Ballot Result

by Minutemen

Overview

Before they had even released 3-Way Tie for Last in the fall of 1985, the Minutemen had blocked out plans for their next album, which was to be a sprawling three-LP set featuring three sides of studio material and three sides of live recordings. Initial pressings of 3-Way Tie included a ballot so fans could vote for the songs to be included on the live half of the upcoming album; the tragic death of D. Boon meant the Minutemen would never make another studio album, but Mike Watt and George Hurley compiled the ballots sent in by fans and used the results as the basis for this album, which uses radio broadcasts, studio outtakes, rehearsal tapes, and audience recordings to assemble a final tribute to their fallen comrade. As you might expect, the quality of the sound varies quite a bit from track to track (though there's nothing as awful as the stuff on side two of The Politics of Time), and there are a few items here that were outtakes for a good reason (like the overlong version of "Mr. Robot's Holy Orders" or the spontaneous soundtrack improvisation "Hell"). But for the most part, Ballot Result is a fitting memorial that makes clear the Minutemen were just as strong onstage as they were in the studio and that their songs were smart, provocative, adventurous, and stand up well to the test of time. The fiery first side of material from the WREK-FM broadcast previously bootlegged on Just a Minute, Men alone makes this album well worth owning, and there are plenty of other gems scattered through the rest of the set. Ballot Result is hardly the ideal Minutemen live album, but it offers tangible evidence that they were one of the greatest American bands of their time, and that's not an accomplishment to be sneezed at. ~ Mark Deming

Product Details

Release Date:	10/17/1990
Label:	Sst
UPC:	0018861006819
Rank:	2554

Tracks

1. Little Man With a Gun in His Hand
2. Political Song For Michael Jackson to Sing
3. I Felt Like a Gringo
4. Jesus and Tequila
5. Courage
6. King of the Hill
7. Bermuda
8. No One
9. Mr. Robot's Holy Orders
10. Ack Ack Ack
11. History Lesson Part Two
12. This Ain't No Picnic
13. The Cheerleaders
14. Time
15. Cut
16. Split Red
17. Shit You Hear at Parties
18. Hell
19. Tour-Spiel
20. Take Our Test
21. The Punch Line
22. Search
23. Bob Dylan Wrote Propaganda Songs
24. Badges
25. Tension
26. If Reagan Played Disco
27. No! No! No! To Draft and War/Joe McCarthy's

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Minutemen   Primary Artist
Mike Watt   Bass,Vocals
George Hurley   Drums
D. Boon   Guitar,Vocals

Technical Credits

D. Boon   Composer
Carlos Cavazo   Composer
Frankie Banali   Composer
Fluke   Composer
Richard Hell   Composer
Richard Andrews   Editing
Mike Watt   Composer,Producer,Liner Notes
Chuck Dukowski   Composer
Robert Smith   Composer
Howard Rosenberg   Photography
Martin Tamburovich   Composer
Trevor Rabin   Composer
Paul Shortino   Composer
Kendall Jones   Composer
Boris Williams   Composer
Kira Roessler   Composer
Joe Carducci   Composer
John Golden   Editing,Mastering
Porl Thompson   Composer
Roky Erickson   Composer
Perry Bamonte   Composer
The Tragically Hip   Composer
George Hurley   Composer
Gilli Moon   Composer
Simon Gallup   Composer