If you remember the ’90s alt rock scene, you might remember The Frogs: two brothers, Dennis and Jimmy Flemion out of Milwaukee, making some of the weirdest, insane music anyone could think of. Think Captain Beefheart on more than just acid. Billy Corgan and Eddie Vedder became involved with the band and tried to help them as much as they could back in the day, but it wasn’t as if The Frogs were going to be able to sell truckloads of records. By the end of the decade, the band had drifted into obscurity and seemingly disappeared. Then in 2012, the week after the release of two brand new albums on iTunes, Dennis drowned in a boating accident and Jimmy retreated once more. Now in 2020, he has returned to playing shows with Evan Dando of the Lemonheads on drums and is releasing some of The Frogs first ever recordings.

Recorded in early 1986 after some interest expressed by Twin/Tone Records, these tracks are a bit different than the lyrical and musical insanity of, say, 2000’s Racially Yours. Opening track “And So You’re The King” is actually a straight ahead pop song with straight ahead rhythms and melodies and is quite surprising to hear. Same thing goes for “Guru.” When they wanted to, they could write and perform songs like “Is Anyone Home 2 Love” that sounded good and honest. But listening to some of the bonus tracks like “Dungeon” and “Dragon,” one can feel the weirdness creeping in and things start to go south.

Listening to this collection and songs like “She Was A Mortal,” one can’t help but wonder what the band would’ve sounded like if they had gone straight and not so freaked out and unlistenable. This is essentially for Frogs diehards and completists only. It’s a nice mirror into their early recordings and a chance to catch them before they started drafting classics like “Which One Of You Gave My Daughter The Dope?” and “I'm Back To Women (I Couldn't Keep It Up).” If you’re into that style of The Frogs, then this may not be for you; otherwise, it’s a nice little oddity.

Rating: B-

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