Customer Reviews

Tales From the Punchbowl

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Before you read my review, keep in mind that my taste is Led Zeppelin, Elvis Costello, Van Morrison, David Bowie, Police, and Talking Heads... I absolutely loved EVERY track on this album and I don't hesitate to put it right up there with my favorites. The bass guitar on this album is just rivetting, it never fails to amaze me! The lyrics lack profundity (which not everyone cares for anyway), but they are unparalleled in entertainment value: "...watched him snort a milkshake right up his nose; he slurped it up the left side, and blew it out the right side..." They have huge variety without losing their unique style. I think they're one of a kind, because when I try to pinpoint their similarities with other bands, I'm either speechless, or I'm naming every other band from NOFX to Harry Choates. It's absurd, frightening, hilarious, and even inspirational at times. It provides what few other musical artists can: a natural feel. No fake stuff, no emotional sap, no presumptiousness, no hatred, no love, just natural talent. But don't get me wrong, this is not a serious album. You can stick it in your stereo no matter how you feel, but be prepared to feel both absurd and impressed by the time it's over. This is one of the best albums I have ever heard.

Primus is probably one of the most eclectic and original bands to ever gain any great degree of popularity, and better yet, they haven't let the fame destroy their integrity. Just about everything they've put out has been great, and they're always loads of fun.

"Tales from the Punchbowl" is an album that has garnered some mixed reviews among the fans, and I really have no idea why. The common argument is that it's not a match for such classics as "Pork Soda" or "Sailing the Seas of Cheese", and while that may be pretty hard to argue with, this is an excellent album in its own right. As always, they churn out bizarre rhythms, wacky lyrics and vocals, and funky grooves.

The cool thing about Primus is that while they are a very goofy and fun-loving band, there seems to be an underlying seriousness to their music as well, sometimes even dark and disturbing. "Mrs. Blaileen" is a chilling tale of a tormented child who murders one of his classmates, and "Professor Nutbutter's House of Treats" seems to have an obscure reference to child molestation. "Year of the Parrot" has a great message about plagiarism in music, which is especially significant, considering that Primus were doing their own thing in a time when bands were all starting to sound the same.

There's tons of greatness here. "Wynona's Big Brown Beaver" is a classic, with an impossibly infectious groove, and pretty hilarious lyrics. "Southbound Pachyderm" is sort of strangely melodic, and hypnotically catchy. "On the Tweek Again" has a SICK bass groove, with Tim Alexander's octopus-like drumming weaving about the groovin'. "Captain Shiner" and "De Anza Jig" are short little banjo-driven bits, with Les Claypool's wacky bluegrassy vocals. There's really not a bad song on here. This is extremely progressive, but still very catchy despite the madness.

Primus is chief. Succumb to their mighty funk power now.

There are many people who find this to be one of the low points of Primus. Maybe it's just the kind of album that polarizes one's opinion, because I find it to be their finest moment. It has the same hilarious, kooky elements that made us laugh and scratch our heads on their previous albums, but this time they actually dare to be musical. I can't say this band has demonstrated themselves as the most talented in the world, save Claypool's crazy bass chops, but this album shows the other two players in the band showing us what they've got. Not always successful in that display, but hey, it's Primus. The songs range from the suggestive (Wynona's Big Brown Beaver), to the hilarious (DeAnza Jig), to the trippy (On the Tweek Again), to the completely random (Space Farm), to the even more trippy (Over the Electric Grapevine). The opening track is a perfect start for an album that turns into a mosh-pit of all sorts of different musical styles after two minutes. Claypool's catalogue of voices breathe the life into many of the songs, turning what would be bland and boring into something that makes you wet yourself from laughter. The art on the CD insert only ads to this. Herb's drum tricks are actually noteworthy on some of the songs, and Ler's guitar is even noticeable on most tracks! This album is a tossed salad of funk and junk that is the acid-induced crowning achievement of a band that's more out there than Saturn!

the best Primus album i have heard. Primus is rock. Primus is great. Primus is an energetic, semi-hard rock band, lead by Les Claypool's (bassist, singer, frontman) inspiring, and quit honestly, incredible bass playing. Primus has always had the ability to write songs about weird, and yet interesting subject matter. their songs read like very twisted story tales. they present their ballads of everyday life with a cheesy sounding, cheap 'country/rock/WHAT??!?!??!?! (yes WHAT??!?!??!?! is not a music genre, but for Primus it is)' sound, but at times they can sound a little psycadelic. Primus is seriously fun listening, and not meant to be taken seriously. but if you analyze their songs and lyrics, you will find a shockingly accurate portrayal of modern life. Primus dwells on the undeniably weird and overlooken, and have written songs about the life and times of alley cats, an outcast young child who leads a life of peer torment, the lives and demise's of huffers (people who get high by inhaling household chemicals), and a guy who owns a tree farm. they portray the aspects of life we never really think about. this album is no exception. GREAT! i love it. be ready to laugh "i remember the day that she GAVE me her virginity, then she gave it to everyone in our vicinity" (picture that line being sung to silly banjo music, i still laugh thinking about it!), be ready to cry "the target always seemed to be JOHNNY, he was a bit slower than the others, when he was quite young his mother, died at the kitchen table, while choking on some food". this album has it all. be ready for weirdness on a massive scale, but make sure to listen to the songs, Primus does something that no other band i know of does. they present stories of real people, stories of say, working in a gas station, but they do it so well and they inject such an everday human feel into it. their lyrics read like a really funny story a friend is telling you (over a few, nay, many beers) about some guy they met. i cannot explain Primus, just listen to them!!! i can not say enough about this band. in conclusion, this album is wonderful, i highly suggest it, especially as a first Primus album, it gives you a good idea of the range of their abilities.

Even though I'm a big punk fan, I cannot get enough of Primus. Tales From The Punchbowl is a pretty good album. I have to say, my favorite song on it is Hellbound 17 1/2, but no one agrees with me. Professer Nutbutter's House Of Treats is a great starting song, for 7 minutes of awesome bass lines. Wynona's Big Brown Beaver comes in with a slightly funk/rock feel, and makes you want to sing along. The Year Of The Parrot blew my mind when I first heard it... I dunno, you just don't hear 12/8 time in punk very often. Hellbound is just so catchy, I had to listen to it 6 times over when I first heard the CD. The album finishes strong with Over The Electric Grapevine. Overall, the album is good to listen to, but Pork Soda is still my favorite. Primus is great, so buy this CD if you are interested in songs that people are afraid to play on the radio. Maybe you'll like Hellbound 17 1/2 as much as I do.

Most people wouldn't call this their favorite Primus album but I think it is the most Primus-like of all. I'd say it's one of their best. Les creates a balance between his 6-string fretless and the 4-string. Pork soda and Seas O cheese were all fretless and I don't think he's used it since. Too bad. Grapevine is one of my favorite songs and I've even heard Wynona on the radio. This album got me into Primus and saved me from the aforementioned seas of cheese

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.

This album is very prog-ish and very much Primus. This was my first Primus album, and it took me a litle while to get used to it. I really like the opening song "Professor Nutbutter's House Of Treats" (fast and fun), "Wynona's Big Brown Beaver" (groovy), "Southbound Pachyderm" (hypnotic), "Year Of The Parrot" (I don't know, it's cool!), "De Anza Jig" (frickin' hilarious!), and "On The Tweek Again" (rawk!). Great album for the Primus fan and very underrated.

Hola boys and girls,

Where to begin? Well first off, this is Primus' best album ever. I love all of their work seeing as how they're my favourite band ever. I play bass and Les Claypool is my hero...along with Geddy Lee.

The music on this album is quite odd and eclectic for one thing. There isn't a song on the album that sounds the same as any other. The weirdest song is perhaps De Anza Jig, a fun little hick number with Les remembering the good 'ol days in El Sobrante. Nothing like Les on the bass banjo, Ler on the banjo, and Tim playing a cadence.

Wynona's Big Brown Beaver is probably the most popular song on the album and for good reason...it rules. Only Primus could produce such a fun mock-country song about STDs. The bass line is amazing (especially after the guitar solo when Les is playing sextuplets), the guitar is hillarious and a perfect immitation of a country song (the guitar solo is one of Ler's best), and the drumming is incredible as usual because Herb is on the throne. Herb has the best bass drum ever.

It is my opinion though that Wynona is not the best song on the album; instead I think Year of the Parrot is the best song on the album and my favourite Primus song ever. It's an awesome song played in 7/4 about plagarism in the music industry. Les takes a stab at all those out there who are trying to make a buck by spinning out a copy of someone else's music instead of creating their own music. The lyrics are some of Les' best. The music is quite incredible in itself. Les pulls out a very cool bass line which I still has me wondering what he's doing. Tim opens the song with some nice double bass work and some nice snare hits. Herb is quite the master of syncopation. Larry breaks out a very cool guitar riff that compliments Les' bass work perfectly. Ler is one of the most underrated guitarists to ever walk this planet. He is quite amazing and he shines through on this song.

Over the Electric Grapevine is another incredible song off of this album. It opens with Les doing a pseudo-solo which sounds like a middle eastern sort of thing, it's amazing. Then Tim comes in with a very nice drum fill right in the beginning of the song. Larry lays down what is probably his most haunting guitar riff. The song is completely freaky when listened to late at night. The music makes you feel like you're on a journey to hell or something. It's qutie a treasure.

Southbound Pachyderm is another stand-out on the album. Les pulls out a very nice bass line accompanied by Ler's very nice guitar work, and Tim's always great drumming. The lyrics are quite weird and so is the music video.

Hellbound 17 1/2 has some of the best drumming that Tim has ever produced. It's laced with lots of bass drum work and great snare work. Les plays a repetitive bass line that is quite "dirty." Then Ler plays a rather spastic guitar riff that gets crazier as the song progresses towards it's terminus.

Glass Sandwich is an odd little number, the upright bass meanders throughout the song, the guitar riff gives the song a circus like feel, and the drumming is very forboding.

Professor Nutbutter is an incredible opener with great performances on all fronts. Les breaks out a very magical bass line that sounds quite awesome. Larry puts out some pretty harsh guitar riffs and Tim kicks some serious butt on drums. I especially like the ragae segment during the middle of the song...it's a nice little break.

Mrs. Blaileen is another great song. The bass line is very cool paired with the drum beat. Some people have said that it reminds them of the Chili Peppers, but Primus is only a trillion times better. Ler puts out a nice riff to back up Les and then Ler takes over after each verse with an even cooler guitar riff. Very good song about the pressures of childhood.

On the Tweek Again is another odd song. I guess the boys were trying to give us all a feel of what it's like to be strung out on meths. Whatever the case the song has a very duldrums feel to it.

Del Davis Tree Farm is a great song about the guy Les gets his X-mas trees from. The bass kicks some major butt and the drumming is amazing. Then there is Larry's guitar work which sounds pretty heavy and harsh in some points. Then there is the little bit where he plays a mini-solo with that nice driving distortion. The boys make great use of stops in this song.

This is obviously Primus' best album ever due to the fact that it contains their best music. They really evolved quite well and then Brain came along, but that's a different and more depressing story. Primus is only Primus with Tim Alexander in the mix and this album is exhibit A in that case.

This cd is pretty weird even by Primus standards... They really work a bit of a progressive feel sometimes here that isn't typical of Primus material. Granted there's still some more typical sounding Primus stuff like "de anza jig", a little banjo ditty that works better than Primus' previous attempt at a banjo song "the air is getting slippery" from Pork Soda, and the "big hit" "Wynonna's Big Brown Beaver". A lot of Primus fans have a bit of resentment for this song, it being the song that 90% of mainstream culture identifies them with and not neccessarily the best one, but being someone who didn't get into Primus until years after that song came out I still enjoy it. A lof of these songs have the band being very experimental. like al Primus' experimental stuff, it's kind of iffy at times. You either get absolutely mesmerizing masterpieces like "over the electric grapevine", or something utterly unlistenable even to the most diehard Primus fan like "The Year Of The Parrot". All in all, this album is pretty good, but I like "sailing the seas of cheese" and "frizzle fry" better...