Review from August 1995 issue of Musician magazine

PRIMUS

Tales From the Punce Bowl
Primus' fifth outing finds the band once again at their most nonsensical and darkly twisted. Fans will tell you that the Bay Area trio is best enjoyed in either a live setting or with the aid of headphones and mind-altering chemicals. If those conditions aren't practical, Tales From the Punch Bowl still makes for a compelling odyssey, despite the group's forays into self-indulgent if impressive jams.
The album follows an old-fashioned LP format, with a real difference between what would have been sides one and two. The first half-dozen songs are more structured and accessible, while the final seven cuts-with the exception of the twangy, countrified "De Anza Jig"-feature more esoteric noodlings. That's not to sat "Space Farm," with its animal and ambient noises, or the ultra-heavy seven-minute-plus "Professor Nuttbutter's House of Treats" will have radio program directors doing backflips. But compared to the rambling "Hellbound 12 1/2 (theme from)" and the record's capper, the instrumental seafaring ditty "Captain Shiner," (replete with gulls, foghorns and boat noises) they're practically Top 40 fare. Highlights include the wondrous and whimsical "Southbound Pachyderm," which smacks of psychedelic Bauhaus meets Ted Nugent, and "Year of the Parrot,"with its biting indictment of pop music circa '94.
Throughout, the boisterous, rhythm-driven clamor of Primus' mental metal offset by the instantly recognizable jazzy/funky/chunky stylings of bassist/singer Les Claypool-while Claypool's actual voice is third in the mix of Primus' onslaught of tight-as-a-drum musicality and idiosyncratic vignette-style lyrics, his vocal take on each song is original and amusing.
Despite the jokey vibe that has always surrounded Primus, this collection is multi-leveled, poignant at times ("Mrs. Blaileen") and just plain weird at others ("Wynona's Big Brown Beaver"). In any case, Tales cannot be relegated to background music-it's simply too demanding on the ear. Once again, this twisted trio of tunesmiths have come through with a mystifying, generally rewarding, surreal circus of an album.
-Katherine Turman

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