Tales from the Punchbowl

by Primus

Overview

By now, Primus' modus operandi is clear and well-established: twisted bass/drum grooves reminiscent of King Crimson gone horribly, horribly wrong, insane ringmaster vocals with cartoonish lyrics, and cutting, off-the-wall guitar. There is much unabashed prog rock in Primus' sound, which even the thick dollops of irony that the band seeks to impart to its compositions are unable to mask completely. Primus' musicianship continues to improve, with the intonation of Les Claypool's trademark fretless bass (a sore spot in the past) more spot-on than ever, and guitarist Larry LaLonde's Fripp-isms are truly convincing for the first time. The funk influences that have always been hinted at on previous Primus records seem more convincing here, as Claypool and drummer Tim "Herb" Alexander lay down some extremely grooving figures, as on the Red Hot Chili Peppers-esque "chorus" to "Mrs. Blaileen." Of course, the high-energy angular rhythms that Primus is known and loved for are as present as ever; they are just pulled off with greater zest and looser precision (if there is such a thing) than they have in the past. LaLonde in particular seems to have improved a great deal between Pork Soda and Tales From the Punchbowl. His dissonances seem a bit more calculated and less gratuitous and lazy than they often came off before. With high energy and full of surprises, Tales From the Punchbowl is one of Primus' finer discs. ~ Daniel Gioffre

Product Details

Release Date:	11/30/2018
Label:	Interscope
UPC:	0602557670417
Rank:	19053

Tracks

Disc 1

1. Hellbound 17 1/2 (Theme From)
2. Glass Sandwich
3. Del Davis Tree Farm
4. De Anza Jig
5. On the Tweek Again
6. Over the Electric Grapevine
7. Captain Shiner

Disc 2

8. Professor Nutbutter's House of Treats
9. Mrs. Blaileen
10. Wynona's Big Brown Beaver
11. Southbound Pachyderm
12. Space Farm
13. Year of the Parrot

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Primus   Primary Artist
Larry LaLonde   Banjo,Guitar
Les Claypool   Bass,Banjo,6-String Bass,Fretless Bass,Bass (Upright)
Tim "Herb" Alexander   Drums

Technical Credits

Larry LaLonde   Artwork,Composer,Animation
David Levine   Engineer
Les Claypool   Artwork,Composer,Animation,Art Direction,Creative Director
Primus   Composer,Producer
Robert "Billy" Johnson   Enhanced CD Design
Gary Clayton   Digital Engineer
Reid Lalonde   Composer
Tim "Herb" Alexander   Composer,Drum Samples
Jill Rose   Project Coordinator,Production Coordination
Michael Halsband   Photography
Dan Mevlin   Design
Tom Whalley   A&R
Adam Gates   Artwork,Animation
Jay Blakesberg   Photography
Eric Altenburger   Layout Design
Tim Alexander   Composer
Ty Roberts   Executive Producer
Roger Jones   Engineer,Producer,Technical Director
Albert McNeil   Enhanced CD Design
Timothy Alexander   Composer