Review Summary: Primus & the Chocolate Factory is a nightmarish rendition of a classic soundtrack, and while having some nicely odd tunes, just ends up becoming a mostly uninteresting filler-fest.
Green Naugahyde was a superb record. Every track on the record was awesome. However, after 2 years of touring Jay Lane resigned. But look no further, every fan's wish is here. TIM ALEXANDER FINALLY RETURNS! Tim returned to the kit after not being in the band since Tales from the Punchbowl. So to return, Primus have turned their groovy oddity into nightmare-fueled oddity with Primus & The Chocolate Factory. This entire LP is a nightmarish rendition of the Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory movie soundtrack. So with anticipation high, we were all pretty skeptical knowing this was essentially going to be a cover album. But Primus delivers, somewhat.
The group performing the original soundtrack to this movie makes sense, knowing the band of course. They haven't distanced themselves from the oddity, however made it more bizarre, dark, creepy, and straight disturbing. Primus succeeds with keeping up the weird trip they've run on. Les has stuck with the resonator bass throughout this record, however uses the standup bass a lot also, possibly the most he's ever used it. His performances are definitely haunting, but also have some of the groove. Larry's guitar riffs are extremely simple, and mostly overshadowed by Les and the Fungi Ensemble. Tim is good on the kit, with frightening tribal beats, although simplistic. The Fungi Ensemble consists of a cello-ist, who adds a lot of flavor to the tracks. There is also a xylophone player, who adds to the song as well. The performances are simplistic, but are simplistic so that it makes frightening tribal rhythms. Because of this, the album is given an insanely creepy vibe. This makes the record possibly the creepiest thing Primus has ever done, and completely changed the Wonka soundtrack.
The few great tracks on the record really stand out. The album starts with standup ruled track "Hello Wonkites" which is simply the melody to Pure Imagination. "Candy Man" is an insanely fun, yet creepy track, with a dominant upright bass. "Cheer Up Charlie" is a slow ditty, and "Golden Ticket" is a funky track that recalls Primus's earlier themes. "Lermaninoff" is the shortest track Primus has ever done, clocking in at 5 seconds. "Pure Imagination" is the scariest track on the record, with a haunting, tribal rhythm. However, the record becomes horribly boring after that. The Oompa tracks are all the same thing, and become pointless filler. "Semi Wondrous Boat-Ride" is a hectic, yet creepy track, but is also boring and uninteresting. However, "I Want It Now," is the best one on the record, with Claypool handing the mic to Larry. The vocals are fine, however the performances on the song are amazing. They take the elements Primus is known for and is putting a creepier Residents vibe on it (this whole album is packed with Residents vibes). But besides that, this album is home to some awfully uninteresing songs. "Wonkmobile" is terrible and forgettable, but "Farewell Wonkites" has the rock feel Primus previously had and is wickedly cool. The issue with this record is that it's slammed with filler that doesn't intrigue nor interest, and just makes the album boring and uninteresting.
The plethora of the problems lie with that this is a cover record. It takes old, classic songs from a classic movie and puts a nightmarish twist on it. That's a great concept, and is done well, however the slowness of it makes it uninteresting to listen to. Primus don't got nuts and crazy like they're known for doing. There isn't much creativity put here, and while the whole nightmarish twist on the soundtrack is a fun idea, their notabley funky creativity is thrown out the window. All of this makes the album feel like a complete waste of time and patience, and with it being the first record to feature the classic lineup in about 20 years makes it seem like even more of a waste. It would be better with Primus going out of the closed in boundaries, especially with Tim back on the kit, however it's condensed to mostly boring filler songs. Primus have ultimately locked themselves into the rule standards of doing a cover album, and it's better when they explore outside the lines than locked into some rulebook. All of this makes Primus & The Chocolate Factory a major dissappointment.
Primus & the Chocolate Factory is an eerie, spooky record with nightmarish twists and turns throughout the album. The oddity fits with Primus's theme, however this is nowhere near their ideal element. Primus have essentially done an avant-garde cover record, and force themselves to stick to the guidelines of making a cover album, rather than bouncing outside the lines to fuel fun and groovy experimentation. The album starts strong, but ends up becoming a boring filler-fest. This is, in all honesty, the least interesting thing Primus has done, but is definitely not bad. Some odd ball tunes are thrown around, but don't save this record from being painfully average. It dissappoints me to see Primus's classic lineup revived with a mostly-uninteresting cover record with no room for the proggy, groovy experimentation they're known for. However, Primus & the Chocolate Factory has it's fun moments. It's a bizzarre rendition of a bizzare soundtrack, and no band would do that instead of Primus. I will give it to them, Primus tackle a classic soundtrack with such nightmarish sounds, and make something cool out of it, and I will give it to them. However, this record just seems to fill the gap, as we wait for another album that will break the boundaries like they did in the 90s. In the end, Primus & the Chocolate Factory is a nightmarish cover record, but doesn't offer up anything interesting, and ends up being very average. However, I patiently wait to see what the classic lineup will do next, and I hope it will be the funky oddity the classic 3 were known for doing.
Favorite Track: I Want It Now
Least Favorite Track: Wonkmobile
