Disco de Primus: “Animals Should Not Try to Act Like People”

CD: Not to undermine the awesome drumming of Brain but having Tim back behind the kit brings back the chemistry and intensity of the original Primus. From "The Carpenter and The Dainty Bride" to "My Friend Fats" these songs never slow down or grow repetitive. And in my humble opinion "Mary The Ice Cube" is one of the best songs Primus has ever written....Les' echoing bass sounds excellent!!!!!!

DVD: When you watch this you will know that the utmost care has been taken to bring you this high quality DVD. I really dig the unique layout of the main menu, it looks great and is accentuated with some of Lance "Link" Montoyas weird and very detailed cartoonish sculptures. All of the Primus music videos are here, which is great considering that some of my VHS copies of old Primus videos are very, very worn. There are some of the music videos that contain commentary by the band, "Tommy the Cat", "DMV", "My Name Is Mud", "Jerry Was A Racecar Driver", "Wynona's Big Brown Beaver" and "Mr. Krinkle". Not only do you have all that but also you have the "making of...." videos, interviews, live performances and rare stuff that not many people have seen.

So, there you have it. I'm extremely pleased with "Animals Should Not Try To Act Like People" and needless to say if you're reading this you probably will be too. Oh and a quick thanks to my brother-in-law, John, for getting my wife and I tickets to Primus on Oct. 18 your generosity is greatly appreciated.

This is a great album. Even if you haven't heard of, or haven't really gotten into them very much, this album is great to get started to!

DVD: (Music videos)

CD: (New Studio Recordings)

All in all this album just plain ROCKS!!!

Hi there ladies and gentlemen,

Very rarely do I come on amazon to write a serious review. I usually use my writing abilities to disgrace awful movies (see "Cocktail"). I'm here this evening to express my sheer love for "Animals Should Not Try to Act Like People."

Being a very large Primus fan, I was anticipating this release for 7 months or so. I've been yearning for some new Primus for 4 years now and thankfully that wait is over. The only question that remained was the following: will it be any good?

The answer: YES!!!!!!!!! I worship this CD/DVD with every fiber in my body. The DVD is just amazing. There are so many awesome feautres on it. You get all the Primus videos, live videos, rare performances (circa 1988.....Les, Todd Huth, and Jay Lane), behind the scenes goofiness, pictures, discographies, easter eggs, cool menus, and some pretty funny commentary on the videos. I love the DVD very much. Even Alex Lifeson has a little cameo on the DVD from some video they did back in 96 or 97. Alex Lifeson is quite the funny guy in addition to being one of the best guitarists ever.

The thing I love most about this package is the 5 new songs. They are just amazing beyond anything. I love each Primus album and can never really choose a favourite. Recently it's been Frizzle Fry, because of the song "Frizzle Fry." These 5 songs are, in my opinion, the hallmark of their careers to this point. Each piece is well organized, well executed, and they sound amazing. Les' bass playing pushes the limits yet again. His greatness knows no bounds and that's evident with the opening song, "The Carpenter and The Dainty Bride." I feel that it is by far the best song amongst the 5. The opening bass part draws me in and doesn't let go. I get goose bumps listening to how amazing Les is.

Then there is the playing of Ler and Tim. Ler has reached an all time high with his guitarmanship. No one in the world compliments Les as well as Larry does. Larry knows exactly what the song needs and when it needs it. The man is a genius guitarist, but he never gets any recognition. Instead your Kurt Cobains (most overrated guitarist in the history of time), Tom Morellos, Dave Matthews, etc. get all this credit for pushing the limits of guitar playing, but great players like Ler, Robert Fripp, Adrian Belew, Eric Johnson, Alex Lifeson, John Petrucci, etc. go unnoticed because they aren't part of a humungously popular group. That just shows you what people know.

For 3 years after Punchbowl the Primus drum throne was borrowed by Brain. Brain is an alright drummer, but he doesn't have near the feel that Tim does. Tim, like Ler, knows how to jam with Les. With Brain the drum parts seemed forced and mechanical, but there's more of a flow with Tim behind the drum kit. It has been my opinion for a long time that Tim grooves better than any drummer out there. That, and he has the best double bass ever. But the double bass has been pushed aside in their latest work and I think it works out great. Tim is really just grooving to the best of his ability in the 5 new songs. Just listen to how well he and Les compliment each other on the 1st track.

The other 4 songs are almost as incredible as "The Carpenter and The Dainty Bride," but I'm just really in love with that particular song.

"Pilcher's Squad" is the shortest track by far, but it's very energetic and very fun. Tim displays some double bass beauty in this song. Larry has an amazing 5 second "solo" during the middle of the song. It's fast and furious (please don't think that I'm making a reference to that awful movie) and incredible. Not too many guitarists out there would have thought to have done what Ler does.

"Mary the Ice Cube" is the 3rd song and it's quite sober compared to the rest of the songs.......or is it? It starts off all mellow and whatnot, but then it becomes quite dark and harsh. Some very nice delay and such on Les' bass. I find it funny that someone can write such an awesome song about an ice cube (only Primus).

"The Last Superpower aka Rapscallion" is the 4th track and it's quite the track. It starts off slow with a nice guitar intro that sounds like something out of Diablo II. Then the madness soon insues. Les chimes in with a very nice bass effect that sounds like a bell, kind of like a warning. Then his nice low end bass comes in, Tim hits a cymbal, and then the onslaught of music starts. Nice distorted guitar riff from Ler. Half way through the song they convert to a pseudo-raggae part (at least that's what it seems like to me). Very fun song.

Lastly is "My Friend Fats." Very nice song with lots of nice effects. Les' bass work is quite dandy on this track. Tim has a nice drum intro as well as outro. Larry and Tim really compliment each other well on this one. Great song.

Every song has fun lyrics which should go without saying seeing as how this is Primus.

What's the most impressive thing about the album? How much these three gents have matured. You can tell that they've each grown a lot in the interim 7 years since their last joint venture. They've matured for the better because this is their best work ever. The music is consistantly incredible and their skill as artists never ceases to amaze me.

If you like Primus......buy this!!!!!!!! The price is unbeatable. If you don't like the music you've always got the DVD to fall back on. You come out ahead either way.

Thank you for coming back and giving us this amazing gift Primus. You've brought much joy to this young man's heart.

Adios muchachos.

I have listened to the new E.P. 3 times so far, and I like it a lot. Being a Primus fan since 1991, this review might seem a little biased, but I think I can give this E.P. an HONEST review. I'm not going to give an in-depth review because I barely got the E.P. today (thank you so much Kacey for giving me a promotional copy 5 days early!!!)The songs don't sound like any other Primus songs. That's not to say that they aren't good. It's quite the opposite. You can tell these three guys have grown and are full of energy. The new tracks are unusually long, but that's a good thing. Any Primus fan should enjoy this set. The DVD is pretty cool too. It has all the music videos and lots of live footage from back in the old days to the present. So, all primus fans will not regret buying this. It's awesome. So here's a recap of what I think:

The Carpenter and The Dainty Wife - Awesome

DVD - A must have!!!!

So buy it!!!!!!!!

I am a huge Primus fan, especially the older stuff with Herb on drums, but really, I am not that impressed by this cd musically.

I still like it, I love the price and the combo here, but overall the new music is okay, but nothing really stands out to me about it, nothing really grabs me, it is just kind of the same things over and over again.

As much as I love "Sailing" and "Pork Soda", this cd really does not add much to the overall Primus musical abilities.

It still has killer bass lines and some fun songs and if you are a Primus fan, then you really have to check it out. All I am saying though is that if you do not expect too much, you won't be disappointed, but if you expect something awesome, you might be.