Nut Suite. Mini reviews of albums old and new. Minimum words. No fuss. No spoilers [?]. Occasional smugs.
Showing posts with label Primus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Primus. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 2, 2015

PRIMUS / ...& The Chocolate Factory with the Fungi Ensemble [2014]

I suppose if someone were to successfully re-imagine Anthony Newley & Leslie Bricusse's bizarre soundtrack from the 1971 film Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory, it'd be psycho-funky weirdo's Primus.
 With Tim Alexander back on drums, in his first full-lenth since 1995, Primus are in fine form and prove their creepy quirkiness and spaced-out playfulness is perfect for the light-hearted darkness of the world of Willy Wonka and all his sinful delights.  Aided by a cellist & mallet percussion, the band manages to re-arrange the songs into their own style without losing a lot of the orchestrations of it's source material.  It's certainly an ambitious project that doesn't always hit the mark but when it does it leaves the most demented grin on one's face.  Clearly Primus are doing whatever the hell they want and that's why, for a fan anyway, this album works.

4 freaky-ass boat rides out of 5

Songs of Note: Golden TicketOompa TV

Sunday, April 28, 2013

PRIMUS / They Can't All Be Zingers [2006]

It's weird to think of a band as unusually abstract as Primus would have a "singles collection" album.  But lo and behold,  2006's compilation They Can't All Be Zingers collects 16 of Primus' "greatest hits".
While it's nice to have some of the older songs digitally remastered for maximum listening pleasure, Primus fans have absolutely nothing new here to make it worth picking up.  If you're not a Primus fan and are looking for their greatest hits, then just pick up Suck On ThisFrizzle FrySailing The Seas Of Cheese and Pork Soda.  They're all fantastic songs on this disc but they're even better on the albums they come from.


3 processed slices of funky goodness out of 5

Songs Of Note: Primus 

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

PRIMUS / Animals Should Not Try To Act Like People EP [2003]

Primus' 2003 five song EP Animals Should Not Try To Act Like People is drummer Tim Alexander's return to the group after being absent for 7 years.  
With the superb career spanning DVD being the main star of this set, the EP is a bit of an afterthought with Primus still heavy on the jamming and funky psychedelia.  It might not be their strongest work but they sound like they're comfortable with what they are doing and could care less what anyone else thinks unlike the two previous albums.  Still, it's worth the purchase for the 5 star DVD material.

3 laments for an ice cube out of 5

Thursday, March 28, 2013

PRIMUS / Antipop [1999]

1999's Antipop made it evident that Primus were aching from a lack of ambition. 
Maybe to ease the tension a bit, Primus enlisted the help of an army of folks to help out, including Tom Morello, James Hetfield, Jim Martin, Tom Waits, Fred Durst, Stewart Copeland, Martina Topley-Bird and even South Park co-creator Matt Stone.  The album is a dense wall of sound with Primus at their heaviest, which only proves louder doesn't necessarily make things better.  However it works really well when you can hear the genuine venom spitting bitterness in Les Claypool's usually cartoony voice on a few select tracks that make the album somewhat worthwhile.   

2½ hidden Hecklers out of 5

Friday, March 22, 2013

PRIMUS / Rhinoplasty [1998]

Like Primus' previous EP, Miscellaneous Debris, 1998's Rhinoplasty is a bizarre jumble of cover songs, plus a "remix" and 2 live recordings added to emphasize a bit more on the word "jumble".
This time around the gonzo funksters are adding their own twist to Peter Gabriel, XTC, The Police, Metallica and more with mixed results.  The boys are quite clearly having a lot more fun than they did on Brown Album, making for a rough, yet entertaining listen that isn't fantastic but reassuring to fans.  It's plain and simple fun with no bitter after-taste.

3 reasons to put the EP in your disc drive out of 5

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

PRIMUS / Brown Album [1997]

Bizarro funk metal act Primus replace their original drummer Tim Alexander with a guy simply known as Brain on 1997's Brown Album.
The basic sound of Primus isn't drastically changed with the slight line-up change however it's uninspired writing and dry mix heavily detracts from the enjoyment.  The whole album sounds like Robert Crumb leading some sort of military march down Sesame Street, which should normally be great but for some reason it never gels together.  Maybe they were just tired after extensive touring and promotion after the huge success of their previous album.

2 albums not white or black out of 5

Songs Of Note: Puddin' Taine; Coddingtown

Monday, March 11, 2013

PRIMUS / Tales From The Punchbowl [1995]

Primus are at their tightest and most precise yet on their most popular record to date, 1995's Tales From The Punchbowl.
Unfortunately it doesn't make for the magnificent album that it's set out to be.  It's actually quite predictable (well, as much as Primus can be), overly polished and seems like Claypool & the boys are set on auto-pilot for the better half of the album.  It starts out really, really strong and begins getting weaker with each song past the half-way mark, until you reach the light at the end of the grapevine.  As an introduction to the mainstream, it's pretty safe for the casual listener.  For a longtime Primus fan, it falls a bit short compared to previous records.

3 milkshake snorters out of 5

Songs Of Note: Southbound PachydermOver The Electric Grapevine

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

PRIMUS / Pork Soda [1993]

Stoner funk-rockers, Primus dive deep into the darkness on 1993's Pork Soda.
Angrier, eerier and more surreal than their previous records, Primus gel together perfectly as a band on this album.  With songs about murder, suicide & depression, the boys still retain they're skittish bouncy sound, only now a little murkier, making it all sound like brain-damaged children's songs.  They noodle on quite a bit which is fine if that's your thing.  If not, do a Google image search of "flipping the bird", study your Floyd properly and take it from there, kids.  Sadly, Primus would never be this good again.  

4 cans of swine out of 5

Songs Of Note: Nature BoyMr. Krinkle

Friday, February 22, 2013

PRIMUS / Miscellaneous Debris EP [1992]

Stoner funkheads Primus quietly released a 5 song EP of cover songs in 1992 aptly titled Miscellaneous Debris.
It might sound like Primus but they're restricted to staying semi-normal due to the arrangements of someone else's music, which makes for a great way to ease into them for the uninitiated.  Sort of.  There's still the frightenly weird Residents cover that might turn off some or the faithful cover of Pink Floyd, gonzoed up by Les Claypool's nasally haunting vocals. Without all the bizarre noodling like on their original compositions, the EP showcases Primus' technical brilliance and exposes some of their eccentric roots.

3 sculptures by Snap out of 5

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

PRIMUS / Sailing The Seas Of Cheese [1991]

1991 saw gonzo funksters Primus make their major label debut and receive some sort of widespread recognition with Sailing The Seas Of Cheese.
Toning down the frantic jamming sound of Frizzle Fry and grounding themselves as well as they can, Primus still can't be mistaken for anybody else.  Claypool hops around the bass, while he's deceivingly humorous vocals sputter songs about depression, death and troubled times over Larry LaLonde's slithery and noodly guitars & Herb's animated but precise drum playing.  With guest spots from Tom Waits, samples from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 & The Young Ones and oversexed pussycats,  Cheese is vintage Primus.  

4 steers & queers out of 5

Monday, November 19, 2012

PRIMUS / Frizzle Fry [1990]

Frenetic funk metal weirdos Primus make their studio album debut with 1990's Frizzle Fry.
Basically, it's a studio version of their live album Suck On This with a few minor changes in tracklisting and studio tweaking but it's just as essential as an album.  Each band member takes their instruments and gives them a demented soul of their own, making for one of the tightest loopiest unique sounds to come out of the early '90's.  Still in their early days, Primus are still more goofy than dark but with a little digging you'll find a creepy lyrical undertone with each song.  In the end, I don't have a single bad thing to say about this record.
Add it to my desert island discs.

5 puppies of war out of 5

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

PRIMUS / Suck On This [1989]

Like Jane's Addiction and Husker Du, prog/funk rock act Primus decided to release a live recording for their debut album, 1989's Suck On This.  
A tight little package showcasing Primus' undeniable talent after only 2 months of being together and the already dedicated rabid audience.  With Les Claypool's nasally vocals & slap-happy bass, Larry LaLonde's discordant tripped-out guitar lines and Tim Alexander's pounding drums all melding together to create some ever-shifting tempos that shouldn't work but somehow it works like magic. Primus is an acquired taste that seems to only attract musicians and fans of Captain Beefheart & Frank Zappa but make no mistake this is one of the best debut albums ever. 

5 fat bastards out of 5

Songs Of Note: JellikitHarold Of The Rocks

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

COLONEL LES CLAYPOOL'S FEARLESS FLYING FROG BRIGADE / Live Set 2 [2001]


The end of the first set is like a cliffhanger as we hear Les Claypool announce "we'll be back in 20 minutes with more Pink Floyd than any human being should ever withstand".
What we have here is an astonishingly faithful and brilliant complete cover performance of Pink Floyd's under-appreciated Animals album. I mean seriously, folks, who better to recreate the dark, funky and bitter sounds of Floyd's 1997 classic than Les Claypool. The Frog Brigade boys completely outdo themselves with precision and heart-filled dedication to it's source material. Bravo.

4 bricks in the wall out of 5

Songs Of Note: Dogs; Sheep

COLONEL LES CLAYPOOL'S FEARLESS FLYING FROG BRIGADE / Live Set 1 [2001]


Primus' Les Claypool takes some time off from his day job to form The Fearless Flying Frog Brigade for this 2001 recording of the first half of a live performance. A stoner prog-rock jam-band consisting of the original Primus line-up (aka Sausage), a saxophonist, a keyboardist and a lucky guitar playing fan who answered a newspaper ad.
The set is bookended by impressive covers of prog-rock pioneers King Crimson and Pink Floyd with songs from Claypool's Sausage and Holy Mackerel projects sandwiched in between. At first it's bizarre, noodly fun but with each listen it reveals just how tight these guys really are.

3½ riders on the storm out of 5

Songs Of Note: Hendershot; Shine On You Crazy Diamond [cut off :(]

Thursday, November 17, 2011

PRIMUS / Green Naugahyde [2011]


Gonzo stoner rock band Primus rise from the ashes of a lacklustre '00's with Green Naugahyde, their first full-length album of new material since 1999's mediocre Anti-Pop.
While not really crossing any new boundaries in Primus territory, psycho ringleader Les Claypool and the boys still know how to craft some mighty fine songs. All of it sounding something like Frank Zappa and Tom Waits giving birth to a bi-polar chipmunk on crack.
The leading single "Tragedy's A Comin'" is a little boring but don't be fooled by that. The rest of the album is murky, creepy and technically brilliant with the exception of a handful of songs that are just too noodly for their own good.
Green Naugahyde won't win over any new Primus fans, in fact it will just plain baffle and alienate the uninitiated. However it will surely be a real crowd pleaser with the veteran Los Bastardos and the folks who know how much Primus really sucks.

3½ Fish out of 5


Songs Of Note: Last Salmon Man; Extinction Burst