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Jun 27, 2009 Web Exclusive By Nate Daly

In the same tasteless fashion in which they made their name, the artwork for Cover the Earth! features Tesco Vee and a new crop of Meatmen masturbating over a globe. Who would expect any less from the band that brought us the infamous trilogy of “Crippled Children Suck,” “French People Suck,” and “Camel Jockeys Suck”

Cover the Earth! (a covers album, duh) is The Meatmen’s first recorded material in 12 years. Making a comeback with a covers album seems a little lazy, but it makes sense for Tesco Vee who has aped and pranked other bands going 30 years. Some of the song picks are expected (GG Allin’s “Higher Power,” Johnny Thunders’ “One Track Mind,” The Urinals’ “I’m a Bug,” and Motörhead’s “Vibrator”), while others come out of left field (The Temptations and Jimmy Dean). All songs are done fairly close to the original and spun Meatmen-style with a dick joke or a fart sound effect

Two of the most interesting tracks here are covers of Black Randy and the Metrosquad. A fellow prankster and irreverent purveyor of bizarre punk songs, Black Randy was perhaps best known for his cover of James Brown’s “Say It Loud - I’m Black and I’m Proud” despite being a paunchy white boy from the west coast. Vee’s version of “Loner With a Boner” is hysterical, and much like Black Randy’s live shows, falls apart before building any steam. “I Slept in an Arcade” is true to the original and one of the best songs here.

Of course, there is an ABBA song (Vee’s favorite band), but I would have loved to hear him do “Fernando” or “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)” rather than “So Long.” Maybe an all ABBA album next…

All the songs here are worth a listen, even the ones that miss the mark, but ultimately this was a fun project for Vee and his band to pay tribute to the bands that inspired the raunchy, who-gives-a-fuck attitude of The Meatmen. Continuing the sentiment is a ridiculously awesome Tesco Vee bobble head doll throwing his trademark sneer while flashing a middle finger. Never have a pair of ABBA-branded pants and a pentagram shirt made so much sense. (www.tescovee.com)

Author rating: 6/10