THE LES CLAYPOOL FROG BRIGADE

The tracks here definitely take on a more experimental composition than one would find with Primus, but aren't so far are there to be unenjoyable. "Buzzards of Green Hill" takes on a somewhat country twang as Claypool sings of the city slickers blasting through the roads of the California country side. "Long in the Tooth," though the second shortest song on the album, features Skerik prominently on the saxophone with interesting solo parts. "Barrington Hall" features a haunting melody with cello and viola as the primary instruments (as Claypool informs us of the strange people of Barrington). "D's Dinner" is more spacey and atmospheric despite being about a real-life diner. Perhaps the wildest song is "Whamola," an instrumental piece named for which Claypool invented his own instrument called the Whamola, a single string bass played by striking it with a drumstick. The result is a heavy bass song capable of taking the lead for much of the song with some wild sounds.

I give this album 4 stars out of 5. Its an enjoyable album with a lot of interesting experiments, but there's a couple songs that miss the mark (Cosmic Highway, for one) that prevent it from being 5 star. Still a worthwhile pickup though and an underrated part of the Claypool discography.

What follows is an almost note for note reproduction of the original album, which is both a strength and a weakness. The prog covers in set 1 were faithful to the spirit of the originals, but the musicians put their own stamp on them; set 2 is more like listening to a very good Pink Floyd tribute band. There are a few places where something different creeps in, mostly in those passages where Pink Floyd used taped effects, but for the most part the lead guitar, vocals, drum fills and keyboard arpeggios are duplicated with absolute fidelity.

This is an enjoyable album, but there really isn't much reason to recommend it unless you need proof that Les Claypool is capable of playing it straight when he wants to. If you're curious about Frog Brigade, check out Set 1 or Purple Onion first.

Frog Brigade was formed for a jam band festival in 2000, and the line up included two former Primus members who were collaborating with Claypool in a band called Sausage. This was the first of two live releases, and it's a pretty good hour and a bit of highly accomplished jamming with a distinctive prog flavour.

The album is bookended with two prog covers. It opens with a 14 minute exploration of King Crimson's Thela Hun Ginjeet, looser than the original but faithful to its spirit. At the other end of the album there is an uptempo version of Shine on you Crazy Diamond with a Primus style vocal from Les Claypool. In between there are five Sausage and Holy Mackerel songs, all given the jam band treatment and mostly twisted into interesting new shapes. Twin guitars, keyboards and saxophone all add extra texture and the soloing (especially Skerik's sax) is often inspired.

It would be a stretch to call this an essential album, and some might find it a tad self indulgent. If you enjoy Zappa's archival live albums or King Crimson offshoots like the Crimson Projekct then there's plenty to enjoy here; a tight rhythm section underpinning a group of highly accomplished musicians at the top of their game. A solid four star live album.