Review Summary: Captain Pierce was a strong man, strong as any man alive.
Ah, Primus. Quite possibly one of the weirdest bands to walk the Earth, and actually become well-known in the process. The band is a three-piece, featuring Les Claypool on bass and vocals, Larry LaLonde on guitars, and Tim Alexander on the drums. The band are an acquired taste. At first, they may disappoint, but they soon will grow on you. Claypool's funky bass style is possibly the thing that makes Primus recognizable. He is one of the greatest bassists of all-time. His work is extremely funky, but quite superb. The guitars are also funky, and catchy as well, and Alexander has a nice drumming style that is quite enjoyable.
Sailing The Seas Of Cheese is viewed as Primus's magnum opus. From the beginning, you know perfectly well that this will be one of the funkiest and weirdest albums you'll ever hear. One of the problems with this album is that most of the songs all have basically the same introduction: Les playing some crazy riff, followed by some guitars and drums. However, this is not too big of a problem at all.
Here Come The Bastards basically sets the stage for what is to come. Heavy bass songs with weird sounds and such. But many of these tracks are quite enjoyable.
Sgt. Baker is a song about, well, the military. This song can be accurately described as the musical equivalence of a ninja. You never know how it's gonna turn out. It basically goes all over the place, but this is one of my favorite tracks on the album. Naturally, the bass is wonderful, and the other instruments are equally as good. The "left-right" section of the song lasts a while, and it's pretty fun to listen to. So yeah, the album's off to a good start. Nay, a
great start. The greatness continues with the next song, but especially what comes after that.
Jerry Was A Race Car Driver is easily one of the greatest songs on the album. It's a single, so of course, it's good. What we have hear is a tour de force of superb bass playing, great guitar and drums, and random and odd lyrics that are telling several stories of several people. The excellence never really picks back up until several tracks down the road. Sure,
Tommy The Cat is pretty good, but there are two certain songs that blow almost the whole album out of the water.
Those Damned Blue Collar Tweekers is a track that does not have a clear meaning, but like many of Primus's songs, it has a redneck-ish feel to it. Some say it's about truckers doing meth, and others say it's about trades that the town's blue collar tweekers are getting into, but like I said before, there is no clear meaning.
But what is next can be accurately described as the
Stairway To Heaven of
Sailing.... It's like the
Rime Of The Ancient Mariner of the album.
Fish On, chapter two in the Fisherman Chronicles(three Primus songs about fishing), is absolutely epic. It goes on and on like a very long roller coaster. Metaphorically speaking, the coaster was worth all of the time you spent standing in line waiting. It goes on and on, providing spectacular bass playing, clearly Claypool at his best, and the other Primus players strutting their magnificent stuff. Truly the epic masterpiece of Sailing The Seas Of Cheese.
Overall, what we have hear is an album that is all good, all the way through. There is not a single track that is bad whatsoever. However, some songs are better than others. We have plenty of wonderful and catchy Primus classics, but we also have a few dull knives in the mix. And even the duller knives can still cut very well, if you know what I mean. Primus's 1991 release,
Sailing The Seas Of Cheese, is worth the money you spend on it. And I spent none! Ha.
Highlights Of The Seas Of Cheese:
Sgt. Baker
Jerry Was A Race Car Driver
Those Damned Blue Collar Tweekers
Fish On
4/5
