Disco de Primus: “Frizzle Fry”

All I wrote about was the sheer joy of this album. I remember jamming in my basement on Groundhog Day for hours. This is great music. GREAT MUSIC! It's so innocent. It's so positive! And so much fun. So, to the early 20's student type who says these guys are "way overrated", I have news for you. You are lame. You're bitter because no one wants to hear John Zorn or Bela Fleck, or Wanko Pastorius. I mean, I've seen Victor Wooten waste the time of 3,000 people who wanted only to dance. And Jaco Pastorius was simply a (rhymes with tanker, starts with w) who couldn't loosen up enough to be half-interesting. This, however, is a band that took polyrhythm, polytonality, mad-chops-of-the-non-Bach-n-Roll-school, and a silly sci-fi sense of humor and made it all cool. Nerds, hippies, jocks, artists, stoners all got into this band. It was wonderful! It was populism on the move! It was the early nineties and things were good. As history writes its little footnote on the early days of this great band, many things will be forgotten. They will be pigeonholed as a cross between Rush and Zappa. No one will remember a delirious crowd shouting "Primus Sucks!", or the mosh pits that were actually fun and basically safe to be in. Long gone will be the good-natured chuckle of that "Damn blue-collared tweeker" who made us all feel a bit better. But I'll never forget the great times I've had with this raw, wild, pure music. They're not overrated. Being a sad, hateful snob with no sense of joy or humor is overrated. Anyone who can create fun interesting music for a diverse fan base is doing something very right. Hatin' on Primus is very wrong. If you see these: [ ], this review has been doctored.

Frizzle Fry is still my favorite Primus album. "To defy the laws of tradition is a crusade only of the brave." And Les and friends are truly brave. With this recording, Primus invented a sound all their own. Les Claypool's style is so unconventional and Tim Alexander is one of the most innovative drummers in the business. Together, they created some extremely original grooves. It's a kind of funk metal hybrid, but primarily, it's just Primus.

Although Alexander is really the best player here, Claypools originality catapulted him to Bass Icon. I think it was cool to see someone like Less get some credit for doing something unique with the instrument. Most bass icons are technically brilliant, but ultimately musically lacking players like Victor Wooten or Billy Sheehan or whomever.

This is the best Primus recording. The live release, "Suck on This," is also great, as is "Sailing the Seas of Cheese," albeit in a completely different way. "Pork Soda" has it's incredible moments, but I lost interest after that. After Brain Replaced Tim Alexander, the band lost something. Frizzle Fry is Primus at its freshest and most unabashed. It still sounds relevant all these years later.

Never mind what the critics say: this is undoubtedly Primus' best work. The complex bass, frantic guitar, tasteful yet technical drumming and the sense of wacky abandon are all present and accounted for. However, insted of the progressive tendencies or experimentation of their next few records, this is pure FUNK rock. It's all about Les' GROOVE. Firzzle Fry is chock full of Primus classics. Let's go through the list.

"To Defy The Laws Of Tradition" - One of the new songs written for the record when it came out, this is a funky fan favorite that the Chili Pepper's wished they could have written.

"Groundhog's Day" - An older song, it starts out bluesy and light-hearted with goofy lyrics, but when Les begins the bridge by screaming "MY DAYYY!!!", it turns into a chunk of funk-metal that will get both dance floors and mosh pits going.

"Too Many Puppies" - Another new song. Although this iis a bonafide Primus classic, it is kinda repetitive, and I tend to skip know that I know it so well.

"Mr. Knowitall" - Actually, I don't really like this song, but you might. Rocking with some nasal vocals.

"Frizzle Fry" - Ridiculously underrated, the title track is some surreal psychadelia with excellent lyrics. Don't skip it just cause its kinda slow.

"John The Fisherman" - This is one of Primus' oldest songs, and is part one of the legendary "Fisherman's Chronicles" trilogy. Killer vibrato bass, a badass guitar riff from Ler, and the wonderful storytelling that is a Primus trademark. Also the band's first music video.

"You Can't Kill Michael Malloy" - a weird, 30-second instrumental played by a toy symphony.

"The Toys Go Winding Down" - Starts nice and happy, then turns into probably the most sinister song on the album. However, as soon as Seas Of Cheese and Pork Soda came out, that changed pretty quick.

"Pudding Time" - Lyrics-wise, this a perfect examply of the early, goofy Primus, before the lyrics moved into the realm of dark humor. Which one is more effective is up for debate, but this a funk-metal spinner.

"Sathington Willoby" - Just hear it.

"Spegetti Western" - That's not a typo, that's how they spell it. Maybe cause they were on a lot of acid at the time. Anyway, this an almost progressive tune in its musical complexity, and the spoken world vocals are a tribute to lazy, unemployed stoners everywhere.

"Harold Of The Rocks" - Another old song, this is a classic, and for good reason. The story is fabulous, and the music is beyond funky. However, the last minute is quite possibly the greatest piece of music I've ever heard. Just listen to it.

"To Defy" - A brief remix of the opener.

If you wanna hear Primus not so proggy and a lot more funky, pick this up. PRIMUS SUCKS!

Or maybe sailing the seas of cheese is? but either way it doesn't matter because they are both great. Primus are both extremely talented and extremely unique and anyone who likes weird music should check out this album because they're a great crazy band and this is a great crazy album. Best songs are groundhogs day, frizzle fry, john the fisherman and harold of the rocks. Buy this album.

This is Primus' masterpiece in my opinion. I love every song on here with my fave being "Frizzle Fry". This album is basically a funky-punky good time. One other note is the other two memebers of the group shine on this album. Larry and Tim are two of the most overlooked and underrated people in music.