Review Summary: VIII: It won't replace the classics in Primus' discography, but of the non-LP records, this is certainly one of the better ones.
The Brown Album left Primus in a state of confusion. A lackluster and uninteresting outing, it threw many for a loop and signaled the beginning of the identity crisis that occupied Primus’ career for years after. With the growing pains still going, Primus released a brief EP to try and get their energy cycling again, the first EP since 1992’s
Miscellaneous Debris. 1998’s
Rhinoplasty was a hodge-podge collection of covers, re-recordings, and live tracks. With selections from acts like
XTC,
Metallica and
Stanley Clarke, there was quite a lot to work with. While it’s no panacea for Primus’ condition in the late 90’s,
Rhinoplasty is one of the best and most underrated albums to sit outside of the band’s LP’s.
A majority of
Rhinoplasty features cover tracks, very similar to
Miscellaneous Debris, and like that EP, it tends to follow the same template of
Pork Soda. A good amount of the covers have thin, multi-layered guitars from Larry LaLonde alongside Les Claypool’s echoing vocals, giving off an eerie vibe. The best examples of this are the
Peter Gabriel cover “The Family and the Fishing Net” and the
The Police cover “Behind the Camel.” “The Family and the Fishing Net” uses the same cover style as the last Peter Gabriel cover, “Intruder” from
Miscellaneous Debris, for a solid, but predictable effect. The latter is definitely a highlight, though, as Claypool’s bass is much less in-your-face than other covers, while LaLonde’s guitars produce siren-esque echoes for texture. The other cover that follows this style the most is the Metallica cover “The Thing That Should Not Be.” Claypool did audition for the bassist of Metallica after Cliff Burton’s death, and his work in Blind Illusion shows he has thrash roots, but the cover sounds far too simplistic to be anything more than a cover. It’s dark and gloomy, but compared to the other covers, it’s pretty dull.
The covers that switch things up are some of the most interesting. The cover of XTC’s “Scissor Man” is a nimble jaunt, one that moves beyond the textured guitars and gloomy tones, sounding unlike anything that Primus has created up till now. The
Jerry Reed cover “Amos Moses” is a bit less experimental, sticking to the southern country vibe that Reed was known for. A well-performed, though unsurprising track, it’ll appeal to those who grew up with Primus’ more conventional side. Another great highlight is the Stanley Clarke cover “Silly Putty.” No stranger to incredible bass grooves, Clarke is a master of funky compositions, and Les Claypool’s bass channels that spirit extremely well. There’s just enough heaviness to be worthwhile, but it still sounds honorable to the original, especially with the mixed-up scratches about halfway in. The last studio track is a new version of “Too Many Puppies.” The song was re-recorded with Brian "Brain" Mantia on drums and lays off the thumping bass chords for the same kind of sound heard on
Pork Soda. Claypool’s vocals are hushed down, the bass isn’t as loud and clanging, and the tempo is a tad bit brisker. Even though it doesn’t sound as good as the
Frizzle Fry original, it’s a nice re-imagining of a classic track that doesn’t change things too much.
The EP also has two live recordings of Primus playing at the Henry J. Kaiser Arena in Oakland, California. The two recordings, “Tommy the Cat” from
Sailing the Seas of Cheese and “Bob’s Party Time Lounge” from
The Brown Album, are great live acts, especially when Primus decide to color outside their own lines. The live rendition of “Bob’s Party Time Lounge” is a groovy, funky jam that sounds a bit heavier and rawer than its studio counterpart, mostly thanks to better guitar sounds from LaLonde and thick bass beats from Claypool, but it’s the live version of “Tommy the Cat” that boldly pushes the envelope far beyond the
Sailing the Seas of Cheese version. The bass has all the metal funk of the studio version, and when the band shifts into a mid-song jam of
The Reddings’ “The Awakening”, things definitely move into better territory. Mantia gets a crazy good drum solo before the band rounds out the song in Prawn tradition. It takes the best parts of past live versions of “Tommy the Cat”, but gives every member some extra time to shine. Without a doubt, this version of “Tommy the Cat” is the superior version (sorry, Tom Waits).
There’s a little something for everyone on
Rhinoplasty. Primus channel the better parts of their career with their covers of songs like “Behind the Camel”, using many of the successful elements of the
Pork Soda era. But it’s the left turns that end up meaning the most. The covers of “Scissor Man” and “Silly Putty” are excellent changes of pace from the Residents-style eeriness of the other covers, keeping the album from getting too stale. The live recordings alone are worth giving this album a look, as they relish in the open-ended concert setting and kick the studio recordings to the curb. There are some flops here and there (“The Thing That Should Not Be” just isn’t too interesting, for example), but
Rhinoplasty is a much more comprehensive package than
Miscellaneous Debris was. It won’t replace the iconic LPs like
Sailing the Seas of Cheese or
Pork Soda, but of the non-LP records in Primus’ discography, this is certainly one of the better ones.
