Les Claypool on the album that still shocks him: “It’s not exactly classic rock”
The history of rock music has evolved so much over the years that we’ve reached a point where there are so many different subgenres that it can sometimes be difficult to categorise a band due to the immense overlaps.
If you’re trying to define the differences between punk, post-punk and new wave, for example, you’ll find that many of the key features are still shared, and there’s only a fine line that separates them in some instances. However, when you’re presented with a band like Primus, they’re so hard to define that it’s only really possible to describe them as, well, Primus.
Yes, you can call them experimental rock, or perhaps even experimental metal, but there are shades of funk, jazz, and prog thrown into the melting pot of ideas that it becomes nigh on impossible to define them in just a couple of words. Primus were, and still are, so wildly different to their contemporaries that you can’t pigeonhole them into one specific subset of rock, and why they were so broad in their scope was largely down to the incredible musical chemistry and ability of the trio.
The bass playing of Les Claypool is arguably the standout element, with the frontman using his instrument as more of a lead than the guitar rather than as an addition to the rhythm section, something that is comparable to other trios over the years such as Geddy Lee’s role in Rush or Jack Bruce’s role in Cream. However, one can’t ignore the wild and unbound guitar work of Larry LaLonde or the impenetrable drumming of Tim Alexander, who only recently stepped down.
The band broke through in 1991 with their album Sailing the Seas of Cheese, an oddball rock record that is utterly unique in its approach, with complex time signatures, maniacal riffs and offbeat humour being the elements that shone brightest. They’ve had plenty of other classic albums during their time, but this remains their opus, and is still unparalleled in its eccentricity and virtuosic musicality.
When the band reunited in 2003 after embarking on a brief hiatus, they celebrated their return to touring by performing the record in its entirety for fans. While this would have been a spectacle to behold for long-time fans of the group, it wasn’t just supporters who were stunned by the record and its standalone sound; the members were also able to acknowledge just how bizarre a record they’d managed to conjure up.
In an interview with Bass Player magazine, Claypool admitted, “Going through the old stuff is always nostalgic. Seeing old friends, not to mention the hairstyles and clothing. But more than anything, it was special re-experiencing those songs. There’s just something Larry, Tim, and I have together that we’d forgotten about.”
However, he continued by saying that the album still leaves him speechless and lost for how to truly describe the work they’d chosen to make. “Tim has a unique style, especially the way he uses the kick drum, so we rediscovered this vast catalogue of material,” he added, noting, “Some of it is just so far out—really bizarre. I don’t really listen to Primus records. It amazes me that we wrote like that. It’s not exactly classic rock, that’s for sure.”
It may not be “classic rock” but whatever it actually is, it’s certainly a “classic”.
