Step on a Bug: The Red Toad Speaks is the U-Men's one and only LP, released on 12" vinyl and cassette in 1988 by Black Label Records (release number BLR002).
The album features John Bigley on vocals, Tony "Tone Deaf" Ransom on bass, Charlie Ryan on drums, and Tom Price on guitar. Tom Hazelmyer (also called "Bubba Haze" in the liner notes) of Halo of Flies and Amphetamine Reptile Records plays guitar on "Pay the Bubba". The liner notes credit a "Capt. Mig Motto"—who appears on the album "courtesy of The Pentagon"—with playing guitar on "Too Good to Be Food"; Mig Motto is an alias of John Bigley.
Production and engineering was handled by John Nelson at Crow Recording in Seattle. According to Tom Price, the production "went pretty smoothly, but there was a lot of strain over the mixing of the album, indicative of different band members pulling in different directions. We were friendly and polite as always, but I started getting the impression we weren't going to be a group for a whole lot longer."
Track Listing
Toad (Side A)
- Whistlin' Pete (3:47)
- 2 X 4 (2:01)
- A Three Year Old Could Do That (2:34)
- Juice Party (1:59)
- Flea Circus (2:57)
Bug (Side B)
- Too Good to Be Food (2:20)
- Willie Dong Hurts Dogs (2:04)
- Papa Doesn't Love His Children Anymore (3:31)
- Pay the Bubba (2:56)
References
The U-Men. U-Men, Sub Pop, 2017. Liner notes.
Step on a Bug at Discogs