1. Determined + Confident               (4:49)
 2. New Year Kashmir                     (3:48)
 3. The Unsweetened Sugar                (9:02)
 4. Spit                                 (4:00)
 5. Freak Show Theme                     (2:14)
 6. Wall Clock                           (3:58)
 7. No Disability                        (7:40)
 8. Serenade For Outpatients #1: M.P.D. (12:09)
 9. Trod On Me                           (1:55)
10. Maui Ukulele On A Boat               (5:57)
11. No Disability (Reprise)              (1:11)
 

    All tracks written & performed by A.Thornton except "Kashmir" (Page, Plant, Jones, Bonham), guitar by Detlef Burghardt; and "Freak Show Theme" (music ripped off from The Residents).
    Packaging, mastering (Jan.7'94), duplicating by Thornton.  Original cover picture "We Had A Small Dog WIth Very Bad Breath" from Woman's Day, Sept.'52.
    Apology for the inconsistent quality of the songs; NONE were recorded with the benefit of multi-track recording.  Some rely on heavy overdubbing, thus: tape hiss.

    TECHNOLOGY
    The older tracks ("Spit," "Trod On Me" & "Serenade") relied on Sean's Roland S-20 and Yamaha RX-17.  "The Unsweetened Sugar" was created entirely on the Revox machines in Studio B of CKMS.
    The newer tracks were constructed by pushing an AKAI S700 sampler & Yamaha PSS-680 Portasound to their limits; overdubs with a decrepit Yamaha TB-700; Dick Clark & various freaks passed through a RockTeck CHR-01 chorus pedal.
    This cassette was not recorded iwth any form of noise reduction (in my experience, Dolby does nothing but muddy up the sound!)  If it becomes too much for you, lay your head back, close your eyes, breathe deeply, and pretend that the tape hiss was intentional (it may be!)

    SPECIAL THANKS
    To everyone who deserves it in the context of this recording...this includes, in particular, Neb, Jim & Jared; Detlef (even if our individual concepts of "good music" don't exactly mesh), Adrian (for putting up with the screaming all this time); Mark S. and Kevin M.; the indispensible Support Group (Penny, Bronwyn, Luisa, Cat); The other three Horsepersons of the Apocalypse (Dennis, Clint & Karin); those in the Writers Workshops; all at CKMS (100.3 FM, Waterloo)
    Nebulous thanks to all the bears and golden retrievers, who provide more inspiration than anyone will ever know.

    LUPUS ENTERPRISES
    Lupus Enterprises has released ten issues of the small press magazine "LOST."  As well, the first Green Man release "ERNESTO" is still available (for the price of a 90 minute cassette).
    For more information, the acquisition of these must-have items, offers for fun collaboration, or info on other Green Man creations (which are generally heard every Wednesday from 6-10 AM on CKMS), write or call...
 

    Suddenly -- half an hour before a Mindsculpture show at The Volcano in Kitchener -- Sean returned from Vancouver and needed his equipment back.  This started a search for the above-mentioned Yamaha keyboard and AKAI sampler, which continue to be used today (though the AKAI is a little bit sick).  Most of the songs on "Plain Talk About Dogs" were written using these two instruments, but still without the considerable benefit of a 4-track recorder.
    A notable exception: "The Unsweetened Sugar," a neato rhythmic track recorded entirely on the CKMS Revox reel-to-reel equipment, with samples from a Canadian game show ("Talk About") thrown in.  Likewise, the sequel "Sugar" (which appears on "PPFR") had a similar genesis.
    Detlef's involvement goes back to the first day of playing with Sean's equipment.  He insisted on recording a song called "Jackboots Crushing Baby Skulls," but this was a difficult title to live up to.  Eventually, a cover of Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir" was recorded on New Year's day, 1994.  Detlef compared his guitar solos to "like watching a calcium-deficient chicken trying to walk."  A newer version was 4-tracked the following year, and will show up on a re-release someplace.  As well, a GREENman / Burghardt collaborative group was begun ("Fond of the Drone"), and some of the tracks from those sessions have been released in various and sundry places.
    This cassette came with a tiny poster, which later became the cover for the "L'il Debbil" split-cassette.