A-
8. Lucky - Erratic, nervous, bass-driven song with a slight funk taste.  Unfortunately, The Dead Milkmen throw in a few screeching halt breaks which really detract from the song.  B
9. Big Lizard - The Dead Milkmen-styled punk with surf and tamer vocals from Rodney Anonymous.  Great song just for the way it flows so well.  A
10. Gorilla Girl - With the exception of the lyrics, this could very well be mistaken for a children's song.  C+
11. Bitchin' Camaro - Classic!  The Dead Milkmen's trademark comedy interludes begin here, followed by some commendable, scrubby, vicious punk with short, quality drums fills.  A+
12. Filet Of Sole - Unostentatious, droning filler.  D
13. Spit Sink - Slow, trippy, and poorly recorded.  D+
14. Violent School - Killer energetic song marked with some very cool clean bass fuddling.  A
15. Takin' Retards To The Zoo - One of The Dead Milkmen's best, hands down.  Short, fast, and highly offensive subject matter about packing a bus full of retards and taking them to the zoo.  The mimicked retarded back-up singing puts this one right over the top.  A+
16. Junkie - With the exception of the free mess break from 0:31 - 0:39, this is just some brief, fast filler.  C-
17. Right Wing Pigeons - This song is so advanced both musically and structurally that it could easily be included on any of The Dead Milkmen's later albums.  The whole disco feel is a nice touch.  A
18. Dean's Dream - With Joe Jack Talcum only on vocals, this song is pretty distinct due to the light-hearted sound teamed with the strong melody.  A guilty pleasure.  A
19. Laundromat Song - Good, speedy song, but the chorus is beyond annoying.  It's almost as if Rodney Anonymous is trying to pull off some Jello Biafra.  C+
20. Nutrition - Ugly, dirty punk all about eating right.  "At least I give a shit, what I put into my mouth!  Yeah, I care about nutrition!"  A-
21. Tugena - Awesome surf/punk instrumental, however...they keep using the same sound bites over and over!  It's ridiculous.  B

Shev's Rating:  A

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