Search - Butthole Surfers :: Hole Truth & Nothing Butt

Final Piece of the "Early" Buttholes

T.A. | South Florida | 06/13/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Like so many BS fans, you either love the 80's (Psychic, Pussyhorse, Cream Corn, Locust, Hairway) and hate the 90's (Pioughd, Worm Saloon, Larryland, Weird R) or vice versa. Although, I haven't met too many that prefer the 90's Surfers to the 80's, unless they're 12 years old and they've just been introduced to the band (I have a nephew who loves IWS, because, as he says, "it's totally hard thrash, dude").This CD, compiled in 1995, is a poor man's "Humpty Dumpty LSD" (which would be released in 2002). "The Hole Truth...And Nothing Butt" is a compilation of rare versions of some of their prime, mid-80's psycho-tunes. The original 1983 version of "Something" (not the bland 1991 version from "Pioughd") starts the CD off with a bang, and there are also some live versions of some of your old favorites, like "Hurdy Gurdy Man" (you can actually make out the lyrics!), "John E. Smoke" and "Bong Song" as well as some alternate recordings of other classics like "Lady Sniff", "Moving to Florida", a cover of "Come Together" and "USSA". I'd have to say even though I like it, "The Wooden Song" just doesn't belong on here.I can't give the CD 5 stars for one simple reason--production and sound quality. This recording reminds me of those old cassette tapes we used to "dub" off our friends back in junior high, circa 1985. Remember how bad the tape sounded when you made a copy of a copy of a copy from a tape your buddy recorded with a hand-held tape deck at the back of an auditorium during a concert? This sounds worse in some parts. Still, if you're a big fan of the old Surfers stuff, you need to get this, along with "Humpty Dumpty LSD" (another compilation of old Surfers' stuff with better sound quality, but the choice of songs is not quite as good as "Hole Truth") to put closure on your BS inventory. Now that both are out on CD, I recommend getting both, kinda like a 2-disc box set, as each compliments the other (no tracks are repeated--each CD offers different rare stuff, and "Humpty D" is full of weird instrumentals).Don't have any of the Surfers' newer CD's, like Saloon, Weird or Pioughd? Dub 'em onto a cassette tape. Their worth about that much."

Nothing Butt Indeed!

Gunther Haagendazs | Up High in the Trees | 11/16/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This has the reputation of being a poor man's Humpty Dumpty LSD, a collection of demos and b-sides released in 2002. However, I think that this is far from that. This is a collection of live recordings, 2 demos and a hilarious interview. And if you get it new or are careful about it, you can get a sticker of the CD cover (without the 2 black side bars) and one of Trance Syndicate. It's quite different in all honesty. Unfortunately since Trance syndicate no longer exists this record has been out of print for some time, and most likely will stay that way. The Hole Truth... is more like a second Double Live. (Something also out of print) So if you get it off eBay or something and you want the stickers, then you are going to have to be careful about it. Definitely a must have if you are a big Butthole Surfers fan, especially if you are an 80's fan, as the only song from the 90's is the Wooden Song. And I agree with another reviewer saying that that song just feels misplaced. Awe well, since no one here has covered all the songs and I'm sure some people are wondering about them, I'll just go ahead and do it.



1. Butthole Surfer: a 1983 demo that is easier to make out the words, but quality isn't as good.

2. Something: the SAME 1983 DEMO that appears on Butthole Surfers/Live PCPPEP, pretty good.

3. Moving to Florida: the classic and hilarious song off Cream corn from the socket of Davis, it's pretty good here.

4. Hurdy Gurdy Man: an earlier live version 6 years before they recorded it. Good quality.

5. Come together: A beetles cover, and it works rather well, especially with the 2 drummers. A shame its only 54 seconds long.

6. Cherub: and EXCELLENT version of cherub. The funny intro with Gibby talking to the audience, and the drums and megaphone all work brilliantly here, my personal favorite.

7. Graveyard: different show, different quality, it's the fast version in case you are wondering, its pretty cool.

8. U.S.S.A.: Ok, the cracks are starting to show, Gibby sounds really tired here, and the drums aren't as good. The version on the Double Live is way better, but this one still listenable.

9. Lady Sniff: the hilarious song, that is just as good live, quality is a little poor, but it works.

10. John E. Smoke: different show and Gibby doesn't sound tired, great quality to a great song.

11. 1401: later to be renamed the Colored FBI guy on the Widowermaker! EP, its great.

12. Psychedelic: different concert again, and it's an instrumental, like it should have stayed.

13. Bon Song: Different Concert and it's a live version of the bong song, now I wasn't a big fan of the original, but it's beautiful.

14. The Wooden Song: Different concert and like I said, it feels out of place, but it the opening with the gibbytronix is pretty cool.

15. Pittsburgh to Lebanon: You can actually hear Gibby shooting off a shotgun into the crowd! Don't worry, he did it often and it was filled with Hollywood blanks (you know, the only that just flash and nothing more).

16. The Shah Sleeps in lee Harvey's Grave: Hilarious, most of the time, when they perform it live, it doesn't go over as well as it does here.

17. WNYU Interview: This Alone should make the disc worth Paying for. A hilarious 5 and a half minute interview, unfortunately it seems like it was cut off, I would have loved to hear the entire thing.



Well, the Hole truth...and Nothing Butt! is a gem for the fanatic. But towards the end, it just doesn't have the same feel; it must be the lack of the second drummer. It isn't 5 star worthy but it's pretty close. All in all it's definitely worth your time if you are a Butthole Junkie. My advice is to try and get it with the sticker, because there aren't many of those. Hoped this helped. Support the Butthole Surfers and support John E. Smoke, the crippled little Midget lesbian boy who stood ten feet tall with a knife!

"

Gets four for its timing

Ronald Battista | Colorado Springs, CO | 01/08/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Released somewhere between the unremarkable Electriclarryland and what Im sure is the latest mock of a formerly fun and wild band, this probably gave a few "Pepper" fans a kick in the pants. A nice present from the Buttholes(or Trance Records), to give us an idea of the mayhem they'd unleash on stage, before Lollapalooza and after. Essential for old fans dying to get hard to find demos as well; especially because the demo of "Something" which appeared in lame form comparatively on "Pioughd" is fiendishly demented. If your'e not a fan of really bad noise, stay the heck away from this disc. You could lose some friends should they be in the passenger seat while the live version of "USSR" is on. Then again, that may be just what you want. And also worth noting, a six minute radio interview containing a hilarious line by Gibby in which he demonstrates how Elvis Costello would sound if he were writing a song about the second coming of christ. And, hearkening me back to the days where you'd actually get something inside your albums when you bought punk stuff, I got a bumper sticker."