Monti Amundson - The Mean Eighteen (1993)

OUT OF PRINT - Material from this CD is available on the 4-CD set "The Songwriter"

"The Mean Eighteen" had three CD covers over the years. One with The Blubinos, one designed for French distribution that simply said "Monti", and the most famous cover where I am impossibly thin. They all had 18 songs comprised of the 12 studio recordings from "Straight Out!" and 6 bonus tracks from a live show at Key Largo in Portland. This is the album that got me signed to a record label in Holland.

I hadn't been in Holland for very long when we performed in Maastricht for the first time. In those days I liked opening the show with "Cruel Is Your Name". I was not prepared for what came next. A couple hundred Dutch people were singing the words right along with me. Talk about your goosebumps. I toured Europe for a year and a half before finally coming home.

"The Mean Eighteen" is out of print. In the recording contract I had a clause whereby the ownership of the masters reverted to me after a period of time. This was the only smart record deal I ever signed. All these songs are now available on the 4-CD set, "The Songwriter".