Tim Alexander se n'era andato.
Tim "Herb" Alexander, poliedrico batterista dei Primus, aveva abbandonato il gruppo proprio all'apice della sua popolarità, derivata al tempo dal singolo "Wynona's Big Brown Beaver" contenuto nell'album "Tales From The Punchbowl". I rimanenti Claypool e Larry "Ler" LaLonde, quindi, avevano una bella gatta da pelare: come sostituire Herb? Voci di corridoio si rincorrevano, parlavano di rimpiazzi come Mike Bordin dei Faith No More, ma alla fine la scelta ricadde su Bryan "Brain" Mantia, già batterista dei Praxis (gruppo che ebbe tra le sue fila anche Buckethead, il tastierista Bernie Worrell e lo stesso Claypool, i quali andranno poi a formare con lo stesso Mantia i Colonel Claypool's Bucket of Bernie Brains).
La preoccupazione dei fans era che con il cambio di batterista le dinamiche di gruppo sarebbero potute cambiare radicalmente; da un batterista più tecnico e potente come Alexander si era passato ad uno più orientato verso il groove come Mantia: ciò avrebbe forse influenzato anche la musica di Claypool e LaLonde? Questo "Brown Album" ci fornisce la risposta.
Il tragicomico comizio elettorale di "The Return of Sathington Willoughby" (personaggio già comparso nel disco d'esordio "Frizzle Fry") sembra fatto apposta per confondere l'ascoltatore: dietro alle sferzate della chitarra di Ler, dietro all'incessante procedere della batteria di Mantia, dietro ai potenti slap di Claypool, si sente che qualcosa è diverso. I ritmi più funky dei precedenti dischi hanno lasciato la scena ad atmosfere per lo più dure e rocciose, sardonicamente cupe; così anche la voce di Claypool, che fino ad allora era stata portata nella maggior parte dei pezzi al limite del ridicolo e del cartoonesco, in questo album marrone si abbassa di tono, diventa quasi un tutt'uno con il suono prodotto dagli strumenti: una sarcastica litania è quella che permea le tracce di questo disco.
Da pezzi ossessivi come "Shake Hands With Beef" e "Camelback Cinema", per arrivare a canzoni meravigliosamente sopra le righe come "Over The Falls", si può sentire come i Primus riescano a mutare completamente registro, a chiudere quasi totalmente con i suoni usati in passato, e nonostante questo rimanere sè stessi al 100%. Sembrano lontani i tempi di "My Name Is Mud" e di "Wynona's Big Brown Beaver", ma loro sono ancora lì, i Primus. Talmente diversi dal passato, ma allo stesso tempo i soliti fantastici buffoni che con le loro storie orribilmente ridicole e i loro personaggi macchietta vivono nel loro universo di plastilina, così piccolo e diverso dal nostro, ma allo stesso tempo così vicino e paurosamente tangibile.
"Remember this day", termina in questo modo la traccia che chiude il disco, "Arnie"; forse Claypool, LaLonde e Mantia hanno voluto darci un avvertimento. Volevano dirci di ricordare il giorno in cui ci avevano parlato di quell'universo che consideravamo solo un qualcosa di distante, semplicemente buffonesco, quella che noi pensavamo fosse una farsa: bene, meglio toglierselo dalla testa.
Quel mondo della farsa raccontatoci dai Primus, di politici che predicato tutto ed il contrario di tutto per ingraziarsi gli elettori, quel mondo di cantanti che si danno fuoco di fronte al pubblico, quel mondo di ragazzi dorati che sparano alla gente senza rimorsi, quel mondo esiste.
Ed è la fuori.
Elenco tracce testi e video
01 The Return of Sathington Willoughby (05:04)
The Return of Sathington Willoughby
Fellow colleges, distinguished members of the press, ladies
and gentlemen:
I would like to take this opportunity to personally and humbly thank
each and every one of you for joining us at this particular event.
It is my hope that we can utilize this meeting of the minds to
successfully convey the essence of our platform to you, a grand and
noble audience.
As I look out among the faces, I reflect, taking console in the words
of Franklin Delano Roosevelt who said, "We have nothing to fear but
fear itself."
Paranoia is a disease unto itself, and may I add, the person standing
next to you, may not be who they appear to be, so take precaution.
A mind is a terrible thing to waste, this is true any a young person
has fallen prey, to the substances that alter the perspective Of any
right thinking individual.
The Problem with the youth today is, because of their inexperience
with the world, they cannot attempt to grasp the ideals, set forth by
myself and those who preceded me.
But, as history has shown, they will come around, and embrace our
philosophies and become model citizens in their own right, God bless
this great nation.
02 Fisticuffs (04:25)
They found James Ambrose dead in his cell
A gaping gash in his arm had drained him down to Hell
No one knew for sure if Ambrose was his name
They called him Yankee Sullivan in early days of fame
He'd known the game of fisticuffs had always treated him right
But no one knew the men who came and took his life that night
He'd spent some time in Botany Bay atoning for his sins
He fought a bout with Hammer Lane and took a tainted win
He was the hero of the Bowery, a prince of lawless times
Then was battered by the "Butcherman" in 1849
He knew the game of fisticuffs, he knew the game of might
But no one knew the men who came and took his life one night
He knew the game of fisticuffs
Lilly and McCoy were shy of a hundred and forty pounds
In 1842 they went a hundred and eighteen rounds
They begged McCoy to cash it in, he said that he would not
Got up and fought one more round then died right on the spot
He knew the game of fisticuffs, he knew the game of fight
But no one knew the game would come and take his life that night.
04 Over the Falls (02:42)
They broke out in laughter again
His lip beaded with sweat as they strapped him in
And he stood by and waited to be called
The talk was of times that'd gone by
And the quantity and quality of women they lie
His eyes welled with wet and his mouth had gone dry
As he stood by and waited to be called
He stood by and waited to be called
He stood by and waited like the others before
For his turn to go over the falls
He got up and tried it again
For lack of persistence is surely a sin
As he stood by and waited to be called
He looked to the lightning with glee
And admired his vessel for its symmetry
Feeling twelve units shy of a bachelor's degree
As he stood by and waited to be called
He stood by and waited to be called
He stood by and waited like the others before
For his turn to go over the falls
05 Shake Hands With Beef (04:02)
There's a time for lies...
And a time for truth...
I say, eye for an eye...
Eye for a tooth...
When I roamed young...
I'd scavenge around...
Every nook and cranny...
Of our little town...
It's nice, so nice, to be...
Pull out the cannon boys,
Steal us some wine,
Puff Tijuana Smalls,
Shake hands with beef!
She's so fine,
She's so sweet,
Mom and Pop they raised her,
On huge slabs of meat...
She's fine...
A man of nine...
Water derby day...
Twenty six pumps...
On a Crossman...
And it's time to play...
It's nice, so nice, to be...
Pull out the cannon boys,
Steal us some wine,
Puff Tijuana Smalls,
Shake hands with beef!
06 Camelback Cinema (04:00)
Go....
Camelback Cinema
Camelback Cinema
Camelback Cinema-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a
He's standin' tall at 5 foot 4
With the sharpness of a troubadour
I dare you look him in the eye
His stench would make a buzzard cry
He likes Burt in White Lightning
Camelback Cinema
Camelback Cinema
Camelback Cinema-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a
Camelback Cinema
Camelback Cinema
In the dark she sat and wait
For her steady random date
Reflecting back to a time
When eager boys would stand in line
She likes Burt in White Lightning
She likes Burt in White Lightning
He's standin' tall at 5 foot 4
Lurking in the corridor
He came to buy his weekly whore
At Camelback Cinema.
Go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go,
go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, ... go!
07 Hats Off (01:57)
When I was born, the doc he held me by my ankles
Smacked my red behind
They hosed me down, wrapped me like a bean burrito
Then marked the date and time
Hats off, to the ones that string the beads together
And keep the ducks in line
Hats off to all the ones that stood before me
And taught a fool to rhyme
At thirteen, I made myself a motion picture
Out of lumps of clay
At fourteen, I pulled some weeds and bought a four string
Taught myself to play
At seventeen, I'd get naked with a beauty queen
At the Hot Tub Zone
At nineteen, she was livin' hard and snortin' drugs
That decayed her bones
Hats off to the ones that put it all together
And keep their ducks in line
Hats off to all the ones that erred before me
And taught me how to survive
10 Duchess and the Proverbial Mind Spread (03:30)
Burnin', I feel a burnin' in my stomach
I wanna' know if I'm a gonna make it
If I don't just spread my ashes
If I do just spread your mind
Swimmin', I see myself a treadin' water
I see no signs of any other people
There's a heron up above me
I lay back and spread my mind
Duchess, she used to be a movie maker
She used to like to watch the boys watch her
And she saved enough money
To go to Cal and spread her mind
Billy, used to follow the Dead with Arnie
And they made a hundred thousand dollars
But ended up in federal prison
Twenty years for spreading minds
12 Coddingtown (02:52)
I went down to Coddingtown
To buy for Lucky Dog
Moved on up to Sono-co
To clear my head of smog
People round town they all line up
To buy them Chevrolet's
But me I talked to the Mopar man
Been talkin' now for days
I went down to Coddingtown
It seemed the thing to do
You can get it all down there
From tennis balls to glue
Standin' up in the ol' smoke shop
Met a girl named Honey Pie
If you shamble long enough
You wanna' go, you gotta' go
Bring me on back
Lordy, Lordy, Coddingtown
That's the place to be
Lordy, Lordy, Coddingtown
That's the place for me
I went down to Coddingtown
And met old Santy Claus
Beanie Boy got a hold of that beard
Nearly yanked it from his jaws
I stepped on up to the pizza man
And gobbled down some filth
I shambled round now too damn long
I wanna' go, I gotta' go
Bring me on back
Lordy, Lordy, Coddingtown
That's the place to be
Lordy, Lordy, Coddingtown
That's the place for me
13 Kalamazoo (03:31)
A B C D E F G H I gotta' gal wears her toenails long
Drives a red Barracuda, singin' meat packer songs
And she ain't from Kalamazoo
A B C D E F G H I gotta' friend lived in a Mercedes-Benz
Then a 55 Chrysler where the trunk never ends
And the plates say Kalamazoo
He had a steady job and watched what he spent
He'd say I don't believe in payin' no goddamn rent
I'll squirrel away every goddamn cent
And buy my own damn house in Kalamazoo
I knew a guy that mangled his hand
And he went from pipe fittin' to a hot dog stand
They say last year he cleared fifty grand
Selling dogs round Kalamazoo
She turned to the world with a bastard child
Said, "I just can't handle him he's too damn wild"
But the years and the liquor have made him mild
And he lays around Kalamazoo
14 The Chastising of Renegade (05:04)
There was this kid in our neighborhood
His Pop had named him Renegade
He lived up to his name
With all the trouble that he made
One day ol' Renegade
Snuck into the Park Theater downtown
For a laugh he set fire to the screen
Burnt the whole damn place to the ground
He thought that no one would mind
He did that sort of thing all the time
But his Pop was waitin' for him
At age fifteen Renegade
Stole a tow truck from Arnie's Shell
Drove it through the front of a hardware store
Spent the night in a county jail
He didn't seem to mind a bit
He liked the attention he would get
15 Arnie (03:54)
It was a big wet, slippery kiss.
And he had sweat dripping off of his nose onto the windscreen.
As he looked out over the audience he said,
God bless you, God bless you one and all.
Then he took a can of ronson lighter fluid
And he squirted it over the top of his head.
And proceeded to light himself on fire
As he stood there glowing and said,
Remember this day.
(God bless you, God bless you one and all)
(Remember this day)
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