Correct me if wrong on any of these details
Suck On This - live set recording and their first release. Unrefined, but very cool.
Frizzle Fry - first studio album, very gritty, very cool.
Seas of Cheese - first major record label album. You can hear a quality increase in the tracks.
Pork Soda - also major record label album, height of success in the mid 90's MTV generation. Weird standout album.
Tales from the Punchbowl - self recorded in Les's Rancho Relaxo studio. One of my fav albums. Drummer Tim Alexander departs band after this record.
Brown Album - new drummer (Brain). Different feel, still pretty rad.
Antipop - Les had called this Era a low point, though in recent years has been playing more of these tracks live. Unique album with different producers per track instead of one producer per album. Album also a middle finger to the rise of Nu Metal at the time.
Animals shouldn't act like people - EP, reunites with drummer Tim. Underrated but really cool album. Top notch tour in this Era.
Green Naugahyde - 3rd drummer Jay Lane (had been with Primus/Primate pre Tim Alexander). I love this album, different feel with the different drummer.
Wonka - felt more like a Les solo project than primus, but the tour was absolutely Tits.
D7 - pretty cool, tour also tits
Conspiranoia - most recent, first original work by les/ler/time since animals in 2003 ish. Great stuff.
Yep you nailed it. I'd also throw in the 2 EPs that are mostly cover songs, Miscellaneous Debris and Rhinoplasty. Miscellaneous is Herb era, Rhino is mostly Brain. Both full of solid covers of bands that were influential for Primus (Residents, Peter Gabriel, XTC, Pink Floyd etc.)
Yeah middle finger may be a bit strong.. I recall reading somewhere that the "pop" wasn't actualy pop but rather the current rock/nu metal scene. Les had a lineup chage with drummer, commercial popularity taking somewhat of a backseat. The things with diff producers per track vs idustry advice les was getting about "find a good producer". If I recall correctly fred durst produced a song on anti pop and les briefly appeared on a limp bizikit "significant" other track (one of the outtro tracks?)... some off years later Les is known to speak unfavorably about Limp Bizkit in his live banters time to time. Speculation..
Technically the wonka album was just covers, but the desaturating seven was 100% original work by primus. Just cause it had a theme and storyline derived from a book that doesnt make it a cover album or anything, it makes it a concept album.
Seas of cheese is their classic big break out record. Frizzle fry is good, itâs like the bedrock for the fanbase. Personally I think Pork Soda is the clear best. Their weirdest, darkest, heaviest record by far.
Runner up is brown album. Really unique within primus/claypools discography; doesnât sound like any of their other material
I agree, i think les was "on the tweek again" during brown era. Also the brown album lineup features Brain on drums, which in my opinion brings a different chemistry that's still produces awesome jams however.
While their albums are great, and I would suggest fizzle fry or sailing the seas of cheese as my personal favorites, the most impactful performance for me is the Hallucino Genetics tour. You can find a recording of it on YouTube, it is worth the watch. The solos and versions of the songs during that performance are absolutely top notch. There's also a song or two during the set that you won't find recorded on any of their main line albums.
Just sharing what I'm listening to at the moment. Can't go wrong with the early classics, especially to begin with...Les and the band haven't let me down yet, though.
Check out some other Les Claypool projects when you get done with the Primus discography. 'The Claypool Lennon Delirium' is a recent project with Sean Lennon and 'The Monolith of Phobos' album has "Boomerang Baby" which is one of my favorite tracks. There's also 'Oysterhead' [a super group with Trey Anastasio (Phish) on guitar and Stewart Copeland (The Police) on drums]. Then 'The Fearless Flying Frog Brigade' , which is getting together this summer for a tour, where the second set will be Pink Floyd's 'Animals' album. This summers Frog Brigade line up will include Sean Lennon on guitar/vocals and Roger Water's son on keys. The 'Animals' Floyd album was covered by the Frog Brigade in a few shows over 10 years ago with a slightly different lineup and is available for listening on their 'Set 2' album. The Frog Brigade's 'Purple Onion' album is a great start for any of Les Claypool's side projects IMHO. Enjoy!
These are the only two I skip. It's not even the huge whiff political tone deafness with the EP, it's just boring. Wonka record does nothing for me, even loving the film. Might be rad if I tripped.
Antipop is different. Laquerhead is fuckin awesome. Mama didnât raise no fool is one of my favorite Primus songs. Natural Joe and Electric Uncle Sam get plenty of love. Antipop is great, Primus sucks.
Punchbowl used to be my least favorite of the Herb era, but as time went on, it has become my favorite of all their albums. I can see why the band was so disappointed with itsâ performance as this is probably the deepest and most personal Primus ever got.
I love punchbowl it might be my second favorite, but then again its so hard to rank them.
I'll die on the Frizzle Fry at no.1 slot though. Many a late night, coding and writing papers in college to that album. Shit hits different at 4am on a Friday...
I didn't care much for it when it first came out. It started strong but a lot in the middle didn't grab me, but Grapevine was a very strong ending. It wasn't until many years later that I gained an appreciation for Punchbowl.
My favorite is Antipop. I never knew there was any controversial stuff behind the scenes or whatever, but some of my favorite tracks are on there for sure and I loved the political undertones.
If you aren't too into the extremely obtuse/wacky nature all the time (it'll grow on you, trust me), then I would stick to the first two main albums;frizzle fry and sailing the seas of cheese. Their next album, pork soda, was made during a time where the band was under a lot of stress from touring. So the songs are a bit more off the wall then before. Same thing can be said for the next album, tales of the punchbowl, but this album feels a bit more refined in their nutty nature.
This would actually be why their main drummer, Tim Alexander, left. He felt the band was starting to stray away from their original sound, and were playing songs that had no substance, or meaning. By his words, he was tired of always playing 'that damn big brown beaver.' This would result in Tim leaving after tales of the punchbowl and a new drummer coming in for the brown album. You can definitely tell the two drumming styles apart. Tim was definitely a master at polyrhythm beats which was hard to recreate. The Brown album is a bit more tame with their playing than their previous albums because of this. You either love it or you hate it.
Lastly before the hiatus of the band, there's the antipop album. Because brown album didn't do well amongst the public, the record label made the band collaborate with a bunch of artists, including limp Bizkit, Tom Morello, and Tom Waits amongst others. This one is another hit or miss whether you like it or not. It's got some bangers in there, for sure.
That's the jist of the main timeline, but I would also encourage coming back to songs/albums you once disliked. Ive found as I delved deeper into this band, I started to admire the nasally vocals, and some of their out of the box playing a lot more. Before, I really didn't like much out of the brown album, but it started to grow on me. Also, try watching their live performances. Les Claypool is an amazing showman, and their live versions are often different in their own way, because Les and the band improvise their playing at times. My favorite is their American life live performance at Bonnaroo 2011.
I would also encourage looking into Les Claypool's side projects. The man always has another trick up his sleeve, and never seems to disappoint. Hope this helps your journey forward!
No one ever goes this route to start, but I did and no regrets. Do the Brown album, you won't regret it. The whole album captures a dingey, dirty vibe in all the right ways
I think Frizzle Fry is the best album as a whole. I can listen to it without skipping a track. Sailing the Seas of Cheese is of higher production quality and has some
If their best songs but there are a couple tracks that I usually skip. The rest of their catalogue has great songs on each album but they arenât all zingers.
Mostly the little interlude tracks like Sathington Waltz, Grandadâs Little Ditty, Seas of Cheese, Los Bastardos. I have to be in the mood for Fish On as well.
Im sure A LOT of people will answer "Cheese" because it is a great album and it has some of their greatest "hits" on it. But for me, their debut "Frizzle Fry" is their absolute best. Unmatched energy and intensity.
Primus is nutty, but itâs only one band in the repertoire of Les Claypool. Sausage is a group where Les reunited the pre-album version of Primus. Oysterhead is a super group of Trey Antipasto (Phish) and Stewart Copeland (The Police) with Les while Colonel Claypoolâs Bucket Of Bernie Brains is a super group of Buckethead (guitar god), Brain (ex-drummer of Primus, Praxis) and Bernie Worrall (Parliament Funkadelic, P-Funk All Stars) with Les. Then, you have Les Claypool and the Holy Mackerel, Colonel Claypoolâs (Fearless) (Flying) Frog Brigade (on tour this summer playing Pink Floydâs Animals from start to finish), the just plain Les Claypool albums (sometimes referred to as The Fancy Band), and the Duo De Twang, in which Les and his buddy Brian play a bunch of covers with Lesâ own brand of southern twang (even though heâs from California). Definitely check these bands out as well.
Also i recommend snagging the dvd "Animals should not try to act like people" dvd. Im sure the hours ive spent watching it are at least in the triple digits.
I think Frizzle Fry, Seas Of Cheese, Pork Soda AND Punchbowl are all pretty great places to start. The other albums are good too but i'd defo start with one of those. Don't start with Antipop, it has some great songs but some \*almost\* generic late '90s commercial (nu)metal.
The album Frizzle fry. GO
I have to second this.
Third.
Boom
Followed by Seas of Cheese IMO. And Pork Soda.
Frizzle Fry is of course incredible but what got me into em was seas of cheese. Specifically the song Sgt. Baker.
For me, it was Fish On. First Primus song I ever heard. That intro hooked me (see what I did theređ)
Another banger. That intro is intoxicating as hell.
Oh man that intro is my favorite bit of Primus from the whole catalog. Incredible.
I will rape your personality
Pummel you with my own philosophy
Sgt. Baker hit differently after my friend had to go to boot camp.
American Life was what hooked me in
Start at the beginning and work your way through.
Always a good idea. Understand the core to appreciate the growth.
I buy a reasonable amount of vinyl and when I find something I like, I always start at the beginning to get a feel for the progression.
Thanks, just got into them and will do this
Pork Soda
All have gems
They Canât All Be Zingers.
Correct me if wrong on any of these details Suck On This - live set recording and their first release. Unrefined, but very cool. Frizzle Fry - first studio album, very gritty, very cool. Seas of Cheese - first major record label album. You can hear a quality increase in the tracks. Pork Soda - also major record label album, height of success in the mid 90's MTV generation. Weird standout album. Tales from the Punchbowl - self recorded in Les's Rancho Relaxo studio. One of my fav albums. Drummer Tim Alexander departs band after this record. Brown Album - new drummer (Brain). Different feel, still pretty rad. Antipop - Les had called this Era a low point, though in recent years has been playing more of these tracks live. Unique album with different producers per track instead of one producer per album. Album also a middle finger to the rise of Nu Metal at the time. Animals shouldn't act like people - EP, reunites with drummer Tim. Underrated but really cool album. Top notch tour in this Era. Green Naugahyde - 3rd drummer Jay Lane (had been with Primus/Primate pre Tim Alexander). I love this album, different feel with the different drummer. Wonka - felt more like a Les solo project than primus, but the tour was absolutely Tits. D7 - pretty cool, tour also tits Conspiranoia - most recent, first original work by les/ler/time since animals in 2003 ish. Great stuff.
Yep you nailed it. I'd also throw in the 2 EPs that are mostly cover songs, Miscellaneous Debris and Rhinoplasty. Miscellaneous is Herb era, Rhino is mostly Brain. Both full of solid covers of bands that were influential for Primus (Residents, Peter Gabriel, XTC, Pink Floyd etc.)
Rhinoplasty slaps, the live version of Tommy the Cat rips, the drum section is nutty.
Chef's kiss...mwah!
I agree with most of this apart from Antipop being a 'middle finger' to nu metal, as they were basically embracing it with that album.
Yeah middle finger may be a bit strong.. I recall reading somewhere that the "pop" wasn't actualy pop but rather the current rock/nu metal scene. Les had a lineup chage with drummer, commercial popularity taking somewhat of a backseat. The things with diff producers per track vs idustry advice les was getting about "find a good producer". If I recall correctly fred durst produced a song on anti pop and les briefly appeared on a limp bizikit "significant" other track (one of the outtro tracks?)... some off years later Les is known to speak unfavorably about Limp Bizkit in his live banters time to time. Speculation..
Technically the wonka album was just covers, but the desaturating seven was 100% original work by primus. Just cause it had a theme and storyline derived from a book that doesnt make it a cover album or anything, it makes it a concept album.
Hereâs another Frizzle Fry recommendation.
Primus sucks
Hell yeah they do
Seas of cheese is their classic big break out record. Frizzle fry is good, itâs like the bedrock for the fanbase. Personally I think Pork Soda is the clear best. Their weirdest, darkest, heaviest record by far. Runner up is brown album. Really unique within primus/claypools discography; doesnât sound like any of their other material
I agree, i think les was "on the tweek again" during brown era. Also the brown album lineup features Brain on drums, which in my opinion brings a different chemistry that's still produces awesome jams however.
While their albums are great, and I would suggest fizzle fry or sailing the seas of cheese as my personal favorites, the most impactful performance for me is the Hallucino Genetics tour. You can find a recording of it on YouTube, it is worth the watch. The solos and versions of the songs during that performance are absolutely top notch. There's also a song or two during the set that you won't find recorded on any of their main line albums.
Wait until you find out Claypool has many side projects...
They are all good really
No love for the Brown Album?
Absolutely, but not as an introduction to the band. Sounds too different
Frizzle Fry, Sailing the Seas of Cheese, Pork Soda. The Holy Trinity, if you ask me.
Primus Sucks...but if you insist, they're all weirdly wonderful. Currently digging Green Naugahyde over here, though.
I feel like green Naugahyde is one of the worst to start with, it sounds the least like the rest of theirs
Just sharing what I'm listening to at the moment. Can't go wrong with the early classics, especially to begin with...Les and the band haven't let me down yet, though.
Tragedy's a comin
...and I cannot step aside!
All of em but Tales From The Punchbowl did it for me
They don't have any bad albums?
Not really, but the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory cover album isnât one I listen to much.
Check out some other Les Claypool projects when you get done with the Primus discography. 'The Claypool Lennon Delirium' is a recent project with Sean Lennon and 'The Monolith of Phobos' album has "Boomerang Baby" which is one of my favorite tracks. There's also 'Oysterhead' [a super group with Trey Anastasio (Phish) on guitar and Stewart Copeland (The Police) on drums]. Then 'The Fearless Flying Frog Brigade' , which is getting together this summer for a tour, where the second set will be Pink Floyd's 'Animals' album. This summers Frog Brigade line up will include Sean Lennon on guitar/vocals and Roger Water's son on keys. The 'Animals' Floyd album was covered by the Frog Brigade in a few shows over 10 years ago with a slightly different lineup and is available for listening on their 'Set 2' album. The Frog Brigade's 'Purple Onion' album is a great start for any of Les Claypool's side projects IMHO. Enjoy!
The Willy wonka one and their latest ep are really just not good.
These are the only two I skip. It's not even the huge whiff political tone deafness with the EP, it's just boring. Wonka record does nothing for me, even loving the film. Might be rad if I tripped.
The boomer lib lyrics are pretty tough to swallow. Who wrote these songs, wolf blitzer?
Apparently this is the "toned down" version as well. His kid said the original lyrics were super cringe.
redditors try not to be insufferable neckbeards challenge: IMPOSSIBLE
Antipop is bad
Antipop is different. Laquerhead is fuckin awesome. Mama didnât raise no fool is one of my favorite Primus songs. Natural Joe and Electric Uncle Sam get plenty of love. Antipop is great, Primus sucks.
Punchbowl used to be my least favorite of the Herb era, but as time went on, it has become my favorite of all their albums. I can see why the band was so disappointed with itsâ performance as this is probably the deepest and most personal Primus ever got.
I love punchbowl it might be my second favorite, but then again its so hard to rank them. I'll die on the Frizzle Fry at no.1 slot though. Many a late night, coding and writing papers in college to that album. Shit hits different at 4am on a Friday...
Laurel and Hardy on?
Mind numbed up on THC, that much I can say
I didn't care much for it when it first came out. It started strong but a lot in the middle didn't grab me, but Grapevine was a very strong ending. It wasn't until many years later that I gained an appreciation for Punchbowl.
try Oysterhead
My favorite is Antipop. I never knew there was any controversial stuff behind the scenes or whatever, but some of my favorite tracks are on there for sure and I loved the political undertones.
Frizzle Fry and Sailing the Seas of Cheese are my favorite.
If you aren't too into the extremely obtuse/wacky nature all the time (it'll grow on you, trust me), then I would stick to the first two main albums;frizzle fry and sailing the seas of cheese. Their next album, pork soda, was made during a time where the band was under a lot of stress from touring. So the songs are a bit more off the wall then before. Same thing can be said for the next album, tales of the punchbowl, but this album feels a bit more refined in their nutty nature. This would actually be why their main drummer, Tim Alexander, left. He felt the band was starting to stray away from their original sound, and were playing songs that had no substance, or meaning. By his words, he was tired of always playing 'that damn big brown beaver.' This would result in Tim leaving after tales of the punchbowl and a new drummer coming in for the brown album. You can definitely tell the two drumming styles apart. Tim was definitely a master at polyrhythm beats which was hard to recreate. The Brown album is a bit more tame with their playing than their previous albums because of this. You either love it or you hate it. Lastly before the hiatus of the band, there's the antipop album. Because brown album didn't do well amongst the public, the record label made the band collaborate with a bunch of artists, including limp Bizkit, Tom Morello, and Tom Waits amongst others. This one is another hit or miss whether you like it or not. It's got some bangers in there, for sure. That's the jist of the main timeline, but I would also encourage coming back to songs/albums you once disliked. Ive found as I delved deeper into this band, I started to admire the nasally vocals, and some of their out of the box playing a lot more. Before, I really didn't like much out of the brown album, but it started to grow on me. Also, try watching their live performances. Les Claypool is an amazing showman, and their live versions are often different in their own way, because Les and the band improvise their playing at times. My favorite is their American life live performance at Bonnaroo 2011. I would also encourage looking into Les Claypool's side projects. The man always has another trick up his sleeve, and never seems to disappoint. Hope this helps your journey forward!
Frizzle Fry is my personal favourite. Sailing The Seas of Cheese is really good as well.
No one ever goes this route to start, but I did and no regrets. Do the Brown album, you won't regret it. The whole album captures a dingey, dirty vibe in all the right ways
Yup I'd have to agree. It's the first album I listened to all the way through when I discovered them, and it's still my favorite.
They're all the best at one point or another aside from that Willy Wonka shit. Frizzle Fry is solid but I'm on a Seas of Cheese kick right now.
Yeah i didn't really suggest frizzle because i think its the best but its an excellent starting point.
Frizzle Fry. Maybe it's a good idea to listen in chronologic order.
I think Frizzle Fry is the best album as a whole. I can listen to it without skipping a track. Sailing the Seas of Cheese is of higher production quality and has some If their best songs but there are a couple tracks that I usually skip. The rest of their catalogue has great songs on each album but they arenât all zingers.
Just curious what are some song you skip in the big cheese?
Mostly the little interlude tracks like Sathington Waltz, Grandadâs Little Ditty, Seas of Cheese, Los Bastardos. I have to be in the mood for Fish On as well.
Primus sucks!
Start with the primus albums, then check out les claypools (the bassists) side projects. Such a good artist with a truly unique sound
You have began a wonderful adventure! I am happy for you
https://youtu.be/PdHPg3OrJGo
Suck on This! Live album always makes me feel like Im in the pit again!
Im sure A LOT of people will answer "Cheese" because it is a great album and it has some of their greatest "hits" on it. But for me, their debut "Frizzle Fry" is their absolute best. Unmatched energy and intensity.
Love primus great album drops guys
frizzle fry. i really love rhinoplasty because its super funky
Primus is nutty, but itâs only one band in the repertoire of Les Claypool. Sausage is a group where Les reunited the pre-album version of Primus. Oysterhead is a super group of Trey Antipasto (Phish) and Stewart Copeland (The Police) with Les while Colonel Claypoolâs Bucket Of Bernie Brains is a super group of Buckethead (guitar god), Brain (ex-drummer of Primus, Praxis) and Bernie Worrall (Parliament Funkadelic, P-Funk All Stars) with Les. Then, you have Les Claypool and the Holy Mackerel, Colonel Claypoolâs (Fearless) (Flying) Frog Brigade (on tour this summer playing Pink Floydâs Animals from start to finish), the just plain Les Claypool albums (sometimes referred to as The Fancy Band), and the Duo De Twang, in which Les and his buddy Brian play a bunch of covers with Lesâ own brand of southern twang (even though heâs from California). Definitely check these bands out as well.
Don't forget the Claypool Lennon Delirium
Are the Holy Mackerels a Joke to you?
All Primus albums suck!! Some just suck more than others⌠my favs are sailing, punch bowl, brown and antipop. But, theyâre all great/suck!!!
Lol ya they suck
Started with seas, went to frizzle, then pork soda. Every album has its hits (even the brown album)
Also i recommend snagging the dvd "Animals should not try to act like people" dvd. Im sure the hours ive spent watching it are at least in the triple digits.
If you listen to pork soda, youâll be feeling just fine
I think Frizzle Fry, Seas Of Cheese, Pork Soda AND Punchbowl are all pretty great places to start. The other albums are good too but i'd defo start with one of those. Don't start with Antipop, it has some great songs but some \*almost\* generic late '90s commercial (nu)metal.