Issue #80: Primus – Brown Album

Released:  July 8th, 1997

Recorded:  December 1996 – April 1997

Genre:  Alternative, Alternative Metal, Funk Metal

Record Label:  Interscope / Prawn Song

Duration:  56:54

Producer:  Primus

Personnel

Track Listing

Singles

Why Brown Album is One of My Favorites

Just like Sailing the Sails of Cheese, Brown Album is a tough album to classify and describe, and like Sailing, it works best as an experience rather than a collection of different songs.  Still, Brown Album has a few flaws, but there’s a good deal of material on here that fans of alternative ought to hear at least once.  There are parts of the record that I think are great, yet a few issues push it down near the bottom of my “favorites list.”

Primus has always been known for their “funk” style, especially on their earlier albums.  I’m not readily familiar with their entire body of work, though it would seem that they’ve traded in some of their quirkiness in favor of more accessible song structure.  Critics and fans are always going on about Claypool and “the bass the bass the bass!” and while the bass is certainly excellent, novel, and impressive on any given Primus song that I’ve heard, it’s also important that “the bass” be placed in a recognizable context in order to be appreciated.  In some ways, this is where Brown Album excels over Sailing.

Sailing is a hell of a fun listen, though it can become a little formless and esoteric for the casual listener.  Brown Album improves on this for the most part but also runs into a few snags.  For one, the album is too damn long.  Music that places this sort of demand on attention needs to be a little bit shorter for my tastes.  Secondly, and related to the length, is the repetitiveness of many of the songs.  Simple passages are repeated again and again for no discernible purpose, rendering some of the tracks tiresome,  And in the end it draws the length of each track out, ultimately padding out the generous running time.

But like I said, there are moments not to be missed.  It may not be a perfect album, but there’s a great sound at work on Brown Album even if it isn’t always put to its best use.  As I said Primus is a difficult band to describe; maybe I just don’t know the right words to fit some of these sounds and styles.

“Golden Boy” establishes a groove that’s easy to get into.  It hits a note somewhere between country and Southern rock, and actually sounds a little like the South Park theme.  The waltz-y bass line in “Over the Falls” makes for a good listen as well, along with the sing-song tune.  “Shake Hands with Beef” has an instantly appealing rhythm; it’s quick and offbeat, and Claypool delivers the lyric “shake hands with beef” as if it’s the punchline to a joke.  However, it also exemplifies the album’s repetitiousness because this rhythm never breaks, lets up, or changes (like many songs), and if it did, it would help give the track(s) more definition.

“Camelback Cinema” chugs along sounding almost exactly like a train in music form.  It steps off the funk a little and comes closer to a confused metal song.  “Puddin’ Taine” appears to be a take on country with a carnival-like beat.  Probably my favorite from the album, it’s got a lot of character in the whimsical instrumentation and Claypool’s voice twangs along effortlessly with the novel rhythm of the bass.

“Restin’ Bones” stands out as a bit of an atmospheric bass.  Something vaguely sinister seems to be brewing, and the popping bass and spooky guitar notes suggest a subterranean setting as does the title.  Both the lead and bass guitars continue dancing from the foreground to the background to keep it interesting. “Coddingtown” sounds like something out of Pantera’s catalog with a pinch of the bizarre thrown in, mostly Claypool’s manic voice (he sort of yodels) and the off-key brass ensemble.  The guitar crunches along at an impressive speed while the bass walks above it.  It’s the most metal track on Brown Album and makes me want to hear more of what they could do with the format.  “Arnie” closes the album by bringing in a few slices of buzzing guitar, and although it really doesn’t get anywhere, it’s got a decent sound to it.

Those were some of my favorites, and I’m not necessarily the rest of the album is bad – just long.  The intro track is a bit overdone at 5 minutes, and “Fisticuffs” seems to roll on forever due to aforementioned repetition issues and it can make Brown Album seem extremely daunting just 2 tracks and 10 minutes in.  I appreciate a more concrete attempt at song structure here, but in doing so they suck some of the energy out of their music and produce what, can at times, sound too rigid and perfunctory.  Then again, the wafting songs of Sailing have trouble standing out on their own and creating memorable moments.  Were the boys able to fuse their playfulness with the familiarity of a “regular song,” we’d really have something special.

Brown Album may not exactly deserve to be called a favorite, though I do enjoy listening to many of these songs in two to three track chunks.  When I bother with the lyrics I’m usually amused if not intrigued, and overall it’s a great break from the walls of guitars and angst and apathy of the 90’s…at least every now and then.  When I listen to it, I find myself really wishing these guys could fit this sound into a more conventional package; I think they could easily do so, and I suppose they’ve simply never been inclined to.  Still, there’s a good deal of their material that I haven’t made my way through, so maybe I’ll find another favorite one of these days.

Written by The Cubist

Other albums from Primus in this series:

• 1991 – Sailing the Seas of Cheese – Issue #31

Back to The Cubist’s 90’s Albums

Written by The Cubist

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I collect as much video gaming paraphernalia as I can get my hands on, especially when it comes to hardware. With over 40 systems including oldies like the ColecoVision and Intellivision, obscurities like the CD-i and 3DO, and the latest and greatest including the Wii U, PS4, Xbox One, 3DS, and PS Vita, I get easily overwhelmed. Most of the time you can find me firmly nestled sometime between 1985 and 1995 when it comes to my games of choice, but I’m also having a great time seeing what the 8th generation has to offer.

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