Of Whales and Woe [Vinyl]

Les Claypool | Format: Vinyl

Product Details

• Vinyl (November 23, 2009)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Prawn Song
• ASIN: B002S4DO3Q
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #292,924 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Back off Turkey

2. One Better

3. Lust Stings

4. Of Whales and Woe

5. Vernon the Company Man

6. Phantom Patroit

7. Iowan Gal

8. Nothin' Ventured

9. Rumble of the Diesel

10. Robot Chicken

11. Filipino Ray

12. Off-White Guilt

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Primus bassman/mainstay Les Claypool uses the occasion of his fifth strictly solo outing to strip his musical instincts almost to the bone; guitars are almost non-existent, with Skerik's sax and the sitar/theremin work of Gabby La La providing the punctuation. Pushing his aggressive, wickedly fluid bass work even farther into the spotlight will no doubt please Claypool's most ardent fans, but the gambit also yields an album whose hypnotic rhythms and spare but potent seasonings are often intriguing. The dozen tracks may be driven by Claypool's feverish, often willfully obtuse creative muse--imagine a smackdown between Zappa and Bootsy with Zorn as referee--yet often constrained by a sense of shrewd pop economics that are rare in similar, instrumental virtuoso-driven excursions. "Vernon the Company Man" and "Phantom Patriot" are texturally compelling, if limited by a lyrical approach that's but re-heated Frank Z. "One Better" and "Rumble of the Diesel" offer sizzling funk workouts, while "Iowan Gal" and "Robot Chicken" evoke whacked-out metallic hoedowns for cyborgs of all ages. --Jerry McCulley

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars his best album since Primus, June 1, 2006

By 

Self Induced (Drexel Hill, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Of Whales & Woe (Dig) (Audio CD)

a message directed to D. Margo Berkeley Snapper, the one who gave this CD a terrible review: you're way too critical, and you don't know what the hell you're talking about. first of all, this is NOT a Primus album. so why the hell should it sound like one? it has all of Les' characteristics - the funky quirky bass playing, the cartoonish storytelling singing, and the groove oriented rhythmic song structures. yeah, it may be a little bit more raw compared to Primus, and maybe its not as "heavy" as Primus, but that doesn't make it a bad album. in fact, I think its the best record Les has done since the last Primus album. his songs are invitations into another world. his lyrics show that Les is a guy that obviously enjoys life and knows not to take anything too seriously. his descriptive words can make any topic seem interesting. he's laidback and he sure knows how to have fun while making an album. it definitely shows. this is Les' twisted, warped version of good-time happy music. I highly recommend it.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Please give this album a chance..., June 4, 2006

By 

Johnny Z. Gonzalez "JG4EVER" (Austin, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Of Whales & Woe (Dig) (Audio CD)

This album could best be related to a magic eye poster; at first glance it comes off as a plethora of color with no meaning, but if you give it two or three listens a picture begins to appear. At first I was very skeptical of it, Skerik's sax was a little too distorted, and Claypool's character tales came off a little forced and uninspired, but then I thought about all the god awful [...] that mainstream record labels shove down people's throats like so much tripe, and I could do nothing but thank the Colonel for his quirky, catchy, mesmerizing bass lines, and Mike Dillon for his xylophone mastery, and began to really appreciate this album and the music for just that, the music. Unlike what some of the more brown nosing critics I wont agree that it's the most cohesive album since "Sailing the Seas of Cheese" in my opinion the two aren't even in the same league, however, as for where Mr. Claypool wants his music to go and the sound he is going for, I dare say he's got it... Yo Ho Colonel!!!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Finally a more textured album, June 19, 2006

By 

Kelsey Cain - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Of Whales & Woe (Dig) (Audio CD)

I've been a Primus fan for a long time, and I've always noted the Residents influence. I think that it comes through more on this record than any other that Claypool has done, which is exciting to me. I didn't think that Highball and Purple Onion stood out as much as Sausage or Eyeball, so I was glad to hear something a little different this time. This album is far more textured than Onion and Eyeball, it just takes more attention to notice. This is also good, because it demands attention to digest it all instead of displaying it in an easily accessible manner. I think Primus comes across better because it's the work of 3 geniuses, but as far as a solo effort this record is very successful.