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Tales from the Punchbowl

Primus

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Album Review

By now, Primus' modus operandi is clear and well-established: twisted bass/drum grooves reminiscent of King Crimson gone horribly, horribly wrong, insane ringmaster vocals with cartoonish lyrics, and cutting, off-the-wall guitar. There is much unabashed prog rock in Primus' sound, which even the thick dollops of irony that the band seeks to impart to its compositions are unable to mask completely. Primus' musicianship continues to improve, with the intonation of Les Claypool's trademark fretless bass (a sore spot in the past) more spot-on than ever, and guitarist Larry LaLonde's Fripp-isms are truly convincing for the first time. The funk influences that have always been hinted at on previous Primus records seem more convincing here, as Claypool and drummer Tim "Herb" Alexander lay down some extremely grooving figures, as on the Red Hot Chili Peppers-esque "chorus" to "Mrs. Blaileen." Of course, the high-energy angular rhythms that Primus is known and loved for are as present as ever; they are just pulled off with greater zest and looser precision (if there is such a thing) than they have in the past. LaLonde in particular seems to have improved a great deal between Pork Soda and Tales From the Punchbowl. His dissonances seem a bit more calculated and less gratuitous and lazy than they often came off before. With high energy and full of surprises, Tales From the Punchbowl is one of Primus' finer discs.

Customer Reviews

This is NOT the real album - it is the CLEAN version

I understand many people's need to "protect" children from "dirty" language, but you should know that at the outset. The lyrics are not original, they are edited. The regular version is excellent; pity iTunes doesn't seem to have it.

One of the primus bests

I would have given this a 4 but the guy below me gave it a 2 & said it was (good) so it deserves a 3 at least. Most of the songs in the beginning and end of this album are really impressive yet the 4 songs in the middle feel like theye are just kind of to fill up the gap between the really good ones. This is one of primus' finest it's just not as good as seas of cheese, pork soda, & antipop

A little dissapointing

First of all, I really like Primus. They were one of the more original, unique bands to come out of the whole "Alternative" explosion in the 90's and their live show in untouchable. Perhaps that's why I rank this album as below average. The standout tracks are very funky/odd/spastic, but the rest just drags. It opens strong with "Nutbutter" borrowing a little Chili Peppers circa Mother's Milk sound and chugs right into "Mrs. Baileen" and "Winona" which is the highlight of the album. "Southbound Pachyderm" takes quite a while to get going and by the time it does, I was left wondering...was that worth it? I found middle 5 tracks to be an excersize in screwing around, Les and the boys tried to build a tune out of some very boring lines. They managed to get two more good tracks in "De Anza Jig" which has a kind of hill-billy funk thing going on; plus the lyrics are funny. "Over The Electric Grapevine" should have been the last track so they could end the album with something strong. I wouldn't recommend the album unless you are a big fan, download what sounds cool and move on....but do check out Winona and Grapevine.

Biography

Formed: 1986 in San Francisco, CA

Genre: Alternative

Years Active: '90s, '00s, '10s

Primus is all about Les Claypool; there isn't a moment on any of their records where his bass isn't the main focal point of the music, with his vocals acting as a bizarre side-show. Which isn't to deny guitarist Larry LaLonde or drummer Tim "Herb" Alexander any credit; no drummer could weave in and around Claypool's convoluted patterns as effortlessly as Alexander, and few guitarists would willingly push the spotlight away, like LaLonde does, just to can produce a never-ending spiral of avant-noise....
Full Bio

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