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Tales From the Punchbowl
Primus
Tales From the Punchbowl
Genres: Alternative Rock, Pop, R&B, Rock, Metal
 
  •  Track Listings (13) - Disc #1

The task: to explain to the uninitiated as well as those in the know what the new Primus record sounds like. Mission impossible. A discourse on quantum physics would probably make more sense. Weird, obviously, is a given....  more »

     
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CD Details

All Artists: Primus
Title: Tales From the Punchbowl
Members Wishing: 2
Total Copies: 0
Label: Interscope Records
Release Date: 1/23/1996
Album Type: Enhanced, Explicit Lyrics
Genres: Alternative Rock, Pop, R&B, Rock, Metal
Styles: Funk, Funk Rock, Alternative Metal
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaCD Credits: 1
UPC: 606949266523

Synopsis

Amazon.com
The task: to explain to the uninitiated as well as those in the know what the new Primus record sounds like. Mission impossible. A discourse on quantum physics would probably make more sense. Weird, obviously, is a given. Reading Les Claypool's lyrics and listening to his Elmer Fudd vocals and indescribable slap-and-slash bass, one gets the sense that he's completely immersed in his own strange world. Though the album doesn't exclude the average listener (everyone is welcome!), those without an open mind will certainly feel as if they're missing the punch line of a particularly hilarious in-joke. Lovable and bizarre, Tales from the Punchbowl is a much fuller record than the band's previous release, Pork Soda. Guitarist Larry "Ler" LaLonde and drummer Tim "Herb" Alexander provide some of their finest work, and together this whack-assed trio deconstructs funk, prog rock, and metal into a neat little pile of junk that it reassembles into a variety of nutty musical caricatures. --Adem Tepedelen

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CD Reviews

For fans only
Matthew T. Medlock | Cincinnati, OH | 09/11/2007
(3 out of 5 stars)

"By this point the formula was set in stone. Not that Primus necessarily has a formula (how can one make an equation out of madness?), but their style was fixed and they seemed unwilling to bend or evolve from it. As a result, Primus began to become predictable around this point. Expect dissonant and buried guitar exercises hidden beneath whacked-out fretless bass playing and some nimble drumming carrying oddball rants and musings as delivered by that Elmer Fudd of vocalists known as Les Claypool.



Starts out very strong, with four very inspired numbers in the row, including the epic "Professor Nutbutter's House of Treats," the Chili Peppers-ish "Mrs. Blaileen," the moody and often low key "Southbound Pachyderm," and the groovy minor hit, "Wynona's Big Brown Beaver." Then they get lost. The expected interludes continue to bore and the jams they produce on the likes of "Year of the Parrot" and "Glass Sandwich" are too long and unfocused. And as for "On the Tweek Again," talk about lousy vocalizing spoiling an otherwise strong bass line. The early stuff makes it a definite buy for fans, but a highly uneven second half spoils this effort, making it passable at best for anyone else.



Best cuts: "Professor Nutbutter's House of Treats," "Mrs. Blaileen," "Southbound Pachyderm," "Wynona's Big Brown Beaver," "Hellbound," "Over the Electric Grapevine""