LES CLAYPOOL AND THE HOLY MACKEREL Highball With The Devil 1996

 

Discogs

 

Highball with the Devil Review

by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

There doesn't seem to be much reason for Les Claypool to release a solo album. As the leader and prime creative force behind Primus, he basically dictates the very sound of their records. The only excuse for a solo project like Les Claypool & the Holy Mackerel's Highball With the Devil -- or his other side project, Sausage -- is to give the bassist the chance to play with other musicians. On Highball With the Devil, he rounds up a number of friends and session musicians and places them in his home studio. In other words, it's an informal jam session. Fortunately, the musicians are uniformly first-rate and occasionally, in the case of Joe Gore and Charlie Hunter, simply stellar. When the group concentrates on jamming, the music is fine and even more interesting than Primus' extended workouts. When Claypool tries to make these jams into songs by adding inane lyrics and his skittering, mannered vocals, Highball With the Devil loses all of its momentum. And that is his main downfall -- Claypool can't help but sabotage his music with his weakness for kitsch and art-funk, and that's why his first solo album will only be appreciated by dedicated fans.


Tracklist

1:36
2		Holy Mackerel

3:53
3		Highball With The Devil

4:00
4		Hendershot

2:26
5		Calling Kyle

3:54
6		Rancor

1:22
7		Cohibas Esplenditos

3:13
8		Delicate Tendrils

5:00
9		The Awakening

3:34
10		Precipitation

3:56
11		George E. Porge

2:32
12		El Sobrante Fortnight

3:38
13		Granny's Little Yard Gnome

3:02
14		Me And Chuck

2:59
15		Carolina Rig

3:00

1

Running The Gauntlet

 

EYESORE: A STAB AT THE RESIDENTS Various Artists 1996

 

Discogs

 

A compilation for the band The Residents

Tracklist

1	Only A Mother–	Mahogany Wood
3:11
2(<<)	Unknown Artist–	Untitled	0:09
2	Idiot Flesh–	Bach Is Dead
1:46
3	Heavy Vegetable–	Time's Up
2:46
4	Frank Pahl–	Everyone Comes To The Freak Show
0:25
5	Borgia Popes–	Constantinople
2:04
6(<<)	Ubzub–	What Could The Matter Be?	0:19
6	Thinking Fellers Union Local 282–	The Electrocutioner
3:24
7	Mooseheart Faith–	Firefly / Vinegar
2:41
8	Splatter Trio–	Six Things To A Cycle Part 1 (Chew Chew Gum)
0:38
9	Amy Denio–	Act Of Being Polite
3:52
10(<<)	Ubzub–	N-ER-GEE (Crisis Blues)	0:45
10a	Utotem*–	Sinister Exaggerator
3:38
10b	Greg Roe–	H.E.L.L. No!	0:24
11	Giant Ant Farm–	Eva's Warning
4:12
12	Charming Hostess–	Won't You Keep Us Working?
2:35
13	Richie West & Bomb Factory (2)–	Voices Of The Air
2:01
14	Silica Gel–	Shut Up! Shut Up!
1:09
15	Mommyheads*–	Moisture
1:58
16	Supercollider–	Walrus Hunt
2:05
17(<<)	Ubzub–	Lord It's Lonely	0:33
17	Snakefinger–	Smelly Tongues
2:23
18	Fibulator–	You Yesyesyes
2:01
19	Dramagold–	You Yesyesyes Again
1:47
20	Shakin Ray Levis*–	Red Rider
1:39
21	Poxy Boggards–	Santa Dog
1:34
22	Splatter Trio–	Six Things To A Cycle Part 2 (Good Good Coffee)	0:45
23	Big Butter–	Their Early Years
1:12
24	Cracker–	Blue Rosebuds
2:54
25	Pink Floyd The Barber–	Boo Who?
2:49
26	Non Credo–	Nice Skinny Sinister Old Man
2:40
27	Lungpigs–	No One Laughs When They Leave
0:56
28	Eskimo (9)–	Happy Home
4:29
29	Primus–	Hello Skinny / Constantinople
4:46
30a	Stan Ridgway & J.E.D. (2)–	Excuse / The Booker Tease
1:08
30b	Greg Roe–	Gingerbread Man	0:07
31(<<)	The Residents–	Benny The Bouncing Bump (Live)
4:09
31	Unknown Artist–	Untitled	0:06

 

SAUSAGE Riddles Are Abound Tonight 1994

 

Discogs

Artist Biography by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Sausage is the original lineup of the California Bay Area group Primus. Like Primus, the group is led by bassist/vocalist Les Claypool, yet his playing doesn't dominate the band like it does in Primus. Instead, its more of a collective, with guitarist Todd Huth and drummer Jay Lane providing a solid groove, not fractured rhythms. Huth, Lane, and Claypool formed Primus in the late '80s, releasing a demo tape called Sausage. Claypool remained with Primus while Lane wound up in the hip-hop/jazz collective Alphabet Soup and the jazz group, the Charlie Hunter Trio; Huth became a member of Porch. In 1994, the group reunited under the name Sausage, releasing Riddles Are Abound Tonight, and went on a short tour.

Tracklist

1	Prelude To Fear	3:19
2	Riddles Are Abound Tonight	3:55
3	Here's To The Man	5:14
4	Shattering Song	7:06
5	Toyz 1988	5:50
6	Temporary Phase	5:59
7	Girls For Single Men	6:31
8	Recreating	4:22
9	Caution Should Be Used While Driving A Motor Vehicle Or Operating Machinery	6:21