The Depths · All albums

Tales from the Punchbowl

Primus · 1995

• Scores: Noise 2, Unease 2, Complexity 4 (each 1 to 5)
• Genre: Metal, Rock, Funk Metal, Alternative Rock
• Mood: quirky, twitchy, sardonic
• Sound: slap bass lead, odd time signatures, nasal vocals, story songs, funk rhythms

Primus recorded this between November 1994 and March 1995 at Rancho Relaxo in Sebastopol, California, producing it themselves. Les Claypool plays bass, bass banjo, upright bass and fretless bass, and Larry LaLonde adds guitar and six-string banjo. It was Tim Alexander's last album before he left, and he rejoined seven years later. The cover shows the band dressed as penguins on an iceberg, and the 1996 enhanced CD reissue replaced the disc image of Captain Shiner with a ship's helm.

Track list

1. Professor Nutbutter's House of Treats (7:12)
2. Mrs. Blaileen (3:19)
3. Wynona's Big Brown Beaver (4:24)
4. Southbound Pachyderm (6:21)
5. Space Farm (1:45)
6. Year of the Parrot (5:45)
7. Hellbound 17½ (Theme From) (2:59)
8. Glass Sandwich (4:05)
9. Del Davis Tree Farm (3:23)
10. De Anza Jig (2:26)
11. On the Tweek Again (4:41)
12. Over the Electric Grapevine (6:24)
13. Captain Shiner (1:15)