MISCELLANEOUS DEBRIS

You wouldn't know it, but Primus has an eclectic range of influences and this album (and Rhinoplasty from 1998) is a dedication and a veneration to the artists that made Primus who they are. Although it is ridiculously short (not even reaching twenty minutes) there are some really cool renditions of some really great pieces by some really great bands here. It's not the best album, mind you, it's not even close to a masterpiece, but some of the pieces here really are fantastic renditions.

Opening with the superb Peter Gabriel track Intruder (off of his third solo album), from the get go I was captivated. It's really a nice rendition, although Claypool's vocals aren't as superb as Gabriel's and the sound isn't as full as the original (or even the live versions) version recorded by Peter Gabriel all those years ago. Making Plans for Nigel is a song from XTC, and while it's not a great song to begin with, they try their best to make it work. Sinister Exaggerator is an old Residents song (they would also have two Residents songs as a bonus on their reissue of Frizzle Fry). It's a zany piece and it's pretty good, but I'm not so sure about this one. Tippi Toes is a song from the group The Meters. . The EP ends with Pink Floyd's Have a Cigar, Claypool and co. doing their best to do justice on the original, and although there are some altered lyrics and LeLonde's solo is a bit underwhelming at points (especially towards the end where it seems to fade off into nowhere), it's a pretty solid cover with a terrific bass performance from Claypool.

In the end, Miscellaneous Debris is not a bad album, but it's not great, it's too short, and most of the songs are ok at best. Thankfully the opener and closer were fantastic songs to begin with so I liked those right from the get go. If you like Peter Gabriel and want to hear interesting renditions of his pieces, you may like this album (along with Rhinoplasty, which has The Family and The Fishing Net on it), same goes with Pink Floyd fans. Me? I wasn't terribly impressed but at least two of the songs really captivated me. 2.5/5.