ANIMALS SHOULD NOT TRY TO ACT LIKE PEOPLE

Finally, there is light at the end of the tunnel for Primus. After having made two rather bad albums and another mediocre album, the originaly line up releases an EP with 5 of their best songs to date on it. Ranging from Ice Cubes to Cheating husbands and crooked cops, this EP is a must have for any fan of the band. It shows some progression in song writing while still having the distink Primus feel to it. It's worth every moment of anyone's time.

This is by no means a great Primus album. Mainly for 1 reason - it fails to seriously rock with some heavy metal/funk grooves. The thrash element is completely gone from the album. Instead we have more of a silly, experimental mood, a lot like the cover. Dark and strange, kind of random and weird. And I totally understand that Primus doesn't take themselves seriously, but on Suck On This, Frizzle Fry, Seas of Cheese and Pork Soda, they atleast take rocking seriously. I mean those albums have some seriously headbanging, heavy, hard rocking moments.

Carpenter and The Dainty Bride doesn't even really sound like Primus. Starts the album off poorly, no typical Primus grooves to be found.

Pilcher's Squad is the epitome of a weird, silly song, which Primus will throw in from time to time. It does however have the surprisingly quiet "Go, Larry! [3 second guitar solo] Thanks, Larry!" which you might not notice.

Mary The Ice Cube could potentially be great, a song about a named ice cube. As far as thinking up subject matter, these guys rule. Very very creative. It is kind of a more ambient noise type of track though and still no funk/metal grooves on the album so far.

The Last Superpower aka Rapscallion is the first sign of any good ol' Primus, and it's only half there. It is easily the most prog-rock oriented song on the album, with 4 or 5 bits in it. It starts out OK, but a great guitar solo by Larry kicks in and they actually start rocking a bit! Then it goes on to some other just 'pretty good' grooves.

My Friend Fats is almost 8 minutes long but doesn't really progress at all in that time, just an almost grooving driving beat by Herb. Not very memorable.

Claypool doesn't really exhibit any mindblowing bass abilities, Larry does 1 good guitar solo and some loopy-backwards-floaty effects, and Herb totally let me down because there are none of his absolutely insane drum beats and mind-boggling drum fills anywhere. Also, the production seems to have added this background hiss/fuzz thing, which surprises me a lot as this was recorded in 2003. An expander effect could have eliminated this, it's especially audible at the beginning of The Last Superpower aka Rapscallion. Not the greatest Primus album, but then again this is almost 15 years after the spectacular Suck On This.

Get it, but not for the CD, which is in my opinion one of those CDs you listen to once and then just shelf it. The DVD on the other hand is pretty damn good, and I atleast give them credit for going back into the studio and working out an EP. For that alone, I add a star and we have 3/5 stars.

In 2003, hte original recording lineup of Primus, consisting of bassist/vocalist Les Claypool, guitarist Larry "Ler" LeLonde, and Tim Alexander reconvened to record an album eight years since the same lineup released an album (that album was Tales From the Punchbowl) that would be a short thirty minute EP and a DVD consisting of all Primus music videos and many other rarities and assorted video treats. The style of this album is actually unlike any Primus album before it, with most songs experimenting with floating guitar patterns and fuzzy fretless sounding bass and more psychedelic tinges. All of the pieces have their own flare, their own identity, but on the whole some of them just seem to have some padding in them, but of course those padded sections are mainly for purposes when they would play live and extend those songs and improvise from that point on. But beside that, there isn't a lot that can be said negatively about this EP.

The first song is The Carpenter and the Dainty Bride, opening with some sparse and modulated bass tones that have a definite ring and echo to them. A monotone bass beat that keeps a droning groove and a the bass sound has rubbery fretless feel to it. Some repetitive vocals and lyrics somewhat bring down the piece, but for the most part it's pretty enjoyable (I'm quite fond of the guitar work, which ranges from Frippian dissonance to heavy block chords). Pilcher's Squad is a short and concise piece that has some great work on all member's parts. Pieces like this can always be found on Primus albums to add a bit of humor to the foray. There's a nice little bit towards the beginning of the first minute where Claypool yells out, "Go Ler", followed by a three or four second dissonant guitar solo (which has a great Fripp vibe), followed by, "Thanks Ler". The lyrics are quite nice and the vocals are also nice as well. Mary the Ice Cube is a little ditty about an ice cube with some great rubbery bass lines and an interesting underlying guitar motif and percussive pattern.

The Last Superpower aka Rapscallion is the group's venture into more psychedelic overtones, with echoed and touchy bass tapping from Claypool and some mixed percussion from Alexander. During the vocal parts, LeLonde's guitar tone is very ethereal and not really in your face, and his chord based approach (except the acoustic arpeggio based introduction) really helps the song more than hurt it. It's probably the most progressive piece on the album and the live versions are great with superb extensions during the mixed percussion bits. My Friend Fats ends the EP portion of the set with a monotonous and consistent drum beat from Alexander, and though the piece doesn't really evolve much (or at all in truth), it's still a fun listen with some nice bass tapping from Claypool during the instrumental breakdowns (and his solo towards the end is also superb, but better represented live).

In the end, most of these songs seem to be rough blueprints for some serious live additions, extensions, etc. They're not bad by any means, but they aren't the best Primus has come up with and some may not like the repetitive nature of the album. I will say, though, that the DVD accompanied with this EP is rather nice, but you'll have tor read about that in my review for that. 3/5.

I was very excited to hear in 2003 that one of my favorite bands is reuniting and with it's original line up too, which I consider as their best. Tim Alexander was back after 8 years of not recording with the band, things were looking good and I thought an album is on it's way, so I waited and waited but it never happened. Aside from Green Naugahyde which came out last year this EP is the only recording by Primus since 1999, along with this came out their first DVD which carries the same title name.

The music on this EP is quite different than anything we have heard by the band, it is still Primus with their distinct style and sound but it is more psychedelic and less quirky than before. Everybody is in great shape and the playing is like I expected it to be, amazing! though this is not the best Primus material ever it is still good and worth checking out if you are already a fan. This EP contains 5 songs, everyone of them featuring Les Claypool's imaginative and stellar bass work in addition to his totally weird singing and tone, I love this dude. Larry Lalonde is as quirky as always fitting to the music like a glove, he manages to be interesting and delivers some cool passages and all kinds of runs and solos, never standing in the way of the mighty bass. Tim Alexander is more eclectic than before but it's not his best work with the band.

'The Carpenter and the Dainty Bride' starts out very good with one of the coolest bass riffs played by Claypool, it then continues on and sounds like something out of Pork Soda with it's weird guitar line. If you missed Lalonde's psychedelic solos a la Frizzled Fry, you can have another taste here with a great trippy solo, very good song overall with fantastic bass throughout. 'Pilcher's Squad' is a 2 minute song which at first I thought was just a throw away but after a few listens I began to like it more with it's fast and weird rhythm, I especially like the part when Les is going "Go Ler" and Lalonde transform himslef into Fripp just to nail you with a 5 seconds of dissonant heaven run, followed by "Thanks Ler..." it always cracks me up. 'Mary the Ice Cube' was the band's official website opening tune, with that cute bass line. Cool song with silly lyrics about an ice cube gone to oblivion. 'The Last Superpower aka Rapscallion' holds another groovy bass riff and goes to a different direction half way through which takes the song to a more progy psychy realm. 'My Friend Fats' has a steady beat led by Alexander, he is really good here although he keeps the beat pretty straight forward, excellent performance by the two other members, as they keep the psychedelic playing going on, Lalonde is fantastic reminding me a lot of Fripp with his dissonant and unusual solos also goes for Claypool which is a master no doubt about it.

I wouldn't say this is the best place to start with but it's definitely worth checking out, this EP was followed with an 8 years of silence by the band as they all went for other projects, I'm glad they are back now and hope they are here to stay a little longer.

After 8 years, the original line up of Primus got back together and in 2003, released an EP/DVD package. Les called this package a new EP of 5 new songs, which it is, where they also include a DVD of neat videos. The DVD, of course, ended up getting the credit for the release as being the main thing in this package. But to the true fans, the EP was the real treat. Imagine, 5 new songs with the original line up of Primus. This is also my highlight of the package, I could care less about the DVD.

So is the EP great then?

Is it worth buying the entire package for 5 songs?

Who are you and why are you asking me these questions and how did you hijack my review?

Let's just act like the above never happened shall we? The EP is the fun Primus back again, but it is also the jamming part of Primus too, not just the "play the song and get it over with" Primus. Primus pretty much takes off where they left off with an interest in doing the jamming thing ala "Grateful Dead'' and "Phish" style. But they also add that fun element back in, as proven in the tracks "Pitcher's Squad" and "Mary the Ice Cube". But they expand songs too, plus add in some really cool progressive elements in "The Last Superpower aka Rapscallion" and "My Friend Fats". These last two songs are the best part of the EP and together they make up over 14 minutes of this EP which is a little over half of it, at least to me they are the best part of it. The other tracks are great, but these 2 are both 5 star material. Overall, though, this ends up being a 4 star affair. I would have liked to have a few more tracks on there leaning more towards the progressive side, but I still think this one is worth looking up.

If you haven't heard a lot of Primus, this is a great introduction, and you don't have to sacrifice much as far as time goes because it is an EP. It will give you a good idea of what you will hear in their albums, some of which are definite 5 star material, like "Sailing the Seas of Cheese" and "...Punchbowl". I love this band, regardless, and personally think Les Claypool is a genius. Besides, many of his influences are the same as mine.