Tales From the Punchbowl [Enhanced]
Editorial Reviews
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 --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.
Average customer rating:
- CAREFUL! THERE ARE 2 VERSIONS!!!
- flied up funk
- Primus at their most unconventional (3.5 stars)
- A step down from their first three, but still quite good
- Not The Best But Still Great
|
Tales From the Punchbowl
Primus
Manufacturer: Interscope Records
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Similar Items:
- Pork Soda
- Sailing the Seas of Cheese
- The Brown Album
- Frizzle Fry
- Antipop
ASIN: B000001Y73
Release Date: 1995-06-06 |
Tracks:
- Professor Nutbutter's House Of Treats
- Mrs. Blaileen
- Wynona's Big Brown Beaver
- Southbound Pachyderm
- Space Farm
- Year Of The Parrot
- Hellbound 17 1/2 (Theme From)
- Glass Sandwich
- Del Davis Treefarm
- De Anza Jig
- On The Tweek Again
- Over The Electric Grapevine
- Captain Shiner
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
Customer Reviews:
CAREFUL! THERE ARE 2 VERSIONS!!!.......2007-01-05
Yes, it's true. This album is unfortunately not nearly as good as the previous 3 Primus albums due to its inconsistency, but it still has some pretty damn good songs. I'm not sure exactly what was happening with Primus during the recording of this album, but it would lead to Tim "Herb" Alexander leaving the band. The bass is heavy, the guitar is mind blowing and the drumming is always great. So what went wrong? There are many times on the album when the instruments just don't match up very well with each other, resulting in a few songs that seems to be missing some structure. The other problem is that on certain songs, Les Claypool's singing is sub par and brings the song down to the point where you say to yourself "if he had only decided to sing it a little differently, we'd have a Primus classic".
The first four songs are amazing (I especially stress the word amazing on the opening song, Professor Nutbutter's House of Treats). After that, something goes horribly wrong. The next 3 songs are duds (which includes the trademark Primus interlude) and after Hellbound (Them From) (Theme from what?) it's hit or miss from then on. The problem is that this album starts out great but then looses its initial spark pretty fast. However, if you a Primus fan, this album is worth getting for the few gems that can be found on it.
Now to go back to the title of this review, there are two versions of this album. The standard 1995 edition, and the 1996 re-release which is the enhanced version with videos when you stick it in your computer. I imagine that they re-released the album due to the success of Wynona's Big Brown Beaver. If you're going to get this album, get the 1996 re-release. Hoped this helped.
flied up funk.......2006-11-27
I didn't take to this album at 1st hearing & the CD gathered dust for years. Then I loaded all my CDs onto my CPU & heard Tales again. Dang...Wow.... This is the best musicianship in existance outside of my Classical collection & it is better than quite a few ensembles.
I feel like I am a Southbound Pachyderm, when I jump into the sound.I travel in many directions,but since
pachyderms are thick-skinned and do not chew cud,
the title is apt.
How can you possibly choose a genre or classification for this conglomeration of complex music blending?
America is supposed to be the " mixing pot" of the world [except anyone wanting to mix is now a felon].
Primus is the "mixing pot" of American musical styles.
The hillbilly, backwoods jugband blends with sophisticated New York jazz and a nice splash of Funk and Soul. The sounds of R & B and New Orleans, country rock, thrash, punk, San Fran jazz.
All they need is a rapper and horns to cover it all.
[Man, would that be weird....]
Hellbound 17 1/2 & Del Davis Tree Farm move wonderfully.
I know everyone wants to know what the songs are about and they read the lyrics and question the sanity of that incredible bass holding Claypool. But,why?
Music is a journey. Let the sound take you somewhere & decide if you liked being in that place.
If you are in the right mood you can See Space Farm inside the groove. The music defines & constructs a place in your mind describing it with no words.
Sometimes I wish I could gag the boy, since some of the lyrics get in the way of the music.
But I still love him & I'll see him in a few weeks!
Do you like hardcore?
Thrash?
Punkabilly? [I think this is a definate category, so I made it up.]
Weirdness?
Bass-led grooves?
Funky jazz?
If yes, get this. If no, get this and start liking the above.
Music is life.
Primus at their most unconventional (3.5 stars).......2006-07-24
Primus released Tales from the Punchbowl in 1995. The album would arguably be their most successful, reaching #4 on the Billboard charts and spawning their most famous track in "Wynona's Big Brown Beaver." The band was becoming more experimental with each release and Tales from The Punchbowl would show the band at their most unconventional. However, while previous albums such as Sailing the Seas of Cheese were very cohesive efforts, Tales from the Punchbowl feels like 3 EP's put together. The first four tracks are classic Primus. The opening "Professor Nutbutter's House of Treats" is killer as it builds into uncontrolled aggression before suddenly becoming a mellow jazz track and then returning to its original theme. "Mrs. Blaileen", a wicked tale about an outcast who commits murder, is the best song here and the music is just as hard hitting. "Southbound Pachyderm" is very moody with Les Claypool balancing his soft spoken vocals with rapid fire bass lines while Tim Alexander lays down a trancelike groove. The aforementioned "Wynona's Big Brown Beaver" is the most straight forward track and is also very good. After this, it turns into an album of unfocused jams such as "Year of the Parrot", "Del Davis Tree Farm", and "Hellbound 17 ½." Then the album gets back on track with the twisted country ditty "De Anza Jig", the moody "On the Tweek Again", and "Over the Electric Grapevine", a great jam where guitarist Larry Lalonde provides a wide variety of sounds and textures over Alexander's kinetic march beat. All told, Tales from the Punch Bowl works about two-thirds of the time with the first four songs, especially "Mrs. Blaileen", being among their best work.
A step down from their first three, but still quite good.......2005-12-22
It's rare that a band can pump out nothing but 5-star albums, and even this one's not quite up to Primus's first three bull's eyes it's still about 500 times better than most of the BS coming out today.
Now for a song by song analysis:
Professor Nutbutter's House of Treats:
What an awesome opening! Incredibly cool and kinetic, Les arguably wields his fretless 6-string on this track even more frighteningly than he ever has. The 7 minutes breeze by like 3. 10/10
Mrs. Baileen:
OK, so maybe they used up a lot of their energy: this one's not nearly as good as Nutbutter but it's still got a great groove with creepy lyrics about a disturbed kid picked on by his witchy 6th grade teacher Mrs. Baileen. 8/10
Wynona's Big Brown Beaver:
The big hit. Accessibility for Primus doesn't necessarily mean their musical attack is toned down any: the bass gymnastics and guitar work in this one having me reach for the repeat button often. I hate to jump on the bandwagon, but this is easily the best song on here. Hilarious video, too (hang in there Herb!) 11/10
Southbound Pachyderm:
The other hit on the album (weird choice), a claymation music video was made off of this one that I haven't yet been able to track down. Amazing song. Very hypnotic, and those chord slides Les does will knock you on your ass. 10/10
Space Farm:
Funny little interlude, not really a song.
Year of the Parrot:
Les bitches for the whole track about musicians ripping off legends like Led Zeppelin and the like...yeah, it's true, but I really wish he could have made a better song off of it or at least pinned different lyrics on the riffs. Dissapointing. 5/10
Hellbound 17 1/2 (Theme from):
Paranoid as hell. Really cool little song with car crash samples and Les screaming LOOK OUT BELOOOOW! 8/10
Glass Sandwich:
This is a rarity for Primus: both great lyrics and great music are present here. Les should never try to sing on a regular basis, though. Ever. It really drags the songs down. 7/10
Del Davis Tree Farm:
Not much to say on this track besides there being a great fretless groove here...it's about some oddball selling trees. 8.5/10
De Anza Jig:
One of the best songs on here: really funny lyrics where Les reminisces about all of the weird and wacky people he interacted with during his childhood and teens. Their best banjo ditty without question. 9/10
On the Tweek Again:
Primus drops the ball here. Les's bass playing is predictably drool-worthy, and Ler's guitar work here is probably his best, and that's saying a lot. But the VOCALS! Les's voice grates on a lot of people, but his falsetto coupled with his regular singing voice is like nails on a damn chalkboard. The lyrics really aren't that bad, either...this could have been one of the highlights of the album if they'd just done it a little differently. What a goddamned shame. 4.5/10
Over the Electric Grapevine:
Great stuff, it actually (oddly enough) reminds me of Captain Beefheart's Sheriff of Hong Kong. Great final song, Les's sitar-like basswork and the almost Oysterhead-like trippy atmosphere make this an easy highlight. 9/10
Captain Shiner:
Short ditty with Ler playing Les's bassline from De Anza Jig on the banjo, for some reason it's one of my favorite Primus outros.
Overall, this is great stuff but a really frustrating listen at points. I think Primus fans are a bit rough on it though...they can't make Seas of Cheese over and over, guys.
Not The Best But Still Great.......2005-12-13
Despite this is not quite as good as Primus's first three studio releases, it's still a pleasure to listen too. Very psychedelic sounding, which was this albums "theme" (all Primus albums stick to a different genre frequently), I'm normally not a big psycedelic guy, but this album is different. Then again, Primus is one of those bands that could probably make one of those annoying Barney songs sound great. A lot more guitar from Ler on this record, which is probably why I like it. Get this album if you like Primus.
Average customer rating:
|
Tales From the Punchbowl
Primus
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
General
| Alternative Rock
| Styles
| Music
Alternative Metal
| Hard Rock & Metal
| Styles
| Music
General
| Hard Rock & Metal
| Styles
| Music
Metal
| Funk
| R&B
| Styles
| Music
Rock
| Imports
| Stores
| Music
Similar Items:
- Sailing the Seas of Cheese
- Pork Soda
- Frizzle Fry
- Antipop
- The Brown Album
ASIN: B00004SER3 |
Tracks:
- Professor Nutbutter's House of Treats
- Mrs. Blaileen
- Wynona's Big Brown Beaver
- Southbound Pachyderm
- Space Farm
- Year of the Parrot
- Hellbound 17 1/2 (Theme From)
- Glass Sandwich
- Del Davis Tree Farm
- De Anza Jig
- On the Tweek Again
- Over the Electric Grapevine
- Captain Shiner
Average customer rating:
- CAREFUL! THERE ARE 2 VERSIONS!!!
- flied up funk
- Primus at their most unconventional (3.5 stars)
- A step down from their first three, but still quite good
- Not The Best But Still Great
|
Tales From the Punchbowl
Primus
Manufacturer: Interscope Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
General
| Alternative Rock
| Styles
| Music
General
| Rock
| Alternative Styles
| Alternative Rock
| Styles
| Music
General
| Rock
| Styles
| Music
Funk Rock
| Rock
| Styles
| Music
Alternative Metal
| Hard Rock & Metal
| Styles
| Music
General
| Hard Rock & Metal
| Styles
| Music
Pop Rock
| Pop
| Styles
| Music
Metal
| Funk
| R&B
| Styles
| Music
Similar Items:
- Pork Soda
- Sailing the Seas of Cheese
- The Brown Album
- Frizzle Fry
- Antipop
ASIN: B000001Y7S
Release Date: 1996-01-23 |
Tracks:
- Professor Nutbutter's House Of Treats
- Mrs. Blaileen
- Wynona's Big Brown Beaver
- Southbound Pachyderm
- Space Farm
- Year Of The Parrot
- Hellbound 17 1/2 (Theme From)
- Glass Sandwich
- Del Davis Tree Farm
- De Anza Jig
- On The Tweek Again
- Over The Electric Grapevine
- Captain Shiner
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
Customer Reviews:
CAREFUL! THERE ARE 2 VERSIONS!!!.......2007-01-05
Yes, it's true. This album is unfortunately not nearly as good as the previous 3 Primus albums due to its inconsistency, but it still has some pretty damn good songs. I'm not sure exactly what was happening with Primus during the recording of this album, but it would lead to Tim "Herb" Alexander leaving the band. The bass is heavy, the guitar is mind blowing and the drumming is always great. So what went wrong? There are many times on the album when the instruments just don't match up very well with each other, resulting in a few songs that seems to be missing some structure. The other problem is that on certain songs, Les Claypool's singing is sub par and brings the song down to the point where you say to yourself "if he had only decided to sing it a little differently, we'd have a Primus classic".
The first four songs are amazing (I especially stress the word amazing on the opening song, Professor Nutbutter's House of Treats). After that, something goes horribly wrong. The next 3 songs are duds (which includes the trademark Primus interlude) and after Hellbound (Them From) (Theme from what?) it's hit or miss from then on. The problem is that this album starts out great but then looses its initial spark pretty fast. However, if you a Primus fan, this album is worth getting for the few gems that can be found on it.
Now to go back to the title of this review, there are two versions of this album. The standard 1995 edition, and the 1996 re-release which is the enhanced version with videos when you stick it in your computer. I imagine that they re-released the album due to the success of Wynona's Big Brown Beaver. If you're going to get this album, get the 1996 re-release. Hoped this helped.
flied up funk.......2006-11-27
I didn't take to this album at 1st hearing & the CD gathered dust for years. Then I loaded all my CDs onto my CPU & heard Tales again. Dang...Wow.... This is the best musicianship in existance outside of my Classical collection & it is better than quite a few ensembles.
I feel like I am a Southbound Pachyderm, when I jump into the sound.I travel in many directions,but since
pachyderms are thick-skinned and do not chew cud,
the title is apt.
How can you possibly choose a genre or classification for this conglomeration of complex music blending?
America is supposed to be the " mixing pot" of the world [except anyone wanting to mix is now a felon].
Primus is the "mixing pot" of American musical styles.
The hillbilly, backwoods jugband blends with sophisticated New York jazz and a nice splash of Funk and Soul. The sounds of R & B and New Orleans, country rock, thrash, punk, San Fran jazz.
All they need is a rapper and horns to cover it all.
[Man, would that be weird....]
Hellbound 17 1/2 & Del Davis Tree Farm move wonderfully.
I know everyone wants to know what the songs are about and they read the lyrics and question the sanity of that incredible bass holding Claypool. But,why?
Music is a journey. Let the sound take you somewhere & decide if you liked being in that place.
If you are in the right mood you can See Space Farm inside the groove. The music defines & constructs a place in your mind describing it with no words.
Sometimes I wish I could gag the boy, since some of the lyrics get in the way of the music.
But I still love him & I'll see him in a few weeks!
Do you like hardcore?
Thrash?
Punkabilly? [I think this is a definate category, so I made it up.]
Weirdness?
Bass-led grooves?
Funky jazz?
If yes, get this. If no, get this and start liking the above.
Music is life.
Primus at their most unconventional (3.5 stars).......2006-07-24
Primus released Tales from the Punchbowl in 1995. The album would arguably be their most successful, reaching #4 on the Billboard charts and spawning their most famous track in "Wynona's Big Brown Beaver." The band was becoming more experimental with each release and Tales from The Punchbowl would show the band at their most unconventional. However, while previous albums such as Sailing the Seas of Cheese were very cohesive efforts, Tales from the Punchbowl feels like 3 EP's put together. The first four tracks are classic Primus. The opening "Professor Nutbutter's House of Treats" is killer as it builds into uncontrolled aggression before suddenly becoming a mellow jazz track and then returning to its original theme. "Mrs. Blaileen", a wicked tale about an outcast who commits murder, is the best song here and the music is just as hard hitting. "Southbound Pachyderm" is very moody with Les Claypool balancing his soft spoken vocals with rapid fire bass lines while Tim Alexander lays down a trancelike groove. The aforementioned "Wynona's Big Brown Beaver" is the most straight forward track and is also very good. After this, it turns into an album of unfocused jams such as "Year of the Parrot", "Del Davis Tree Farm", and "Hellbound 17 ½." Then the album gets back on track with the twisted country ditty "De Anza Jig", the moody "On the Tweek Again", and "Over the Electric Grapevine", a great jam where guitarist Larry Lalonde provides a wide variety of sounds and textures over Alexander's kinetic march beat. All told, Tales from the Punch Bowl works about two-thirds of the time with the first four songs, especially "Mrs. Blaileen", being among their best work.
A step down from their first three, but still quite good.......2005-12-22
It's rare that a band can pump out nothing but 5-star albums, and even this one's not quite up to Primus's first three bull's eyes it's still about 500 times better than most of the BS coming out today.
Now for a song by song analysis:
Professor Nutbutter's House of Treats:
What an awesome opening! Incredibly cool and kinetic, Les arguably wields his fretless 6-string on this track even more frighteningly than he ever has. The 7 minutes breeze by like 3. 10/10
Mrs. Baileen:
OK, so maybe they used up a lot of their energy: this one's not nearly as good as Nutbutter but it's still got a great groove with creepy lyrics about a disturbed kid picked on by his witchy 6th grade teacher Mrs. Baileen. 8/10
Wynona's Big Brown Beaver:
The big hit. Accessibility for Primus doesn't necessarily mean their musical attack is toned down any: the bass gymnastics and guitar work in this one having me reach for the repeat button often. I hate to jump on the bandwagon, but this is easily the best song on here. Hilarious video, too (hang in there Herb!) 11/10
Southbound Pachyderm:
The other hit on the album (weird choice), a claymation music video was made off of this one that I haven't yet been able to track down. Amazing song. Very hypnotic, and those chord slides Les does will knock you on your ass. 10/10
Space Farm:
Funny little interlude, not really a song.
Year of the Parrot:
Les bitches for the whole track about musicians ripping off legends like Led Zeppelin and the like...yeah, it's true, but I really wish he could have made a better song off of it or at least pinned different lyrics on the riffs. Dissapointing. 5/10
Hellbound 17 1/2 (Theme from):
Paranoid as hell. Really cool little song with car crash samples and Les screaming LOOK OUT BELOOOOW! 8/10
Glass Sandwich:
This is a rarity for Primus: both great lyrics and great music are present here. Les should never try to sing on a regular basis, though. Ever. It really drags the songs down. 7/10
Del Davis Tree Farm:
Not much to say on this track besides there being a great fretless groove here...it's about some oddball selling trees. 8.5/10
De Anza Jig:
One of the best songs on here: really funny lyrics where Les reminisces about all of the weird and wacky people he interacted with during his childhood and teens. Their best banjo ditty without question. 9/10
On the Tweek Again:
Primus drops the ball here. Les's bass playing is predictably drool-worthy, and Ler's guitar work here is probably his best, and that's saying a lot. But the VOCALS! Les's voice grates on a lot of people, but his falsetto coupled with his regular singing voice is like nails on a damn chalkboard. The lyrics really aren't that bad, either...this could have been one of the highlights of the album if they'd just done it a little differently. What a goddamned shame. 4.5/10
Over the Electric Grapevine:
Great stuff, it actually (oddly enough) reminds me of Captain Beefheart's Sheriff of Hong Kong. Great final song, Les's sitar-like basswork and the almost Oysterhead-like trippy atmosphere make this an easy highlight. 9/10
Captain Shiner:
Short ditty with Ler playing Les's bassline from De Anza Jig on the banjo, for some reason it's one of my favorite Primus outros.
Overall, this is great stuff but a really frustrating listen at points. I think Primus fans are a bit rough on it though...they can't make Seas of Cheese over and over, guys.
Not The Best But Still Great.......2005-12-13
Despite this is not quite as good as Primus's first three studio releases, it's still a pleasure to listen too. Very psychedelic sounding, which was this albums "theme" (all Primus albums stick to a different genre frequently), I'm normally not a big psycedelic guy, but this album is different. Then again, Primus is one of those bands that could probably make one of those annoying Barney songs sound great. A lot more guitar from Ler on this record, which is probably why I like it. Get this album if you like Primus.
Average customer rating:
- CAREFUL! THERE ARE 2 VERSIONS!!!
- flied up funk
- Primus at their most unconventional (3.5 stars)
- A step down from their first three, but still quite good
- Not The Best But Still Great
|
Tales From the Punchbowl
Primus
Manufacturer: Interscope Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
General
| Alternative Rock
| Styles
| Music
General
| Rock
| Alternative Styles
| Alternative Rock
| Styles
| Music
General
| Rock
| Styles
| Music
Funk Rock
| Rock
| Styles
| Music
Alternative Metal
| Hard Rock & Metal
| Styles
| Music
Metal
| Funk
| R&B
| Styles
| Music
Similar Items:
- Pork Soda
- Sailing the Seas of Cheese
- The Brown Album
- Frizzle Fry
- Antipop
ASIN: B000001Y7T
Release Date: 1996-01-23 |
Tracks:
- Professor Nutbutter's House of Treats
- Mrs. Blaileen
- Wynona's Big Brown Beaver
- Southbound Pachyderm
- Space Farm
- Year of the Parrot
- Hellbound 17 1/2 (Theme From)
- Glass Sandwich
- Del Davis Tree Farm
- De Anza Jig
- On the Tweek Again
- Over the Electric Grapevine
- Captain Shiner
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
Customer Reviews:
CAREFUL! THERE ARE 2 VERSIONS!!!.......2007-01-05
Yes, it's true. This album is unfortunately not nearly as good as the previous 3 Primus albums due to its inconsistency, but it still has some pretty damn good songs. I'm not sure exactly what was happening with Primus during the recording of this album, but it would lead to Tim "Herb" Alexander leaving the band. The bass is heavy, the guitar is mind blowing and the drumming is always great. So what went wrong? There are many times on the album when the instruments just don't match up very well with each other, resulting in a few songs that seems to be missing some structure. The other problem is that on certain songs, Les Claypool's singing is sub par and brings the song down to the point where you say to yourself "if he had only decided to sing it a little differently, we'd have a Primus classic".
The first four songs are amazing (I especially stress the word amazing on the opening song, Professor Nutbutter's House of Treats). After that, something goes horribly wrong. The next 3 songs are duds (which includes the trademark Primus interlude) and after Hellbound (Them From) (Theme from what?) it's hit or miss from then on. The problem is that this album starts out great but then looses its initial spark pretty fast. However, if you a Primus fan, this album is worth getting for the few gems that can be found on it.
Now to go back to the title of this review, there are two versions of this album. The standard 1995 edition, and the 1996 re-release which is the enhanced version with videos when you stick it in your computer. I imagine that they re-released the album due to the success of Wynona's Big Brown Beaver. If you're going to get this album, get the 1996 re-release. Hoped this helped.
flied up funk.......2006-11-27
I didn't take to this album at 1st hearing & the CD gathered dust for years. Then I loaded all my CDs onto my CPU & heard Tales again. Dang...Wow.... This is the best musicianship in existance outside of my Classical collection & it is better than quite a few ensembles.
I feel like I am a Southbound Pachyderm, when I jump into the sound.I travel in many directions,but since
pachyderms are thick-skinned and do not chew cud,
the title is apt.
How can you possibly choose a genre or classification for this conglomeration of complex music blending?
America is supposed to be the " mixing pot" of the world [except anyone wanting to mix is now a felon].
Primus is the "mixing pot" of American musical styles.
The hillbilly, backwoods jugband blends with sophisticated New York jazz and a nice splash of Funk and Soul. The sounds of R & B and New Orleans, country rock, thrash, punk, San Fran jazz.
All they need is a rapper and horns to cover it all.
[Man, would that be weird....]
Hellbound 17 1/2 & Del Davis Tree Farm move wonderfully.
I know everyone wants to know what the songs are about and they read the lyrics and question the sanity of that incredible bass holding Claypool. But,why?
Music is a journey. Let the sound take you somewhere & decide if you liked being in that place.
If you are in the right mood you can See Space Farm inside the groove. The music defines & constructs a place in your mind describing it with no words.
Sometimes I wish I could gag the boy, since some of the lyrics get in the way of the music.
But I still love him & I'll see him in a few weeks!
Do you like hardcore?
Thrash?
Punkabilly? [I think this is a definate category, so I made it up.]
Weirdness?
Bass-led grooves?
Funky jazz?
If yes, get this. If no, get this and start liking the above.
Music is life.
Primus at their most unconventional (3.5 stars).......2006-07-24
Primus released Tales from the Punchbowl in 1995. The album would arguably be their most successful, reaching #4 on the Billboard charts and spawning their most famous track in "Wynona's Big Brown Beaver." The band was becoming more experimental with each release and Tales from The Punchbowl would show the band at their most unconventional. However, while previous albums such as Sailing the Seas of Cheese were very cohesive efforts, Tales from the Punchbowl feels like 3 EP's put together. The first four tracks are classic Primus. The opening "Professor Nutbutter's House of Treats" is killer as it builds into uncontrolled aggression before suddenly becoming a mellow jazz track and then returning to its original theme. "Mrs. Blaileen", a wicked tale about an outcast who commits murder, is the best song here and the music is just as hard hitting. "Southbound Pachyderm" is very moody with Les Claypool balancing his soft spoken vocals with rapid fire bass lines while Tim Alexander lays down a trancelike groove. The aforementioned "Wynona's Big Brown Beaver" is the most straight forward track and is also very good. After this, it turns into an album of unfocused jams such as "Year of the Parrot", "Del Davis Tree Farm", and "Hellbound 17 ½." Then the album gets back on track with the twisted country ditty "De Anza Jig", the moody "On the Tweek Again", and "Over the Electric Grapevine", a great jam where guitarist Larry Lalonde provides a wide variety of sounds and textures over Alexander's kinetic march beat. All told, Tales from the Punch Bowl works about two-thirds of the time with the first four songs, especially "Mrs. Blaileen", being among their best work.
A step down from their first three, but still quite good.......2005-12-22
It's rare that a band can pump out nothing but 5-star albums, and even this one's not quite up to Primus's first three bull's eyes it's still about 500 times better than most of the BS coming out today.
Now for a song by song analysis:
Professor Nutbutter's House of Treats:
What an awesome opening! Incredibly cool and kinetic, Les arguably wields his fretless 6-string on this track even more frighteningly than he ever has. The 7 minutes breeze by like 3. 10/10
Mrs. Baileen:
OK, so maybe they used up a lot of their energy: this one's not nearly as good as Nutbutter but it's still got a great groove with creepy lyrics about a disturbed kid picked on by his witchy 6th grade teacher Mrs. Baileen. 8/10
Wynona's Big Brown Beaver:
The big hit. Accessibility for Primus doesn't necessarily mean their musical attack is toned down any: the bass gymnastics and guitar work in this one having me reach for the repeat button often. I hate to jump on the bandwagon, but this is easily the best song on here. Hilarious video, too (hang in there Herb!) 11/10
Southbound Pachyderm:
The other hit on the album (weird choice), a claymation music video was made off of this one that I haven't yet been able to track down. Amazing song. Very hypnotic, and those chord slides Les does will knock you on your ass. 10/10
Space Farm:
Funny little interlude, not really a song.
Year of the Parrot:
Les bitches for the whole track about musicians ripping off legends like Led Zeppelin and the like...yeah, it's true, but I really wish he could have made a better song off of it or at least pinned different lyrics on the riffs. Dissapointing. 5/10
Hellbound 17 1/2 (Theme from):
Paranoid as hell. Really cool little song with car crash samples and Les screaming LOOK OUT BELOOOOW! 8/10
Glass Sandwich:
This is a rarity for Primus: both great lyrics and great music are present here. Les should never try to sing on a regular basis, though. Ever. It really drags the songs down. 7/10
Del Davis Tree Farm:
Not much to say on this track besides there being a great fretless groove here...it's about some oddball selling trees. 8.5/10
De Anza Jig:
One of the best songs on here: really funny lyrics where Les reminisces about all of the weird and wacky people he interacted with during his childhood and teens. Their best banjo ditty without question. 9/10
On the Tweek Again:
Primus drops the ball here. Les's bass playing is predictably drool-worthy, and Ler's guitar work here is probably his best, and that's saying a lot. But the VOCALS! Les's voice grates on a lot of people, but his falsetto coupled with his regular singing voice is like nails on a damn chalkboard. The lyrics really aren't that bad, either...this could have been one of the highlights of the album if they'd just done it a little differently. What a goddamned shame. 4.5/10
Over the Electric Grapevine:
Great stuff, it actually (oddly enough) reminds me of Captain Beefheart's Sheriff of Hong Kong. Great final song, Les's sitar-like basswork and the almost Oysterhead-like trippy atmosphere make this an easy highlight. 9/10
Captain Shiner:
Short ditty with Ler playing Les's bassline from De Anza Jig on the banjo, for some reason it's one of my favorite Primus outros.
Overall, this is great stuff but a really frustrating listen at points. I think Primus fans are a bit rough on it though...they can't make Seas of Cheese over and over, guys.
Not The Best But Still Great.......2005-12-13
Despite this is not quite as good as Primus's first three studio releases, it's still a pleasure to listen too. Very psychedelic sounding, which was this albums "theme" (all Primus albums stick to a different genre frequently), I'm normally not a big psycedelic guy, but this album is different. Then again, Primus is one of those bands that could probably make one of those annoying Barney songs sound great. A lot more guitar from Ler on this record, which is probably why I like it. Get this album if you like Primus.
Music:
- The Best of the Smiths, Vol. 1
- The Birth of Emmanuel
- The Brooklyn Side
- The Colour and the Shape
- The Singles
- The Underground Beast: Bammas Don't Know [Explicit Lyrics]
- The Very Best of Elvis Costello & the Attractions
- Thirteen
- This Is Our Music
- This Is Our Music [Enhanced]
Music
music
Music
I'm Not Okay (I Promise) [CD-single] [Import]
Mendelssohn: Symphony No3; Strauss: Don Juan
Liszt: Romance Oubliée S132; Grand duo concertant sur la romance de M. Lafont
READY, FIRE, AIM!
Early Jin Singles: Southland Rock'n'Roll
Pianoforte Opus 2
Singin' in the Rain (1952 Film Soundtrack) [Soundtrack]
Mendelssohn: Music for Organ
Mother Fist & Her 5 Daughters [Import]
Lemons Descending
New York Improvisations
Live at Maybeck Recital Hall, Vol. 4 [Live]
No Que No
Holy Rollin'
Friends Seen and Unseen