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Primus
Rhinoplasty Interscope Records A few years back, just before Primus captured the consciousness of a nation on the Lollapalooza tour, a little EP called Miscellaneous Debris, chock full of the band's favorite cover songs, was released. Somehow, Primus managed to make Peter Gabriel's "Intruder," XTC's "Making Plans for Nigel," and Pink Floyd's "Have a Cigar" sound like Primus songs. Now, Primus has taken a little rest to see who they are as a band. They went back to the drawing board, and came up with another EP full of covers, called Rhinoplasty. Surprise, surprise, Primus is Primus. This time, they cover Peter Gabriel's "The Family and the Fishing Net," and XTC's "Scissor Man." But the other covers on the EP don't exactly ring with the underground cool of Meters and Residents covers. Primus' targets this time around are Stanley Clark, Jerry Reed, the Police, and Metallica. Again, Primus finds a way to make most of these songs their own. Most people probably wouldn't expect the band to cover Clark's "Silly Putty," but the solid-pocket bass feature is a surprisingly natural fit. It's one bass-master tipping his hat to another. And the band's cover of "Amos Moses" goes farther toward making Reed cool than could be hoped for after three Smokey and the Bandit movies. "Behind My Camel" has always sounded more like a Primus song than a Police song, even when the Police did it. "The Thing That Should Not Be" is the only song that really doesn't seem to fit the band, even though hearing them cover Metallica is amusing enough. Funny, considering Claypool auditioned for the bass player spot now occupied by Jason Newstead. Claypool's voice just can't achieve that level of bile. There are some great bonuses to the CD, as well. Les has been tinkering with enhanced CDs since Tales From the Punchbowl, and there's all sorts of goodies hiding on the CD. There's footage of a New Year's Eve party with special guest Bob Cock, and a video that anyone who has seen Spike and Mike's Sick and Twisted Animation Festival in the past couple of years will recognize. Believe it or not, there are actually three whole Primus songs on the CD, as well. "Too Many Puppies," a fan favorite from Fizzle Fry, is reinterpreted, but most of the muscle is taken out in favor of a trippy, noodling lope. The two bonus tracks are live from the New Year's Eve gig - "Tommy the Cat" and "Bob's Party Time Lounge." Live cuts of "Tommy the Cat" have been kicking around for years, but it's nice to have one on an official commercial release. Rhinoplasty is probably a fans-only affair, but then again, so is every Primus album. It's a good way to keep in touch with the band until they get back to writing new stuff, besides the South Park theme song. -Nick |
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