Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet
October 12, 2017 10:18 AM   Subscribe

The Frizzle Fry/Seas of Cheese/Pork Soda era lineup of Primus - Larry Lalonde, Les Claypool, and Tim 'Herb' Alexander - return with The Desaturating Seven. A concept album based on Ul De Rico’s colorfully illustrated children’s book The Rainbow Goblins and accompanied by a porcine narration of that book, "...in addition to being unsettling, it’s a vibrant, knotted work of screwball fun." (AV Club)
posted by Existential Dread (21 comments total) 21 users marked this as a favorite
 
"The Seven" and "The Storm" are good intro tracks to the album, classic Primus bass riffs and polyrhythmic drumming. Oh, and #primussucks
posted by Existential Dread at 10:28 AM on October 12, 2017 [1 favorite]


Oh my god a Primus FPP!

I haven't listened to the new album yet, though I hope to. I was a huge fan up until after the Pork Soda era, but my musical tastes changed a bit and I haven't followed them too closely since then, with occasionally forays into some of Claypool's side projects. I love them so much and they're one of the most enjoyable bands I've ever seen live.

I loaded up my son's iPhone with a bunch of my music so, in addition to getting into The Beatles and The Ramones, he's been going around the house singing Too Many Puppies and Mr. Knowital. I don't see the tour bringing them to Boston this time around but if I can see a Primus show with my son some day I will probably be a contender for Father of the Year.

Thank you for this post.
posted by bondcliff at 10:34 AM on October 12, 2017 [2 favorites]


Does Herb still tune his snare so it goes POCK POCK? That was always the worst part of sucky Primus for me.

One of the best shows I ever saw was Primus opening for Janes Addiction and The Pixies. That is all, thanks for the heads-up!
posted by rhizome at 10:51 AM on October 12, 2017


Every song title starts with "The". Haven't listen to it yet tho.
posted by humboldt32 at 10:54 AM on October 12, 2017


Does Herb still tune his snare so it goes POCK POCK?

That good ol' 90s Pork Pie snare sound! On this record it definitely seems more tamed, less bong-y and high pitched, while still crisp and punchy.
posted by Existential Dread at 11:03 AM on October 12, 2017 [1 favorite]


The Rainbow Goblins! I adored that book! It went so well with my Rainbow Brite phase. And it was so tactile (not that I knew that word). I felt like I could drink the colors myself. I found it again, and was a little surprised by how dark it was. I hadn’t even noticed when I was five.

Thanks for this! I will try it -
posted by Countess Elena at 11:08 AM on October 12, 2017 [1 favorite]


I've listened to about 2/3rds of it and I really enjoy it but the last time I was into Primus was back when I smoked weed and I gotta say, their music is really made to be listened to while high. I don't mean anything negative by that, it's amazing music, but it's better if you're high. I bet Les would agree.
posted by bondcliff at 11:31 AM on October 12, 2017 [1 favorite]


Really phenomenal album. I wish it were longer, but I feel that way about most albums I enjoy.

Very Very tight sounding, while still harkening back to earlier more gritty Primus. You can tell this is a reuniting of the band from 20 some odd years ago.

When they announced this album a few months back I was very excited. I'd never read the source material and wanted to a copy to read to my kids. I got one through amazon, but despite ordering it 3 weeks ago it still hasn't arrived. I assume its back ordered because of people doing exactly what I did. Still, Can't wait to read it.
posted by Twain Device at 11:36 AM on October 12, 2017


I saw Primus a few times in the early 90s, and they are so great live. Just amazing. I got to see Les a couple years ago, when he came through on his Duo De Twang tour - which was really, really good. And because I live in a small town, I was like 10 feet from him.

This new album is super exciting - I had seen the video when the album was announced, but had forgotten all about it's release.
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 11:37 AM on October 12, 2017 [1 favorite]


Duo De Twang tour

Same! That was a great show, and one could see his pores, we were so close. I love the riffing he does with the audience. I would LOVE some more Duo De Twang stuff.
posted by Twain Device at 11:41 AM on October 12, 2017 [1 favorite]


We just saw Primus in KC two months ago and they played a number of tracks from this new album and it was absolutely amazing. It's creepy, awesome, and appropriate.

Additionally, because they love their fans, they put the lyrics on the screen with the accompanying artwork for the new songs. Let me tell you, when these lyrics hit the screen:
Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet
These are the Desaturating Seven
With the grandeur of the world, they abuse and defile it
These are the Desaturating Seven
They fill their mouths with greed and take way more then they need
The crowd cheered. And not in the "Yay we love this idea!" kind of way, but in the "God this sucks and it's too true!!" kind of way.
posted by teleri025 at 12:39 PM on October 12, 2017


No mention of the lyric video they released for "The Seven"?
posted by Catblack at 1:00 PM on October 12, 2017


Yisssss. This hits the spot.
posted by iamkimiam at 1:38 PM on October 12, 2017


This was the only Primus lineup I really liked, so looking forward to it.
posted by aspersioncast at 1:51 PM on October 12, 2017


> One of the best shows I ever saw was Primus opening for Janes Addiction and The Pixies. That is all, thanks for the heads-up!

I saw that same lineup at the Palladium in Hollywood, in 1990 or 1991 I think. Jane's Addiction was the headliner, if you can imagine the Pixies opening for anybody. I had never heard of Primus before!
posted by bgribble at 2:21 PM on October 12, 2017 [1 favorite]


A concept album based on The Ranbow Goblins? I'm not sure how I feel about this considering it has already been done, and spectacularly.
posted by Tsuga at 3:39 PM on October 12, 2017 [2 favorites]


Even when you remember that Primus toured with Rush, it's surprising how much the part at 6:25 sounds like Tom Sawyer.
posted by Wolfdog at 4:32 PM on October 12, 2017 [1 favorite]


Oh man, I love it. Primus is such a good band for concept albums, their take on Charlie & the Chocolate Factory is good as hell.
posted by rifflesby at 8:17 PM on October 12, 2017 [1 favorite]


this is a really inspiring composition. I missed this Primus lineup the most, and am so glad to hear their chemistry in action again. The Seven is great - so fitting it's in 7/8 for the chorus, and the change was so smooth I almost didn't catch the odd meter - had to give the track a second listen.

The Trek is beautiful. I feel like Les wrote the lyrics just for these times, and the same with The Scheme.

The Dream is everything we loved about Pink Floyd, brought into the 21st century with more bass and Les' quirky vocals as a sonic texture. This track, more than any of the others, made me glad they traditionally mix the vocals back in the mix unlike most pop, and let the music stand on its own. The grooves through this song are A+ (in general, I've been bobbing my head nonstop through the entire thing)

To the above comment about being stoned, I am on the sober lifestyle after years and I feel like being high would detract, rather than add, to the first listen. There are so many little noises and sonic textures in the Dream that would not be apparent if you were high and focused on how the music affected your high.

The change in the second half of the Dream does a great job of building up to the Storm - hearing the band slowly go through that crescendo with all the funky breaks in 3 takes me back to seeing them live in Eugene in 2003 - my first concert ever - and being astounded at how tight they are. The break into the storm noises is unexpected if you're not paying attention to the time remaining in the song; that last groove you can just get lost in.

The Storm is so ominous and creepy for Primus. Glad they chose to put it in 6, to give the album some more variety and hearing the bass in delay in triplets is just amazing. This riff would sound HUUUUGE live (it sounds huge in my headphones). It continues that epic slow buildup and this piece, more than the others, does a wonderful job of giving the story depth. The change in the Storm at the plot twist is just ... oh my rich. And the breaks are SO TIGHT. THIS right here, is why I love and adore this particular trio of musicians.

In general, I feel like this album does a great job of letting the musical interludes also tell the story.

The last track does a great job at a reprise.

In general, as a concluding thought, I think this is their single most well thought out composition from start to finish.
posted by thebotanyofsouls at 9:22 PM on October 12, 2017 [1 favorite]


A concept album based on The Ranbow Goblins? I'm not sure how I feel about this considering it has already been done, and spectacularly.

Came to say just that. Okay, so the whole thing's basically hot garbage from the discount disco as soon as the narration kicks in, but that opening track is beautiful.
posted by Sys Rq at 11:03 PM on October 12, 2017


I had an initial listen to the first couple of tracks earlier this afternoon. I love Primus so, but I think this is going to be a "repeat listens while working" album that will take a bit to sink in fully and grab me. But I have all kinds of time for Primus, so I'm willing to withhold judgement until I give it a few go-arounds.

I loaded up my son's iPhone with a bunch of my music so, in addition to getting into The Beatles and The Ramones, he's been going around the house singing Too Many Puppies and Mr. Knowital.

See, parenting like this could solve so many of the world's problems.

Even when you remember that Primus toured with Rush, it's surprising how much the part at 6:25 sounds like Tom Sawyer.

Heh. Totally. Probably not a coincidence. I'd imagine this is intentional homage.

Here's Les covering Spirit of Radio.

He and Geddy Lee are also fishing buddies apparently. I first learned this at some point in the early 90s in an issue of Guitar World or Guitar Player. Please enjoy this picture of Geddy Lee and Les Claypool out fishing.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 12:17 PM on October 15, 2017 [1 favorite]


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