Primus
Sailing the Seas of Cheese

THE REVIEW

Year 1991. The rock world is shaken up by the energetic, raw, and desperate music of a trio from Aberdeen, Washington.

Still 1991, still the Pacific, but a few thousand km further south, another power trio demonstrates what can truly be done with bass, guitar, and drums when endowed with ideas (many), irony, and an excellent technique put at the service of the songs.
With Sailing the Seas of Cheese, Primus arrives at a major label for their second studio work after Frizzle Fry and the live Suck on This, and they soften the funky metal approach of previous works to seek a less edgy sound.
The result is songs that are seemingly more accessible yet cleverly constructed; and right here lies the strength of Primus (and specifically the genius of Claypool): the ability to make pieces based on absurd tapping (Jerry Was a Race Car Driver), menacing march-nursery rhymes (Here Come the Bastards), seemingly erratic bass lines (Is It Luck?) irresistible and even catchy; not to mention that for American Life, Les abandons his playful and surreal vein to draw a ruthless portrayal of the much-vaunted American dream.

The album never falters nor betrays exaggerated technicalities for their own sake, boasts a feature of the caliber of Tom Waits, who lends his voice in Tommy the Cat, a track that over the years has become a classic, and after Fish On — where thanks to the wonderful initial arpeggio we also feel like being in San Pablo Bay hunting for the legendary sturgeon — it closes with the amusing jam session Los Bastardos where past, present, and future Primus members appear.

Ultimately this album is perhaps the pinnacle of the production of the San Francisco trio (a production that, by the way, has always been kept at high levels) and after 13 years it remains ever-current; as for me, I have not yet tired of listening to it.