Album Review: Primus - Fizzle Fry

ARTIST: Primus

ALBUM: Frizzle Fry

GENRE: Metal, Funk, Stoner, Eclectic

YEAR: 1990

     Although Primus’s true debut came in the form of a ragtag set of live recordings dubbed “Suck on This”, Frizzle Fry was the first time the musical community heard the weirdness in studio. The album begins with a sound clip, presumably from one of their live shows, where drummer Herb Alexander sloppily whacks out the unmistakable intro riff to Rush’s “YYZ” on a half-shut hi-hat upon the backdrop of a hooting bar crowd. Despite listening to this introduction time after time, I don’t know if I should interpret this as a tongue-and-cheek homage or an irreverent raspberry. In a way, Primus’s music seems to simultaneously reflect both of these conclusions. The band’s odd musical style and technical verbosity makes it obvious that they take great influence from their prog-rock predecessors, yet their driving tone, irreverent attitude and Claypool’s persona as a working-class curmudgeon reflect a mentality that is more reminiscent of Joe Strummer than Neil Peart.
  After the album’s odd introductory snippit, the goofy soundbite quickly erodes and is replaced by a doomy, chorus-laiden, atmospheric section, followed by an explosive breakout into the now-customary funk-metal sound that Primus really pioneered on Fizzle Fry. The opening track, “To Defy the Laws of Tradition”, is undoubtedly the strongest and most driving of the songs on the first half of the album, although it is far from the only head-banging anthem of dissent present on the record. “Mister Knowitall”, which I must confess is a personal favorite, has a very similar mood, attacking intellectual elitism with a grating, repetitive guitar line that is hard to listen to but nonetheless gets one’s adrenaline pumping. One of the things I really appreciate about Primus is their refusal to accept the lofty title of “artist”. Claypool has always given off this down-to-earth goofiness which, although it rarely shows in his hard, metallic music, is evident in the way he promotes his own work.

  Overall, the album really is a trip, most tracks resting on the border between profundity and absurdity. The twisted morality plays of John the Fisherman and Spaghetti Western are oddly titillating despite their disturbing imagery and themes, and while a track like “The Toys Go Winding Down” may seem silly and frivolous at first, the themes present are really worth examining. Overall, Claypool never really gets off the soapbox, although to be fair, he never really gets on it in the first place. Primus seems able to tackle a theme in a way that is neither pretentious nor overly serious. While it takes Stephen Wilson 8 minutes of doom-and-gloom on Fear of a Blank Planet to explore the depravity of stoner culture, Primus grapples with the same issue on Spaghetti Western, an amusing noir vignette about an unemployed layabout and his pathetic lifestyle, with a curled lip rather than an upturned nose.

The album certainly contains its fair share of filler, although much of this is in the form of good-natured character sketches (Harold of the Rocks, Sathington Willoughby), and a mystifying 26-second-long clip from some march entitled “You Can’t Kill Michael Malloy”, which, in its MIDI glory, is entertaining despite its aimlessness. I’m not sure what the band’s intent was with half of these tracks, but I enjoy the desired affect nonetheless.

Sure, this band is an acquired taste, but if you can stomach it, Frizzle Fry is one hell of a ride. You may not understand it upon first listen... or second listen... or ever... but I assure you that it will inject your subconscious with some tiny morsel of insight. Either that, or it will sharpen your sense of dark comedy. While it may not be for everybody, if you’re weird enough for it, I would fully advise to dive into this record. It’s really fun stuff, and it’s’ an excellent introduction to the bizarro-world that is Primus.

Album Review: Dream Theater - Images and Words

ARTIST: Dream Theater

ALBUM: Images and Words

GENRE: Progressive Metal, Progressive Rock, Fusion

YEAR: 1992

Rating: A-

Suggested Tracks: Take the Time, Metropolis Pt. I: The Miracle and the Sleeper

  Images and Words was the first album that brought critical and popular attention to the Long Island-based progressive metal band Dream Theater, although to simply label their music as Progressive Metal is disingenuous to say the least. Dream Theater’s work runs the gamut from virtuosic instrumental jams to gentle piano ballads, and nearly everything in between. The band’s many influences are always in the forefront of the music on Images and Words.

In the progressive rock tradition, Images and Words appears to have less music than actually is present. There are only 8 songs, which might lead one to believe that it is lacking. But out of these 8 songs, half are over 8 minutes long, which shows just how serious these guys are about their songwriting. The record is littered with extended instrumental breaks and solos on every instrument. For a listener who isn’t already accustomed to the constant key and time signature changes in progressive metal, this album might be a little disconcerting, especially on cuts like “Metropolis Pt. I”, where numerous polyrhythmic shifts leave even the most jaded prog fan dazed.

It is clear that Dream Theater delivered on the “progressive” end, but it is less clear whether or not they fulfilled their requirements in the “metal” department as well. Images and Words has an unabashedly “smooth jazz” feel throughout, which initially seems out of place in a metal album, but which the listener soon begins to appreciate and integrate into their definition of the genre. The chorusy steel-string guitar on the first verse section of “Take the Time” and the soprano sax solo on “Another Day” reek of Spyro Gyra, but this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. In fact, it is kind of refreshing to see a metal band absorb influences from other genres. This record was the first to feature now-customary “inspirational songs” by the band. Their unique ability to pen anthems for empathy and self-esteem make them stand out in the genre. Many consider them wimps, but I think that their softer side gives them a dimension that is hard to find in the modern metal landscape. And despite all of the softer songs on the record, one must not overlook the rockers. “Under a Glass Moon”, with its heavy guitar riffs and double-kick action drumming, seems to loom over the rest of the album like an ominous thundercloud. And while songs like “Take the Time” and “Pull me Under” may not feel like the typical hard-rock that you’d expect from an early 90’s metal release, they still have an unignorable drive and energy.

Thematically, Images and Words is inconsistent, to say the least. Most of the tracks’ lyrics make little or no sense, and come off as vague attempts to generate some sort of mood by using poetic lyrics and utilizing the polyphonic potential of Kevin Moore’s state-of-the-art synth pads (see “Under a Glass Moon” and “Surrounded”). Although the single from the album, Pull Me Under, is considered the most lyrically consistent by most rock critics, I personally have gravitated towards the more political tracks on the album. At a time when even the most hard-edge punk bands were diluting their values for the sake of record sales, it is nice to see a band such as Dream Theater attempt to tackle such issues. They don’t come off so much as firebrand activists as they do frustrated citizens (see “Take the Time” and “Learning to Live”), and although they really don’t offer any real solutions or seem to fully understand the issues that they are shedding light on, there’s still some real sincerity there that cannot be overlooked.

This is the first album on which James LaBrie sang vocals, and his performance is outstanding. Another high tenor in the prog world might warrant some eye-rolling from the wider rock critic community, but I find his voice to be especially conducive to the content on this record. I am, by no means, a James LaBrie fan; his vocal phrasing pales in comparison to many other rock singers. Yet I think he really pulled it off on this record, with stunning accuracy and perfect tone. The high notes on songs such as “Take the Time” and “Metropolis Pt. I” are hauntingly impeccable, and thanks to the factored-in instrumental breaks, one never feels he oversings.

There are many aspects of this record that I find very irritating. My primary qualm is with the production. The heavy reverb on all of the instruments, the extremely loud guitar tone and Portnoy’s triggered snare drum are all highly irritating to me as a listener. At times, these aspects almost make the record feel fake and inhuman. The main problem with this production trend is that it leads to musically-perfect but otherwise sterile recordings. Then again though, Dream Theater as a band isn’t all that energetic, even live. Another thing that I find maddening is the band’s love affair with instrumental unisons. One of the reasons I became intrigued by earlier prog bands such as Rush, Yes and King Crimson were their ability to write countermelodies and jam in a synergic way. I see much less of this in modern progressive metal, and I feel that Dream Theater is, in a way, the antithesis of the Jam Band, which is sad because had there not been jam bands, prog wouldn’t have come to be. Maybe I’m just ranting here, but I find it odd that the pinnacle of progressive music is making something as simple as a 3-instrument unison the cornerstone of their musical riff breaks.

Overall though, Images and Words is a very worthwhile listen. It’s musical complexity and performance are hard to rival, and the songwriting, although shoddy at parts, is quite unique and has its own flair that DT fans have come to love over the years. Listen to this record, especially if you are a musician. You won’t be disappointed.

Phantom of the Opera Prog Medley

Phantom of the Opera Prog Medley

...or at least somewhat prog. I did my best :P

Phantom of the Opera Prog Medley

...sort of prog, I suppose. Good music, and fun to make!Phantom of the Opera Prog Medley

Geetar Odyssey Pt. I: "Cool Beans" - Demo 1

Cool Beans Demo 1

Commentary 3/29/11: The Grand Opening!

Commentary 3/29/11 - The Grand Opening

Hello everybody! This first bit of commentary is an explanation of the feed. I explain what it is for and how it works. Happy listening!

Soundscapes - Suite 1: "Brown", Movement I: "Mountain"

Soundscapes - Suite 1: "Brown", Movement 1: "Mountain"