Customer Reviews

Sailing the Seas of Cheese

5 star:		(66)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Primus's albums have always had the feel of an adolescent's guilty pleasure in a way. Sure you can take it seriously - the musicianship is outstanding and their melodies masterfully twist among pop, funk and grunge. But that's only part of their style; there's a silly side that's part musical humor, part Saturday morning cartoon, and a sense that there could be more quirks around any corner. I imagine that if Phish had a heavy King Crimson influence they'd sound a little like this. There's incredible bass work, subtle nuances in the guitar playing that you don't notice right away, and lyrics that suggest a strange mix of Roger Waters and Frank Zappa.

If the title and cover of this album alone don't seem cartoonish enough, take a listen to the lumbering bassoon introducing the first track. Les Claypool talks and screams through "Is It Luck?" like a hopped-up WB cartoon. "Tommy the Cat" is crazy funk with Tom Waits, of all people, lending a distorted voice to the narrative. As with any Primus album there are times when they go a little too far off the edge ("Granddad's Little Ditty" comes to mind), although I probably shouldn't complain when it's compared to such later offerings as "Wynona's Big Brown Beaver." Regardless: for most Primus fans this album still stands as their strongest. For those merely curious it's the ideal one to start with. If you don't like Seas of Cheese, chances are you won't like the others.

Here's a story... I was over at my friend's house and he asks me if I have ever heard of the band Primus. I said yes because I heard Jerry was a Race Car Driver on the radio. He put on a DVD called Animals should not try to act like People or something like that and played all these WEIRD primus vids!! The band instantly started to grow on me and i bought their latest CD "Antipop". While it does have one of the best primus songs ever(In my opinion), Lacquer Head.. the rest of the tracks sound nothing like the Primus i heard on the DVD. So i got Sailing the Seas of Cheese and it is AWESOME!!! Garunteed you will love it. Here is a list of tracks and the score i give them.

1. Seas of Cheese - 7.5/10 A nice little intro featuring some interesting vocals.

2. Here come the b@stards - 8/10 I've seen multiple reviews bash this song for being repetitive. I love it for some reason and it is one of my favorites on the CD.

3. Sgt. Baker - 9.5/10 Definitely one of the best on the CD. This song has an interesting chorus about what drill sergeants do to their troops, i will read it for you to get you excited to hear it: I will rape your personality
Pummel you with my philosophy
Strip you of your self integrity
To make you all just a bit like me!!
Truly an amazing song.

4. American Life - 10/10 Again.. another amazing song, Primus tends to bunch the highlights of the cd together. The song definitely has a MUCH more depressing note to it then the first 3 tracks. It tells the stories of 3 immigrants and the woes that met them when they came to America.

5. Jerry was a Racecar Driver - 8/10 A lot of people consider this the best song on the CD. While it is a fantastic song, i disagree.

6. Eleven - 6/10 Unlike Here come the bastards, this song IS in fact, very repetitive.

7. Is it Luck? - 9/10 An awesome song featuring an awesome bassline

8. Grandad's Little Ditty - a boring little interlude track that i wont even bother to rate

9. Tommy the Cat - 10.5/10 In my opinion this is THE best track on the CD. It has it all, a kickass bassline AND kickass guitar solos!! Not to mention fantastic lyrics that tell the story of an alley cat named Tommy.

10. Sathington Waltz - 7/10 It's alright

11. Those damned blue collared Tweekers - 9/10 This is another great song on the cd. Great playing from Les and Lers.

12. Fish On - 9.5/10 Yet ANOTHER great song!!(starting to notice the vast number of great songs on this cd??) A slower song with funny lyrics about fishing and whatnot.

13. Los Bastardos - An outro track that sounds very similar Here come the bastards except it has some guy yelling. I wont rate it.

This is one of my favorite albums.

Not because it's weird, not because the bass-playing is good, and not because it has clay models swimming in a bowl of cheese dip on the cover... though that last one does contribute...

Nay, it is simply because the album makes me smile. Who can hold back a grin when the lyrics to Jerry Was a Race Car Driver are sung in flawless redneck dialect? And the journey you are taken on into the life of a macho cat (Tommy the Cat) is epic and unforgettable. You may even feel inspired to hike up to a lake of our own Northwest and fish when you hear Fish On.

If you are suffering the symptoms of clinical depression, please call and order Sailing the Seas of Cheese today. Seriously.

Primus are my personal favorite band, and as well as being one of the most talented, innovative, and downright insane bands over the past decade, they also made (in my own opinion) the greatest album in the history of rock. It has Les Claypool's great bass and nasal vocals, as well as insane drumming and even better guitar, adding to the quirkiness of it all. Although many consider Primus a metal band, a funk band, or a progressive band, I feel that they are truly in a league of their own, with no one else even coming close to their sheer musicianship. "Sailing The Seas..." has samples, the best bass ever, funny vocals and disturbing lyrics, as well as guitar shredding and up and down nonstop drumming. It is everything you should want in an album. If you are a teen struggling to fit in (I'm not...just cause'...yeah) don't listen to this. If you are looking for something unique, different, and better than everything you've ever bought, yeah, this is for you. Suggested tracks: Jerry Was A Race Car Driver, Those Damned Blue Collar Tweakers, Is It Luck? Suggested Bands: Mr. Bungle, Faith No More, El Stew. Suggested albums: Buckethead's Monsters And Robots, Primus' Pork Soda, mr. Bungle's California.

This album was quite possibly the greatest purchase I ever made, as for a mere eleven dollars I obtained some of the most masterful, unique, downright insane music ever written. Primus' best-known quality is the bass work of Les Claypool, and it is everything it has been hyped up to be and more. The absolutely unreal solos and riffs he play are worth the price of admission alone. However, there is a lot more to Primus than simply Les' playing. Claypool's singing is equal parts kooky vocalizing and speedy talking, but it mingles so well with the overall feeling of Primus that a normal singer is umimaginable in his place. Larry LaLonde's guitar weaves in and out of Les' bass lines deftly, accentuating the atmosphere with near-continuous soloing in many cases. To round out the whole package is Tim Alexander's spot-on drumming, which fits the puzzle exactly. Every Primus album is a work of art, but Sailing the Seas of Cheese remains their best work, featuring them at their most catchy and most unique. Below are my opinions on each song:

Seas of Cheese - A fun, unique intro that gives the listener a good idea of where things are going; funny lyrics. (8/10)

Here Come the Bastards - A march-like song that introduces the crazy sounds of Primus. Nice, catchy main riff, and strange, minimalistic vocals. Slightly repetitive, but good overall. (8/10)

Sgt. Baker - One of my personal favorites, as it is the first song to feature a really kickin' bass line, not to mention really unusual and inventive vocals. It had me singing "Right! Left!" for days. (9.5/10)

American Life - A bit more sober and serious than the last two songs, this track nevertheless has a great bass line, and the lyrics are a thought-provoking social criticism about our country. (8.5/10)

Jerry Was a Race Car Driver - Well-known Primus single that features a really crazy-cool bass part, and actually goes into a fairly heavy riff, which is good mosh pit material. Good lyrics round out this song, making it one of the better tracks on the album, not to mention their career. (10/10)

Eleven - Kinda catchy and cool, even though this song has been dubbed as "filler" anything this good can't possibly be called such a name. I especially like the "Ay ay ay". (8.5/10)

Is It Luck? - Really crazy fast bass part and funny lyrics, not to mention Claypool sounding like a total maniac. However, the song is a bit repetitive and tends to wear on the listener after a while. (8/10)

Grandad's Little Ditty - Even though this is just a stupid little interlude, it once again fits in well with the overall atmosphere and has kinda funny lyrics. (6.5/10)

Tommy the Cat - The master track of the album, this song has it all: wierd, high speed lyrics, a catchy chorus, some really cool guitar solos, and by far the most insane piece of bass music ever conceived, which is Les' solo. Those eight seconds of madness are both ridiculous and awe-inspiring, as Claypool wrangles some truly strange noise out of his instrument. This song goes down in history as Primus' best, and possibly one of the greatest songs ever written. (11/10)

Sathington Waltz - Another little interlude of sorts, this song is instrumental but features some cool playing. (7.5/10)

Those Damned Blue-Collar Tweekers - The third absolutely fantastic song on the cd, this song has cool singing, and great work from all three primates. Another definitive Primus song. (10/10)

Fish On (Fisherman Chronicles, Chapter II) - A longer, more chill song that has some amusing singing and lyrics and more fantastic playing from Les. Not one of my favorites, and it does tend to drag on a little too much, but overall still a very worthy track. (8.5/10)

Los Bastardos - Not the best note to end the album on, and definitely the low point of Sailing the Seas of Cheese. Still, it is amusing, and it certainly doesn't do anything to mar the greatness of the rest of the cd. (5/10)

After buying several Primus albums, I bought this one. Well, first of all, I really like the storytelling. Each song is a sort of story. "Jerry Was A Racecar Driver" tells the story of a (you guessed it) racecar driver. "American Life" is a somber tale of poverty in life. My favorite is "Tommy The Cat," about a cool cat who talks about getting the hottest chick (or should I say 'cat') in town. But Primus' strength isn't only in storytelling. They are also very good at playing. Les Claypool's quirky bass playing, Larry LaLonde's haunting guitar playing, and Tim Alexander's rapid-fire drumming are a perfect combination. These guys are good. That's what made me a Primus fan. My only gripe with this CD is the production. There is NO bass in the sound! This isn't something you'd want to put in your car stereo and jack up the volume. Even now, whenever I listen to it, I feel like two needles are stabbing me in the ears. The sound is really thin. But fortunately, Primus fattened their sound later. In all, I recommend you buy this album.

When I first heard Primus, I was shocked by the originality of it. I'm very interested in punk and 80's hardcore, and I was shocked by how chaotic these guys were without having to play at breakneck speed. Yet, beneath all of the chaos lies great talent and in some cases great meaning to the songs.

People tend to view Primus as a talented comedy band, which is fine, but there's more to them than that. Primus gets beneath the skin of the average American redneck, and exploits them (like I feel they should be). Many people tend to ignore the political messages of the songs.

Then again, there are some songs that are clearly jokes (Tommy the Cat), and some songs that are clearly serious (Eleven). The variety of the lyrics are very refreshing.

Now, the music is just amazing. I love bands who experiment, and although Les Cleypool is clearly an amazing bass player, what makes Primus really click for me is Larry LaLonde's guitar playing. He can produce great ambient sounds. Not everyone will notice it, but if it was taken away from the music, Primus wouldn't be nearly the same.

Basically, if you want something refreshing, buy this album.

Other than "Too Many Puppies" from Frizzle Fry, three songs from Sailing The Seas of Cheese heralded by initiation into Primus during my NMSU years-thank goodness for alternative college radio. Buying the full album later on, Sailing became and still is to date my favourite by Les Claypool and friends. The songs pulse and pound a lot more due to Claypool's uptempo bass and Tim Alexander's drumming. And Claypool's quirky vocals give Primus an added recognizable uniqueness.

The churning rowdy grind of bass and drums in the instrumental interlude of "Jerry Was a Race Car Driver" is what caught my ears to that song. An uptempo tune of the title character, who never finished first or last, but later had an unfortunate ending at an early age.

Equally rhythmic and upbeat is "Tommy the Cat," with Tom Waits playing the title character. The song recounts a tale of a hot feline looking for that he-cat of alleycats, namely the title cat. Waits himself sounds like he could do guest stints in Primus with his raconteur personality. This song was actually originally released live on their Suck On This album.

The third was "Those D-mned Blue Collar Tweakers," with a leisurely but playful rhythm beat, about how the title characters run the town, be it truckers, workers hammering in nails, or even someone hanging drywall who needs his fix to get the job done quick, but the town turns a blind eye. A funny reference to Papa Bush is "curious George's drug patrol is out here hunting snipe." At least I think it's Bush 41.

After the introductory ditty, Primus's killer rhythm section introduces "Here Come The Bastards" with a marching tempo. The concept of the title bastards introducing ideas-"something about a hammerhead shark, nosehairs and flatus" lends a bizarre Pythonseque turn to the song, but with Primus, well, what do you expect? The line of "anonymity is a virtue in this day and age" is universal enough, but ten years after this album was released, "flagrant misuse of Security" seems relevant, especially with HL Security's tramping on our freedoms. The song is reprised in "Los Bastardos" with the "here they come" refrain chanted over and over.

The brutality of the military mind, the "game of warfare" and the need to put recruits into lockstep is shown in the jamming "Sgt. Baker," with bits of wry humor mixed with Baker's character. The chorus goes in a left-right left-right marching rhythm: "I will r-pe your personality/pummel you with my own philosophy/strip you of your self-integrity/to make you all a bit like me." Uh, anyone STILL want to join the military after this?

Three verses tell sobering tales of people living the "American Life," of a Sicilian family who decides to go to Ellis Island after the father dies, Ong, a Laotian refugee earning minimum wage in LA, and perhaps the saddest, of Bob the unemployed veteran who sleeps in a cardboard box hunts for aluminum cans, yet somehow manages to maintain his dignity.

You know how people go, "That's what they say" or "They tell me"? Well, who's "they"? The pounding song "Eleven" is a paean for those who can't seem to conform to society or accept "this dim simplicity of law and order." Nothing treasonous about not seeing rhyme or reason in those rules.

The frantic tweeked out "Is It Luck" is a question asked in response to certain lines, be it something silly like "cyanide works oh so fast" to something serious like "there was food in your mouth today." A silly and great number. The fishing chronicles continue with "Fish On," about how a fisherman and his boys land a hundred pound sturgeon.

Better than Frizzle Fry, Primus sails the seas of success and skill with this one.

The one thing that amazes me more than Les Claypool's bass playing is how much of a dedicated fan base that Primus has! And as I am now a growing fan of Primus, I must say this is great stuff. An incredible mix of funk and punk mixed with Les Claypool's almost inhuman bassplaying.

Right from the opening track, you get the overal impression of the album. And that impression can be expressed in one word: wacky. But for Primus to be anything other than wacky would be uncharacteristic of them. So hmmmmmmm...........

Most of the songs are either slow or fast but never lacking in weirdness or funky basslines. As has become a staple for most Primus albums. However, it still remains fresh after repeated listenings. His lyrics are normally humorous, but this also do inpart to Les's over-the-top almost Elmer Fudd like voice. Is this bad thing? Hell no! It hightens great songs like Tommy the Cat and my personal favorite, Jerry Was A Race Car Driver.

I think the only problem I have with this CD is that it does not have universal appeal. With Primus, you normally get two camps: those who get it and those who don't. But you don't have to like primus to realize the that these guys have TALENT! I say check them out. Just rememeber to put your sanity on hold for the time being. You'll enjoy it more.

Seas of Cheese is Primus's major-label debut. Primus is a very strange band, heavy bass, weird sounding vocals, and good lyrics. is what makes them famous. Primus is weird, but not weird enough to the point where can't even listen to them. They have a very attractive sound that lures you in with "What the Hell is That?" I recommend this to anyone who hates modern music and wants something differant.