Always following their own path,
Primus
have been making the musical world a joyously weird place since they made their debut in 1990 with
Frizzle Fry
. Now, over 20 years and seven albums later,
push themselves to new levels of strangeness with their eighth album,
Primus & the Chocolate Factory with the Fungi Ensemble
, an album that finds the band paying tribute to the iconic music of the 1971 film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. In the hands of
Les Claypool
and company, the score, originally penned by
Leslie Bricusse
and
Anthony Newley
, takes on a darker, more ominous tone. This is really saying something, given that the film (like the
Roald Dahl
book it was adapted from) is about a bunch of wretched children meeting comically grisly ends due to their own tragic flaws, while a manic chocolatier observes with a mixture of contempt and disinterest. In a way,
are taking the subtext of the film in which
Gene Wilder
(to whom the album is dedicated) acted so brilliantly and making it the text, so to speak. By coaxing the sinister undercurrents to the surface,
are able to make the instantly recognizable score all their own while still paying homage to the brilliance of the original. Of special note to fans will be the record's personnel, not only featuring drummer
Tim "Herb" Alexander
on his first
record since 1995's
Tales from the Punchbowl
, but also including a guest appearance by
the Fungi Ensemble
, made up of
Frog Brigade
percussionist
Mike Dillon
and cellist
Sam Bass
. While having their most celebrated drummer on hand adds an element of stability to what is a pretty far-out concept even for
, the addition of
Bass
Dillon
allows
to really push their sound to its creative limits, making
Primus & the Chocolate Factory
one of the band's oddest, yet most strangely compelling, releases to date. ~ Gregory Heaney