Butthole Surfers – Cream Corn from the Socket of Davis (Vinyl EP)

Matador’s Butthole Surfers reissue series continues with three of the Texas band’s most insane slabs – ‘Cream Corn from the Socket of Davis’ (1985), ‘Locust Abortion Technician’ (1987), and ‘Hairway to Steven’ (1988) – all originally released on the Touch & Go label. The period during which these records were first issued parallels the Buttholes’ transition from weirdo Texas outcasts to internationally recognized smut-kings of the American underground. In 1985 they were still the sole province of hallucinogen-soaked punk rock freaks. By 1988 they had toured Europe, had records licensed internationally, and bought a house in Driftwood Texas to serve as their home base. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. ‘Cream Corn’ was released before ‘Rembrandt Pussyhorse,’ but that’s only because Alternative Tentacles was still dithering about whether they were going to put it out (they eventually passed). The EP plucked two tunes from ‘Rembrandt’ and added a couple new ones that had been recorded on their home studio 8-track in Winterville, Georgia. “Moving to Florida” (the best example ever of what Beefheart probably sounded like while he was tripping) and the other three tracks blew peoples’ minds by being so precise and fully messed-up at the same time. ‘Cream Corn’ was a perfect bite-sized taster for what would follow.