If the Melvins had chops, if Rush did acid, if the Police were skatepunks and smart enough to like metal-- well, none of them could have been Primus, a band as hopelessly original as Don Knotts or the platypus. Such invocations are useful, though, if only to derail the more looming one of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, with whom theb Bay Area trio shares little more than bass slaping and blame for the early-'90s plague of post-punk minstrelsy known as "thrash funk." Actually, Primus play funk simply to the degree that leader Les Claypool's phenomenal bass playing gobbles up local influences like Larry Graham.
Frizzle Fry reveals Claypool the urban raconteur and fisherman. Folksy ruminations about late-night TV and crackhead acquaintances borded "John the Fisherman" and "Too Many Puppies,' slightly more straight-faced rock songs that bring Claypool's nasally operatic, Ethel Merman-meets-Mr. Magoo wail to the fore. It's not a pretty thing, but then neither is Primus, whose fan club has copyrighted the slogan, "You suck!"
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