Taboo VI: The Homecoming

Taboo VI: The Homecoming
Cover art for Taboo VI
Released	1991
Length	24:50
Label	Shrimper
Following Album	The Hound Chronicles

Taboo VI: The Homecoming is the first released cassette by the Mountain Goats. It was released in 1991, and has yet to be re-released.

Liner Notes

"Is it possible for animals to be reborn as deities?"

Cover Art

In an interview with Modern Farmer, John Darnielle said that the cover art of this cassette is his own drawing of a goat:

"I did put a put a drawing of a goat on the first tape, which I didn’t really expect anyone to to ever hear, so I drew something cool for me."[1]

Tracks

Side 1

Order	Song	Length
1	"Running Away with What Freud Said"	1:35
2	"Ice Cream, Cobra Man"	1:36
3	"Move (Chicago 196X)"	3:59
4	"This Magic Moment" (The Drifters)	2:42
5	"Don't Take the Dogs Away"	2:17

Side 2

Order	Song	Length
1	"One Winter at Point Alpha Privative"	1:25
2	"Solomon Revisited"	4:06
3	"Going to Alaska"	2:33
4	"I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" (Hank Williams, Sr.)	2:43
5	"Eleven Bands" (The Congress)	2:01

Notes

• "Solomon Revisited" was intended to be the final song on the tape, but Dennis Callaci decided he liked the next 3 songs so much that he decided to put them on the cassette. 
• In "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry", it was John's girlfriend at the time who dubbed it in Spanish.

Comments by John Darnielle on this album

• "When I wrote and recorded Taboo VI, I had no idea that anyone outside of a few friends would ever hear it; neither did I hope that anyone outside of those friends would ever express any interest in it. A couple of the things on it (Going to Alaska, Eleven Bands, Solomon Revisited, the Hank Williams song) are things I'd stand by if pressed, though I wish I'd've known how to sing better back when they were recorded. While I completely understand the collector's urge, I would offer the following caveat to anyone trying to hunt down Taboo VI: it's not what you think it is. Its successor, The Hound Chronicles, represented an abrupt and total change in direction, and is the stylistic starting point for all that followed. While I can't and wouldn't disown Taboo VI, I'd like to offer this note of caution to those who like the later stuff and are trying to get their hands on my first efforts: you probably won't like it much, and if you pay an inflated price for it, you'll probably feel cheated. Having said that, if you still feel inclined to hunt it down, I do hope that you enjoy it on its own meager terms. It means well and didn't want to hurt anyone. Except for maybe that one guy. I hate that guy." -- Unknown Venue, 1997-05-29, quoted in the Mountain-Goats.com Forums
• "'Leave the dead to bury their dead,' as Christ put it — the world is a better place without Taboo VI fouling its already-polluted air." -- Space City Rock interview
• "If I ever re-release that thing, you'll know I need a new kidney or something." -- 2007-06-17 - Zoop - Farm Sanctuary - Watkins Glen, NY