Even with questionable production (drums in particular) and some lazy songwriting continuing a small but sequential decline in quality which eventually ended up rendering Claypool's first love unnecessary, The Brown Album still falls in the favor of acquisition, and for some may even be a pleasant ongoing change where this bassmaster continues to stress fun over frenzy, even if this frontman's version of fun was always a little bit different.

Tim's gone. No big deal... Brain isn't that bad of a drummer. He's not nearly as good here as he was on Antipop, but I don't think this album really required crazy drumming (well, Fisticuffs deserved better drums, but...). I'll just break up the different awesome-ness levels of each song into "Amazing", "Great", "Good", "Unimpressive", and "Annoying as hell":

Amazing:
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Golden Boy
Hats Off
Bob's Party Time Lounge

Great:
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The Return of Sathington Willoughby
Fisticuffs
Over The Falls
Shake Hands with Beef
Duchess and the Proverbial Mindspread
Kalamazoo
Chastising of the Renegade

Good:
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Arnie
Puddin' Taine

Unimpressive:
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Restin' Bones

Annoying as Hell
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Camelback Cinema
Coddingtown

That's about all you need to know.

In the last year I became a Primus addict. I'd always had Sailing the Seas of Cheese - one day it just clicked for me when I dusted it off after a few years. I soon acquired everything this group has released. When picking one to review, I chose the Brown Album because it so universally dichotomous among fans. Everything from the title (simplistic sarcastic genius or utterly stupid?) to the production (classic rock sludge sublime or amateur lo-fi crap?) is polarizing.

In my humble opinion, this is not their greatest album, but it is certainly unique in every way. I believe the production is superb, but I love the garage rock sludge sound. The drums just BOOM throughout. The bass just envelops you. The guitar is just haunting throughout. Ler finally get his due and gets mixed a little higher. Still, Les Claypool is the driving force behind this band. And here he decides to lay back. True, he's still dominating the sound like no other bassist ever has in a rock band, but his playing is more groove and riff oriented, and less obsessed with insanely wacky and irreplicable technique. On "Over the Falls" we have Primus' first straight up pop composition - no insane instrumental passages, just acoustic bass, guitar and drums, and Claypool's most (yes I am saying this seriously) heartfelt vocal performance (he has quite a few, for those of you laughing - see Bob on Pork Soda, American Life on Cheese, to name a couple). Lyrically, I love this album. There is an 1800s and early 1900s theme, and if history is your thing, you just get an awesome vibe from the lyrics and artwork. "Kalamazoo" is a semi-cover of an old jazz standard. "Fisticuffs" (an incredible song) tells tales of bare knuckles boxing. The aforementioned "Over the Falls" is an old fashioned sounding song that speaks of the bizarre early 1900's obsession with building vessels that could protect an adventurer on a trip down Niagara Falls.

"Brain" Mantia joined the group upon Tim Alexander's departure, and it seems the band decided to latch onto his snare and hi hat dependable rhythms. If you like riffs, solid grooves, and garage rock production, this is the Primus record for you. Primus dabbles in a bit of blues, stoner rock, raggae, and jazz here like never before. And the bottom heavy stomp is suited perfectly to this kind of dirty production. An outstanding effort and unfairly mischaracterized release from Primus.

The "Brown Album" was initially rather disappointing for me. For one thing I found the songs to be a little too drawn-out, resulting in a sense of monotony, but also I really disliked the production. Unlike past Primus albums where the instruments have sounded very clear and punctuated, the "Brown Album" sounds like it was recorded underwater. This is especially the case with the drums, which have a very thuddy sound, especially the snare drum which sounds like someone thumping a mattress. But gradually I have found this murky production to give the album a special feel, and certainly the most unique of all the Primus albums. I have also come round to many of the songs I initially deemed uninspiring, and therefore this album has become one of those classic 'growers' that take months, sometimes years to really click.

Now, reviewing this album years down the line, I can honestly say there really isn't a poor song here, and may well be the band's most consistent release. For reviews sake, I shall pick out a few of my highlights, starting with the groovy "Golden Boy". Initially this was my favourite song on the album, and one of the few I would return to, mostly due to its fantastic lead bass riff, which has Claypool's groovy and complex styling all over it. "Shake Hands With Beef" is a powerful and lurching song with a great confrontational vibe, boosted by menacing lyrics concerning growing up and violence (thematically similar to "Fisti Cuffs"). This is a song that really complements the low-end, fuzzy guitar production, and the muddy drum production I mentioned earlier. "Bob's Party Time Lounge" is another favourite, combining Claypool's soft, almost 'childlike' vocal effect with a fun, energetic and typically groovy chorus motif. The song also contains Claypool's bent for off-centre, slightly disturbing lyrics about drug abuse, violence and sex, all executed with tongue firmly in cheek. My last album pick, and personal fave is the brooding "Restin Bones", similar in style and feel to "Shake Hands With Beef" with a slow tempo, fuzzy guitars and somewhat laid-back vocal delivery, lyrically telling an 'edgy' narrative story.

The "Brown Album" is not as technically proficient as previous releases, such as the classic "Sailing The Seas Of Cheese" and "Frizzle Fry" albums. Nor is it as disturbingly off-centre as the weird and wonderful "Pork Soda". Yet, I believe this is their most consistent album from front to back, and has a unique production and vibe, making it a necessary purchase for fans of other albums, and an interesting focal point for new fans.

I believe several reviewers have mistaken the production techniques of this album for defects in the sound or instrumentation.

This album has an incredibly raw and echo-y mix that sounds both bright and muddy at the same time. The main culprits are the drums, which have a short echo built into every hit. It gives the album a very curious sound - in other words the album has a real homogeny to the overall sound of the album, but if you are expecting a clean, tight production, you're going to be disappointed.

The production reminds me of Nirvana's In Utero - off and raw but very tasty and well produced.

I'm not very fond of the opening track but I love every other one. With Frizzle Fry and Pork Soda, this completes my triumverate of favorite Primus albums.