Dead Milkmen: Death Rides A Pale Cow (The Ultimate Collection)

One of the biggest problems with greatest-hits collections and career retrospectives is that they distill essential bands' catalogs into a series of pop hits, ignoring the hidden treasures to be found on their albums. Not to dismiss its fun-loving snot-rock oeuvre, but Dead Milkmen's discography isn't nearly as untouchable. Death Rides A Pale Cow, a 23-song compilation covering many of the group's recordings between 1984 and 1995—just don't expect anything from the band's ill-fated major-label albums, 1993's Not Richard, But Dick and 1992's terrible Soul Rotation—covers most of what you need to hear. Not surprisingly, the album's best moments arrive fairly early in the proceedings, with such banner moments as "Bitchin' Camaro," "Beach Party Vietnam" and "Instant Club Hit" serving to remind fans what was so great about the band in the first place. Latter-day cult hits ("Punk Rock Girl," "Smokin' Banana Peels") are briskly appealing, but Dead Milkmen was at its best when it was at its smallest and, by extension, meanest. By the end, its bratty edge was dulled to an unfortunate degree, but nearly all of its best moments are on this worthwhile collection.