Primus – Primus & The Chocolate Factory With The Fungi Ensemble
- Written by Rob Barker
Experimental, gifted and slightly unhinged, Primus have always managed to carve their own niche.
Led by the creative powerhouse and generally impressive bass player that is Les Claypool, the band’s eccentric, psychedelic and at times prog-influenced creations have influenced countless other musicians and even unknowing legions of South Park fans, thanks to their role writing the show’s theme tune.
The band’s first full length release in nearly two decades, Primus & The Chocolate Factory With The Fungi Ensemble features the band’s definitive lineup, with Claypool joined by guitarist Larry LaLonde and drummer Tim Alexander.
An homage to 1971’s Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory, the latest album takes the much-loved original soundtrack and covers each song in typical Primus fashion. Imagine hearing the Bricusse/Newley compositions through the ears of Frank Zappa and you’ll be in the right sort of neighbourhood.
An outspoken critic of the later Tim Burton adaptation, Claypool’s goal is to remain true to the tone of the original film, while introducing some of the darker elements of Roald Dahl’s original text and some of his own peculiarities.
The album-opening instrumental, 'Hello Wonkites', goes some way to introducing you to the sounds you’ll hear throughout the next 13 tracks, featuring ominous basslines, bowed strings and grungy synths that are reminiscent of an '80s horror movie chase sequence.
If the opener was a sample of things to come then the first ‘proper’ song, 'Candy Man', drops you straight into the band’s unique sonic punchbowl. A well-known song in its original form, Claypool’s twisted version features sinister vocals, a whammy-bass loop that has more than a passing resemblance to a mooing cow and the kind of xylophone playing that’s usually accompanied by comedy skeletons.
From here things are in a state of flux, shifting in and out of just the right amount of weirdness. Despite starting with an air raid siren, 'Cheer Up Charlie' is reasonably straightforward despite ticking clock-like percussion and vocals that may remind you of Kermit the frog.
It’s clear throughout …Chocolate Factory that this is a labour of love for Primus. Every element is carefully crafted, each sound is deliberate and precise displaying an almost obsessive degree of dedication to the project.
It might be easy to write this off as a novelty album, but it’s far more than that, it’s a soundtrack to the film that the 1971 original could have been, given (very) different circumstances.
One of the movie’s most recognised elements, the Oompa Loompas’ songs are given a new degree of weight, literally in the case of the song which accompanies Augustus Gloop’s exit, where pounding drums and bass seem to represent the boy’s plodding gait.
Due to this being such a radical departure from the original’s widely recognised songs there are bound to be some that feel the music has been perverted somehow, and it has, but that was probably the idea all along.
If you’re a Primus fan then this is a must, if you’re a Roald Dahl fan after a fresh take on the subject then dive in, there’s no better time to learn.
Primus & The Chocolate Factory is available from amazon & iTunes.