PRIMUS & THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY WITH THE FUNGI ENSEMBLE

Primus And The Chocolate Factory. This is how the soundtrack would've been reflected had Willy Wonka laced his fantastic candies with LSD........ Here, Primus' Les Claypool has re-imagined the musical backing of Gene Wilder's 1971 classic fantasy film Charlie And The Chocolate Factory. And let's welcome back drummer Tim (Herb) Alexander, who seems to come and go as he pleases. What an eccentric collection of pieces this release contains. Typically quirky, 'out-there' and rather complex, nothing is 'normal' when it comes to Primus. This is one, curious band that's certainly difficult to classify. Also featuring the 'Fungi Ensemble' (Matt Dillon - Tabla, Vibraphone, Marimba) and Sam Bass ('Cello), the songs mainly feature Les on his upright bass, with sparse appearances with his resonator and regular electric basses, Tim playing his kit and nik-naks like how an orchestral percussionist would, Ler playing his skewed guitar lines as usual, and contributing lead-vocals (!) to a track. Let's just say that this album is a blast - it's pure humour, joy, and very Primus. Only Les can get away with twisting and old-fashioned classic into such a modern sounding, freaky extravaganza. And even my 14 y.o. neice gets a kick out of this one. Mostly made up of shorter, incidental links, main tracks that are stretched out beyond the 4 minute mark stand on their own as only Primus can arrange - heavy, avante and plain weird. Classic examples being the manic intensity of Candy Man and the child-like glee of Golden Ticket (traditional Primus). These 2 tracks are pure-gold, just like the ticket !! Elsewhere you can hear the Wonka 'magic' of Cheer Up Charlie, Pure Imagination, Semi-Wondrous Boat Ride and Wonkmobile, interspersed with the various Oompa- Loompa ditties offering the amusing lyrics (especially presented with Claypool's nutty delivery), and various instrumental snippets. I should mention that the Hello Wonkites and Farewell Wonkites pieces remind me of the intro of Pink Floyd's Dogs Of War track. This album may not be the funkified metal extravaganza their fans have been waiting for in the wake of the cool Green Naugahyde album, but it's still has enough fun/enjoyment, and replay value for me to give it a 4th star. And the 'Chocolate' brown vinyl makes it even more delectable......