3x****
This collaboration between Les Claypool, Trey Anistasio, and Stewart Copeland sounds.... exactly like you'd expect it to. Opening "Little Faces" manages not to sound exactly any of the three but is still semi-enjoyable wankery. "Oz Is Ever Floating" sounds most like late Police, in tempo and melodically. "Mr. Oysterhead" is a Primus-ian funk/hip-hop with Trey's distinctive riffing, while "Army's On Ecstacy" is the more Phish-styled version. The Asian-flavored "Shadow Of A Man" is uniquely creepy, but is too repetitive. "Wield The Spade" is peppered with samples and some Claypoolian insanity, but the title song mining the old Primus sound - amusing but based too closely on "Here Come The Bastards". "Polka Dot Rose" is trippy and bass-driven, while the ending "Owner Of The World" also sounds like no-one in particular. "Birthday Boys", sung by Trey, is nicely played Phish-ian bluegrass but doesn't really fit here. The best songs here are the seamless melding of styles such as in "Rubberneck Lions"****, the heavy groove and zaniness unleashed in "Pseudo Suicide"****, and the jazzy "Radon Balloon" another Trey-heavy song. The expert musicianship, heavy wankery, and humor were expected, and in this way The Grand Pecking Order does not disappoint.
This collaboration between Les Claypool, Trey Anistasio, and Stewart Copeland sounds.... exactly like you'd expect it to. Opening "Little Faces" manages not to sound exactly any of the three but is still semi-enjoyable wankery. "Oz Is Ever Floating" sounds most like late Police, in tempo and melodically. "Mr. Oysterhead" is a Primus-ian funk/hip-hop with Trey's distinctive riffing, while "Army's On Ecstacy" is the more Phish-styled version. The Asian-flavored "Shadow Of A Man" is uniquely creepy, but is too repetitive. "Wield The Spade" is peppered with samples and some Claypoolian insanity, but the title song mining the old Primus sound - amusing but based too closely on "Here Come The Bastards". "Polka Dot Rose" is trippy and bass-driven, while the ending "Owner Of The World" also sounds like no-one in particular. "Birthday Boys", sung by Trey, is nicely played Phish-ian bluegrass but doesn't really fit here. The best songs here are the seamless melding of styles such as in "Rubberneck Lions"****, the heavy groove and zaniness unleashed in "Pseudo Suicide"****, and the jazzy "Radon Balloon" another Trey-heavy song. The expert musicianship, heavy wankery, and humor were expected, and in this way The Grand Pecking Order does not disappoint.
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