The Big Eyeball in the Sky

Les Claypool, Colonel Claypool's Bucket of Bernie Brains | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 21, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Prawn Song
• ASIN: B0002VJW92
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #77,663 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Les Claypool, along with Buckethead on guitar, Brain on drums, & original Parliament/Funkadelic member Bernie Worrell on keyboards will release their debut album 'The Big Eyeball In The Sky' September 21 on Prawn Song Records. The release marks the first studio recording for Col. Claypool's Bucket Of Bernie Brains, (CCBBB) which Claypool characterizes as "a traveling, oversized sock-puppet show spawned by the characters of a Tobe Hooper film & scored by Danny Elfman on bad acid."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Musical Genius, October 9, 2004

By 

Michael Young (Atlanta, GA, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Big Eyeball in the Sky (Audio CD)

For a while now, I have been immersing myself in as much as I possibly can of some of (I believe to be) the best music produced. Among the really cool, artistically weird (or is it weirdly artistic?) bands I have grown to know and love are Primus, Praxis, and Parliament. Thus, needless to say when I heard that the once-impromptu Bonnaroo band was making an album, I jumped at the possibility. Fortunately, this album met my expectations and exceeded them. Let's take a look, shall we?

Buckethead: What could be a more wonderful way to start an album than with Bernie Worrell's happy circus organ music? Other than that this track has some great lyrics delving into the mysterious being that is Buckethead. His solo at the end of the track is just beautiful.

Thai Noodles: Great bass line, and the lyrics are really catchy.

Tyranny of the Hunt: Aside from Buckethead's awesome guitar line in this song, this is probably my least favorite song on the album if only for the fact that I don't really understand much of the story line (as I have been accustomed to do by listening to Les).

Elephant Ghost: Killer jam, especially on the part of Brain. I just wish it a) had a central melody and b) were a lot longer.

Hip Shot from the Slab: Hehe, I love this song so much, if only for Gabby La La's great backup vocals and the return (ala My Name is Mud) of Les's redneck insanity.

Junior: Groovy anti-Bush song. Will get stuck in your head for days and days.

Scott Taylor: This track tires me out near the end, but Bernie's keys are on target and sounding great the whole way through, so it's okay.

The Big Eyeball in the Sky: The best lyrics of any song on the album, with Les satirizing the corporations and media that control so much of our lives.

Jackalope: This song makes me laugh so much everytime I hear it. It is obviously the work of a few mad geniuses, and that's what makes it so cool, especially Buckethead's atonal guitar licks.

48 Hours To Go: Nice pre-apocalyptic vocals by Les, with a funky Parliament-esque groove.

Ignorance is Bliss: The jam this song gets into is so cool that it outweighs any boredom induced by the slow tempo at the beginning of the song. Cool way to end an album.

All in all, if you have a passion for things a little off-center or just want to hear what all the hype about these guys is about, check this album out because, if nothing more, it's a change from the everyday music you hear on the radio. However, there's one thing better than this album: see this band live!!! I cannot even begin to tell you how cool their live show is. The musicality of this band is beyond measure, but this album does a great job of showcasing them. Can't wait to see what they do next.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Claypool, November 3, 2004

By 

Claypool Fan (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Big Eyeball in the Sky (Audio CD)

All of the members of this band are really good. The level of musicianship on this album is really high. I just recently saw them live and it was really refreshing to see a group of really talented people playing together. Anyone who doesn't like this album probably bought it because they are a Primus fan, and were dissappointed because it isn't quite as hard as Primus usually is, but it's still quirky. C2B3 is NOT Primus, if Les Claypool wanted it to be Primusesque then he would have made another Primus album. Even though I think it's plenty Primusesque. Les Claypool's side projects are jam bands, and if you don't like jam bands then you shouldn't invest in any of them. I would recommend this album to anyone who really appreciates Claypool's skill (as well as everyone else in the band's skill), even if they don't necessarily enjoy Primus too much.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best album to come out for a long time, September 13, 2005

By 

Austen Jesse Ashman "Cuss_sonof_Roach" (Springdale, Utah USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Big Eyeball in the Sky (Audio CD)

The first time I heard this band was at their show in S.L.C. All I could do was stand there the entire time with my mouth agap. This is Les Claypool at his finest. I own all of his Primus albums along with most of his side projects (missing only his frog brigade sets 1 and 2)and this is my favorite album that he has put out. Buckethead is a brilliant addition being as how he is probably one of the only guitar players that can hold his own with Les. Some describe Bernies addition as funny yet enjoyable. How insulting. Bernie is what sets this album apart from all of Claypools other projects. Bernie adds the funk that is so prominent in this CD. Brain... well, hes a pimp. He plays a double bass petal in the album which he never did with primus and he is at the top of his game through the whole thing. Very few drummers can hang with Les and Brain dose so with very little apparent effort. This album isnt about showcasing one musician, its about them all together as a whole. You may hear better bass on a primus album and buckethead may solo more on other albums of his but this disc in its entirety is possibly the greatest musical accomplishment Les has come up with yet. I can only hope they put out another C2B3 album. If you like Primus but dont like albums such as this and Purple Onion (his oddest in my book but still brilliant) then youre missing the point of Les Claypool. He is here to push the musical envelope whether or not you as an audience can keep up. If only more musicians had the integrity to be so bold. In Les Claypool we trust.