Track Listing

1. Professor Nutbutter's House of Treats
2. Mrs. Blaileen
3. Wynona's Big Brown Beaver
4. Southbound Pachyderm
5. Space Farm
6. Year of the Parrot
7. Hellbound 17 1/2 (Theme From)
8. Glass Sandwich
9. Del Davis Tree Farm
10. De Anza Jig
11. On the Tweek Again
12. Over the Electric Grapevine
13. Captain Shiner

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #32971 in Music
• Brand: Primus
• Released on: 1995-06-06
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Enhanced
• Dimensions: .22 pounds

Amazon.com
The task: to explain to the uninitiated as well as those in the know what the new Primus record sounds like. Mission impossible. A discourse on quantum physics would probably make more sense. Weird, obviously, is a given. Reading Les Claypool's lyrics and listening to his Elmer Fudd vocals and indescribable slap-and-slash bass, one gets the sense that he's completely immersed in his own strange world. Though the album doesn't exclude the average listener (everyone is welcome!), those without an open mind will certainly feel as if they're missing the punch line of a particularly hilarious in-joke. Lovable and bizarre, Tales from the Punchbowl is a much fuller record than the band's previous release, Pork Soda. Guitarist Larry "Ler" LaLonde and drummer Tim "Herb" Alexander provide some of their finest work, and together this whack-assed trio deconstructs funk, prog rock, and metal into a neat little pile of junk that it reassembles into a variety of nutty musical caricatures. --Adem Tepedelen

Customer Reviews

Gnklsplunkphrgl; kerchock!
Before you read my review, keep in mind that my taste is Led Zeppelin, Elvis Costello, Van Morrison, David Bowie, Police, and Talking Heads... I absolutely loved EVERY track on this album and I don't hesitate to put it right up there with my favorites. The bass guitar on this album is just rivetting, it never fails to amaze me! The lyrics lack profundity (which not everyone cares for anyway), but they are unparalleled in entertainment value: "...watched him snort a milkshake right up his nose; he slurped it up the left side, and blew it out the right side..." They have huge variety without losing their unique style. I think they're one of a kind, because when I try to pinpoint their similarities with other bands, I'm either speechless, or I'm naming every other band from NOFX to Harry Choates. It's absurd, frightening, hilarious, and even inspirational at times. It provides what few other musical artists can: a natural feel. No fake stuff, no emotional sap, no presumptiousness, no hatred, no love, just natural talent. But don't get me wrong, this is not a serious album. You can stick it in your stereo no matter how you feel, but be prepared to feel both absurd and impressed by the time it's over. This is one of the best albums I have ever heard.

Funktastic
Primus is probably one of the most eclectic and original bands to ever gain any great degree of popularity, and better yet, they haven't let the fame destroy their integrity. Just about everything they've put out has been great, and they're always loads of fun.

"Tales from the Punchbowl" is an album that has garnered some mixed reviews among the fans, and I really have no idea why. The common argument is that it's not a match for such classics as "Pork Soda" or "Sailing the Seas of Cheese", and while that may be pretty hard to argue with, this is an excellent album in its own right. As always, they churn out bizarre rhythms, wacky lyrics and vocals, and funky grooves.

The cool thing about Primus is that while they are a very goofy and fun-loving band, there seems to be an underlying seriousness to their music as well, sometimes even dark and disturbing. "Mrs. Blaileen" is a chilling tale of a tormented child who murders one of his classmates, and "Professor Nutbutter's House of Treats" seems to have an obscure reference to child molestation. "Year of the Parrot" has a great message about plagiarism in music, which is especially significant, considering that Primus were doing their own thing in a time when bands were all starting to sound the same.

There's tons of greatness here. "Wynona's Big Brown Beaver" is a classic, with an impossibly infectious groove, and pretty hilarious lyrics. "Southbound Pachyderm" is sort of strangely melodic, and hypnotically catchy. "On the Tweek Again" has a SICK bass groove, with Tim Alexander's octopus-like drumming weaving about the groovin'. "Captain Shiner" and "De Anza Jig" are short little banjo-driven bits, with Les Claypool's wacky bluegrassy vocals. There's really not a bad song on here. This is extremely progressive, but still very catchy despite the madness.

Primus is chief. Succumb to their mighty funk power now.

Primus [stinks]!
There are many people who find this to be one of the low points of Primus. Maybe it's just the kind of album that polarizes one's opinion, because I find it to be their finest moment. It has the same hilarious, kooky elements that made us laugh and scratch our heads on their previous albums, but this time they actually dare to be musical. I can't say this band has demonstrated themselves as the most talented in the world, save Claypool's crazy bass chops, but this album shows the other two players in the band showing us what they've got. Not always successful in that display, but hey, it's Primus. The songs range from the suggestive (Wynona's Big Brown Beaver), to the hilarious (DeAnza Jig), to the trippy (On the Tweek Again), to the completely random (Space Farm), to the even more trippy (Over the Electric Grapevine). The opening track is a perfect start for an album that turns into a mosh-pit of all sorts of different musical styles after two minutes. Claypool's catalogue of voices breathe the life into many of the songs, turning what would be bland and boring into something that makes you wet yourself from laughter. The art on the CD insert only ads to this. Herb's drum tricks are actually noteworthy on some of the songs, and Ler's guitar is even noticeable on most tracks! This album is a tossed salad of funk and junk that is the acid-induced crowning achievement of a band that's more out there than Saturn!