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Rating: [scanzonatamente e disimpegnatamente a cura di De…Marga… e ziltoid]
“De…Marga…, who to not break the rule will not listen to the album until it arrives at his home in two formats, is here to entertain you with an introduction about the protagonists”
Leslie Edward Claypool, better known by the much simpler Les, was born in Richmond, California on September 29, 1963: I love this little man; and it's an unconditional love that knows no interruptions since 1991, or thereabouts, when I discovered his band by chance by purchasing their second record that talked about the sweet “sailing the seas of cheese.” Everything has been written, everything has been said about the history of this unique band; and it's the same hormonal upheaval that strikes me when the opportunity arises to talk about their new work, three years after that sensational comeback that was in 2011 "Green Naugahyde.”
I haven't listened to the album, yet it will surely become my album of the year, because I already know its musical coordinates all too well: madness, cheekiness galore, fun, dark psychedelia, indifference, technical skill to spare, with a massive dose of chocolatey funk (and I would think so given the title and what the album talks about!!!!). Moreover, that rhythmic, counter-tempo, and efficiency prodigy named Tim "Herb" Alexander returns behind the drums after years, and the circle closes: an epochal return to the past.
I close my eyes and see the three of them immersed in the recording studio, each focused on their musical part, without even glancing at one another: everything is aimed, everything is mathematical, everything is geared to give the best through a sonic compactness that has no equals: after all, if they are called PRIMUS, there must be a reason!!! Les produces, records for his label, records where, how, and what he wants: he has always operated this way, unconcerned with trends, having nothing to prove to anyone: he couldn't care less. He plays for the sheer pleasure of playing, mindful of the lesson from the genius from Baltimore, Frank Zappa.
“ziltoid, who has broken the rule and listened to the album in advance without even ordering it in a format, is here to try to give an objective idea of the album”
A new thing, the first purple cover by Primus. Yes, because a die-hard listener of this crazy band thinks about that too. Then he prepares to listen, aware that it is a remake of a soundtrack. A soundtrack that perfectly fits the band's ethical line. Reinterpreting tracks is not a new thing for our band, and on this, Les and company (whether here or not) I don't think have ever had to apologize for any blunders, rightly never made (see the frog brigade, see miscellaneous debris). But anyway, what's good about it? The usual. There's the immense and hefty bass routinely abused, there are the skewed rhythms, that clumsy guitar, the grotesque atmospheres, this time even dark and unsettling.
It’s a cover album that features total reinterpretations, not pure and flat exercises. Everything manages to be psychedelic, dark, consistently strange. But above all, the world it creates is incredibly sinister, even if, be careful, in a different way from a typical Pork Soda specimen. Here you find Primus, they are still them, sure, but somehow different from before. Unfortunately, the album's duration may leave you unsatisfied, as there are quite a few interludes that significantly lighten the listening experience (perhaps too much).
The point of the situation is that Tim, Les, and Larry have grown up, and their musical delusions are now more mathematical than ever. There’s less freak in the air, less drugs, more order, no stories of fishing amidst seas of cheese, naturally, we cannot expect the crazy marches proposed in the years that were. The era of masterpieces and innovation ended many years ago, and I believe no one expects that from them anymore (I hope you are all satisfied with the sacred triad of '90-'91-'93 at least). Asking whether it is a masterpiece or similar is therefore not of particular interest, I would say, with today's Primus, but evaluating how the work is curated as entertainment is, and here it’s a positive answer: a well-done job.
Tracklist and Samples
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