Which records do you consider "proper" Melvins albums?

[h3r3t!c]

I was recently thinking how many "proper" Melvins albums (including collaboration albums and albums released as special incarnations!) are out there as of today, not counting compilations, live albums, remix albums etc.
Ended up with a total of 26, although I'm not 100% sure about each and every one, especially some of the recent ones are hard to categorize. Curious about your opinions!

Here's my list (w/ comments on the "controversial" ones):
01 - Gluey Porch Treatments
02 - Ozma
03 - Bullhead
04 - Lysol
05 - Houdini
06 - Prick (one could argue this was released as Snivlem on a different label, there was no tour for that one, it is full of joke tracks anyway and therefore should not count, but I definitely consider this a solid Melvins album nontheless, even if it's a rather obscure entity)
07 - Stoner Witch
08 - Stag
09 - Honky
10 - The Maggot
11 - The Bootlicker
12 - The Crybaby
xx - Electroretard (I personally do not count this one. In my eyes this is a compilation album of experiments, covers and reworks, but not a proper album)
13 - Hostile Ambient Takeover
14 - Pigs of the Roman Empire (w/ Lustmord)
15 - Never Breathe What You Can't see (w/ Jello Biafra) (Buzz wrote all the music after all)
xx - Sieg Howdy! (leftover tunes, remixes, a live track, this does not count for me)
16 - (A) Senile Animal
17 - Nude With Boots
18 - The Bride Screamed Murder
19 - Freak Puke (as Melvins Lite)
20 - Everybody Loves Sausages (many guest musicians, but nobody disputes the Crybaby either, right?)
21 - Tres Cabrones (as Melvins 1983)
22 - Hold It In
23 - Three Men and a Baby (w/ Mike Kunka) (not sure if this one should count, after all, most of the music was recorded many years ago in 1999 and there was no tour for it either)
24 - Basses Loaded (or is this merely a compilation? Somehow feels too important to be put aside though)
25 - A Walk With Love & Death
26 - Pinkus Abortion Technician

[Oscar]

All of them.

[GiveMe45]

Never Breathe What You Can't see (w/ Jello Biafra) (Buzz wrote all the music after all)

Jello is actually credited with writing the music on 3 songs and co-writer on another.  One of my favorite parts of the Colossus movie is the band describing how Jello ‘writes’ music.

Regardless, I would still consider it a proper album in the Melvins catalog.  Same with the albums Jello did with Nomeansno and DOA back in the day.

[Bigval]

This is where Buzz and I part ways, he views PAT as their 26th studio album I think it only counts as their 25th as Buzz considers Colossus of Destiny an album and their best one at that where as it's not a studio album but a live album.

1. Gluey Porch Treatments
2. Ozma
3. Lysol
4. Bullhead
5. Houdini
6. Prick
7. Stoner Witch
8. Stag
9. Honky
10. The Maggot
11. The Bootlicker
12. The Crybaby
13. Hostile Ambient Takeover
14. Pigs of the Roman Empire (w/ Lustmord)
15. Never Breathe What You Can't See (w/ Jello Biafra)
16. (A) Senile Animal
17. Nude With Boots
18. The Bride Screamed Murder
19. Freak Puke
20. Tres Cabrones
21. Hold It In
22. Three Men and a Baby (as Mike & The Melvins)
23. Basses Loaded
24. A Walk with Love & Death
25. Pinkus Abortion Technician

[Oscar]

Why does the studio/live aspect carry that much weight?

Look at Zappa for instance, most of his albums were studio and live hybrids but his fans rarely distinguish.

To not acknowledge COD as "proper" would be foolish in my opinion. It's one of the most Melvins albums out.


EDIT: I refer to Zappa because he too released a shitton of scattered albums, obviously FZ had a very different approach to albums than the Melvins do don't roast me

[))))((((]

This is something i always want clarified when it gets mentioned in magazines or interviews. The fact that the band don't know themselves i think is telling. So really it doesn't matter too much - i just think of them as "releases" rather than records. For various reasons, with a band like Melvins it is actually pretty difficult truly to say what is an album or not. I will say that i don't really see Chicken Switch as a Melvins album. That one in particular i have a hard time accepting. Playing devils advocate here, could 'A Walk With Love & Death' be considered TWO albums?!?

For me, the only ones that could be considered tricky to classify by fans (for different reasons) are these below....


10 Songs / 26 Songs
Your Choice Live Series
Eggnog
King Buzzo
Dale Crover
Joe Preston
Lysol
Singles 1-12
Alive At The Fucker Club
Colossus Of Destiny
Millennium Monsterwork 2000
Never Breathe What You Can't See
Mangled Demos From 1983
Sieg Howdy!
Houdini Live: A Live History Of Gluttony And Lust
Chicken Switch
Sugar Daddy Live
The Bulls & The Bees

there was no tour for that one

I don't think that should be a factor whatsoever.

Colossus of Destiny an album and their best one at that where as it's not a studio album but a live album.

Normally i would agree and say it is a live album, but the fact that it is previously unreleased material and the emphasis by the band that it IS an album makes me view it like that. Same goes for the Houdini Live record. It was recorded live but you can't tell it is. It's also one of their very best releases too!

Why does the studio/live aspect carry that much weight?

I agree. I think it doesn't really matter much. I still think of 'Kick Out The Jams' by MC5 as a "proper" album.

[))))((((]

Another issue i have with things of this nature is how bands (or labels) classify releases as albums or EP's. It is funny to me that sometimes you get a band that usually put out records an hour long but then offer up a 30 minute release and call it an EP. To me that's still an album. Just a shorter album. So for Melvins i still see Eggnog as sort of an album. Plus, along similar lines, it irritates me when Lysol is considered an EP by some just because it has less tracks.

[amazonAMAZON]

Eggnog
Lysol
Bulls and Bees
Prick
Colossus

All are crafted listening experiences by the band in their definitive recording, running order, and packaging. I love the Melvins for making these records, and I have no problem counting them as "albums"

Chicken Switch is a remix compilation album to me. Though I give them credit for putting a twist on it. No count.

I see Never Breathe as the Jello album, and Sieg as the Melvins album, though flip sides of roughly the same coin. 1 album point for the two.

6/8/10 Songs is an EP to me, but I'll count it as above. The fact that some songs we're immediately rerecorded makes it less essential. +1

Buzz/Joe/Dale is one release to me, and as such would be a specially packaged collection. Singles 1-12 and the forgotten Tora Tora also fit this condition.

A Walk With Love and Death is a double album.

A live album of songs from other albums is not an "album" in the tally. It's a thing they did.

[amazonAMAZON]

Crybaby and Sausages. Party albums. Albums both.

Basses Loaded will always be a compilation album to me, considering that half the tracks were released on singles prior and the band is not a cohesive unit throughout. Regardless, sometimes these records earn their right (ala Pisces Iscariot or Incesticide). Album counts.

Everything else seems pretty straightforward

[herb wilkinson]

All of them.

[))))((((]

Basses Loaded will always be a compilation album to me, considering that half the tracks were released on singles prior and the band is not a cohesive unit throughout.

I do wonder how "formed" Basses Loaded was at the time they released the 'Beer Hippy' and 'War Pussy' EP's. Whether the album was ready to go and they simply put out 2/3's of the record in this way first or later on arranged it into a full length album.

[h3r3t!c]

Also unsure about Mike and The Melvins - Three Men And A Baby. Is this a fully qualified album or rather a way late release of an album that never happened?

Eggnog - EP for sure. Undoubtedly a milestone in Melvins early history, but just take a look at the runtime.
Bulls & Bees - runtime again - EP in my eyes.
Colossus - Hmm never considered that one TBH. Also, recorded 1998 but released 2001...
Chicken Switch - remix compilation album
6/8/10/26 Songs: EP or compilation album respectively
Mangled Demos: Compilation album
WWLAD: Fully qualified (double) album
Buzz/Dale/Joe/Steve: EPs and in part also side projects
Singles 1-12: Compilation album
Live History of...: Live album

This is where Buzz and I part ways, he views PAT as their 26th studio album I think it only counts as their 25th as Buzz considers Colossus of Destiny an album and their best one at that where as it's not a studio album but a live album.

1. Gluey Porch Treatments
2. Ozma
3. Lysol
4. Bullhead
5. Houdini
6. Prick
7. Stoner Witch
8. Stag
9. Honky
10. The Maggot
11. The Bootlicker
12. The Crybaby
13. Hostile Ambient Takeover
14. Pigs of the Roman Empire (w/ Lustmord)
15. Never Breathe What You Can't See (w/ Jello Biafra)
16. (A) Senile Animal
17. Nude With Boots
18. The Bride Screamed Murder
19. Freak Puke
20. Tres Cabrones
21. Hold It In
22. Three Men and a Baby (as Mike & The Melvins)
23. Basses Loaded
24. A Walk with Love & Death
25. Pinkus Abortion Technician

What's the source for this Buzzo statement? And where's the Sausages on that list?

[h3r3t!c]

Basses Loaded will always be a compilation album to me, considering that half the tracks were released on singles prior and the band is not a cohesive unit throughout. Regardless, sometimes these records earn their right (ala Pisces Iscariot or Incesticide). Album counts.

Guess we'd need more background info on Basses Loaded.

Incesticide is generally considered a compilation album as opposed to the three other records.

[))))((((]

Also unsure about Mike and The Melvins - Three Men And A Baby. Is this a fully qualified album or rather a way late release of an album that never happened?

Actually yes, that is a tricky one. Tricky in the sense that it wasn't ALL old material. The band said 80% of the record was done but they added a few bits and did the vocals at the time it was released. So it is this strange concoction of old and new together.

[Bigval]

What's the source for this Buzzo statement? And where's the Sausages on that list?

He's said it before in a few interviews he considers CoD their best album full stop. Madness but it is what it is.

Sausages is a covers album not a 'studio album'.