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Enter the Chicken

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Untitled

Enter the Chicken is the fourteenth studio album by musician Buckethead. The album was released on October 25, 2005 by Serj Tankian's label Serjical Strike.[1] It has 11 songs, two of which are less than twenty seconds long. It contains appearances from such artists as Saul Williams, Maximum Bob, Efrem Schulz and Serj Tankian.

The album includes the song "We Are One", which is one of the few music videos he has ever made, the song also appears on the horror series soundtrack Masters of Horror and also in one episode. "Three Fingers" also appears on the soundtrack of the horror movie Saw II. The last song from the album, the instrumental piece "Nottingham Lace" (previously released on Buckethead's official website) closes the album, and is one of Buckethead's most popular pieces[2], often played in concerts along with "Jordan" known from the game Guitar Hero II and "Soothsayer (Dedicated to Aunt Suzie)" from the album Crime Slunk Scene. Nottingham Lace also ranks #17 in Digital Dream Door's 100 Greatest Rock Guitar Solos [3]

Buckethead promoted the album release with his "Disney World to Disney Land Tour" in October and November 2005.[4]

A re-issue of this album was released in April 2008 with an additional song called "Shen Chi".[5] The bonus track refers to a type of energy in Feng Shui.[6][7]

The track "Waiting Hare" is often mislabeled as "Waiting Here". It is most likely a misprint on the actual back cover however, as the words "waiting here" are clearly heard throughout the song.

Concept

According to Buckethead, Serj Tankian came up with the concept of different guest vocalists and friends, which is the central theme of the album.Hence the name "Buckethead and Friends"

Artwork and booklet

Artwork for the album was done by long-time Buckethead collaborateur Bryan Theiss (aka Frankenseuss). The cover of the reissue is identical to the original, save for some colour changes. The booklet of the reissue of the album contained several mistakes and errors. In the liner notes for almost all the songs, except the first page, the dash that separated the title of the song from its length is either replaced with a rectangle, a character usually representing a character that could not be recognized by the computer in a document, or is altogether missing. Also, the notes are crooked on its back. Notes for the song "The Hand" reveal Maximum Bob's real name to be "Robert Barnum", making this the only release to date (as of February 2009) that uses his real name.

Reception

The participation of Serj Tankian as well as many other high profile musicians caused a bigger media echo than usual Buckethead solo releases would do.[8][9]

The Washington Post called the album "an entertaining disc that dabbles in genres ranging from romantic pop to extreme metal" and stated, "The shredder/space alien proves there's more behind the mask than just a quick pick and a side of slaw."[10]

The Washington Post wrote about "street poet" Saul Williams: "[He] confidently counterbalances Hendrixian distortion on [the song]."[10] JIVE Magazine named "We Are One" and "Three Fingers" as being highlights of the album.[11]

Michael Melchor of 411mania stated: "The hip-hop comes into play on 'Three Fingers' and what sounds [...] suspiciously like street poetry by Saul Williams before Buckethead turns up the funk and groove."[12]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Intro"Buckethead, Dan Monti0:15
2."We Are One" (featuring Serj Tankian)Buckethead, Monti, Serj Tankian4:01
3."Botnus" (featuring Efrem Schulz)Buckethead, Monti, Efrem Schulz3:24
4."Three Fingers" (featuring Saul Williams)Buckethead, Monti, Saul Williams2:58
5."Running from the Light" (featuring Gigi and Maura Davis)Buckethead, Monti, Ejigayehu 'Gigi' Shibabaw, Maura Davis4:42
6."Coma" (featuring Azam Ali and Serj Tankian)Buckethead, Monti, Azam Ali, Tankian5:38
7."Waiting Hare" (featuring Shana Halligan and Serj Tankian)Buckethead, Monti, Tankian5:43
8."Interlude" (performed by Donald Conviser)Buckethead, Monti0:18
9."Funbus" (featuring Dirk Rogers and Keith Aazami)Buckethead, Monti, Dirk Rogers, Keith Aazami3:25
10."The Hand" (featuring Maximum Bob and Ani Maldjian)Buckethead, Monti, Maximum Bob, Ani Maldjian4:24
11."Nottingham Lace"Buckethead, Monti6:33
12."Shen Chi" (2008 reissue track)Buckethead, Monti2:47
Total length:41:21/44:08

Personnel

  • Tracks #1-7, 9-11 Recorded at John Merrick Recorder
  • Track #8 Recorded at the Serjical Strike Dungeons
  • Vocals for Tracks #1-4, 6-10 Recorded at the Serjical Strike Dungeons
  • Produced by Serj Tankian
  • Engineered, Mixed and Co-Produced by Dan Monti
  • Mixed at the Binge Factory
  • Vocal Engineering on Track #5 by Bill Laswell, Cam Dinunzio
  • Additional Programming by Dan Monti
  • Mastered by Paul Miner at Buzzbomb Studios
  • A&R Coordinating by Serj Tankian and George Tonikian
  • Art Direction by Bryan Theiss @ Frankenseuss Laboratories
  • Buckethead's Legal Representation: Stan Diamond Esq., Diamond and Wilson

We Are One

"Enter the Chicken"
Song

"We Are One" was chosen to promote Enter the Chicken and thus was released as a video single.[13]

The song features vocals by System of a Down frontman Serj Tankian who also produced the album.[14]

Music Video

The "creature" performing taxidermy on Buckethead in the song's promotional video clip.

The music video tells the story of Buckethead paying a man called "Marquis" (played by Serj Tankian) to bring him killed animals.[15] Buckethead uses the animals to perform taxidermy on them (a real life hobby of the guitarist).[16] Several animals appear, with flashbacks showing shortly how they died. Buckethead combines parts of all the animals together to create a new animal, which then immediately attacks Buckethead. The video has compairisons to the Frankenstein tale in that, Buckethead creates a monster, by bringing his creature to life by electrocuting it. The video then focuses on the fight of Buckethead to survive the attacks but the creation manages to kill his creator. The monster then drags Buckethead to the resurection table, and zaps him back into being, however when he is brought back to life he discovers that his being had performed taxidermy on him, cutting off his arms and legs and replacing them with animal parts, the creature killing the maker and then bringing him back as a monster in it's own right, has many layers of meaning and conitation.

Usage in Masters of Horror

The song appeared on the soundtrack of the horror series Masters of Horror[17][18] and was also used in the episode Dance of the Dead of the award winning series, when main character Peggy arrives at the town of Muskeet with her friends.

Reception

The Washington Post described "We Are One" as one of the standout tracks of the album, being "concisely spastic, metallic and reminiscent of Tankian's Armenian-influenced headbanger band, System of a Down."[10] Other reviewers also compared the song to the singer's former work with System Of A Down[19], nameley with songs from Toxicity.[12] JIVE Magazine named "We Are One" and "Three Fingers" as being highlights of the album.[11]

The clip gained airplay on several music related television stations.

Personnel

Botnus

"Enter the Chicken"
Song

"Botnus" was inspired by the evil character Dr. Botanus on Giant Robot, a Japanese television show that heavily influenced Buckethead's work.[20]

The original name for the song was "Dungeon Stilt". A demo version of this song appears on the DVD Secret Recipe.

Reception

The song has been described as "storm[ing] out of the gates with hellish fury letting up for only a few bars to allow the listener a quick breath"[21] and being about "a creature that features the voice of Death By Stereo participant Efrem Schulz. Botnus may scare younger visitors, as it is very aggressive when disturbed."[22]

The Washington Post called Buckethead's guitar work on the song as "lickety-split riffing and soloing,"[10] backed up by 411mania, writing that "[t]he metal influences are in full force as Buckethead supplies the blistering rhythm for Shulz [sic] then inserts a grand, soaring solo into the song while he's at it."[12]

Three Fingers

"Enter the Chicken"
Song

"Three Fingers" features vocals by Saul Williams who was invited to perform on the track by producer Serj Tankian. Williams recorded his part separately from Buckethead's work, and the two never met during the process.[8] The song was also included on the soundtrack of the horror film Saw II.[23]

When asked about the song, Buckethead responded: "Every day is like a strange movie for me."[24]

References

  1. ^ http://uk.music.ign.com/articles/648/648016p1.html
  2. ^ http://www.gibson.com/en-us/Lifestyle/Features/Top10MetalSolos-PartII/
  3. ^ http://digitaldreamdoor.nutsie.com/pages/best_guitarsolo.html
  4. ^ Former GUNS N' ROSES Guitarist BUCKETHEAD Announces Solo Tour Dates - Sep. 19, 2005
  5. ^ Amazon.com: Enter The Chicken: Buckethead & Friends: Music
  6. ^ Aha Chi - Chi guide
  7. ^ Kartar Diamond: Feng Shui for Skeptics, 2003
  8. ^ a b "Saul Williams Tours With My Morning Jacket, Sort Of Records With Buckethead". MTV.com. November 8, 2005. Retrieved 2009-02-12.
  9. ^ Buckethead Knows Chicken, Rolling Stone, October 2005
  10. ^ a b c d LOST TRACKS : Good CDs We Overlooked in 2005, The Washington Post, January 4, 2006
  11. ^ a b Buckethead and Friends, JIVE Magazine, October 2005
  12. ^ a b c Buckethead & Friends – Enter The Chicken Review, 411mania, November 2005
  13. ^ Buckethead's "We Are One" (featuring Serj Tankian), Punknews.org, November 2005
  14. ^ Masters of Horror An interview with Buckethead and Serj Tankian, KNAC.com, November 16, 2005
  15. ^ We Are One, Music Remedy
  16. ^ Buckethead FAQ 2.0
  17. ^ New music from The Bronx, Death By Stereo, Rise Against, more on "Masters of Horror" soundtrack, August 2005
  18. ^ Masters Of Horror tracklisting with Rise Against, Andrew W.K., Alkaline Trio, Thursday, more, September 2005
  19. ^ Seltenrich, Nate. "Enter the Chicken". PopMatters. Retrieved 2009-03-02.
  20. ^ Buckethead FAQ 2.0
  21. ^ Enter the Chicken, Music Remedy
  22. ^ Buckethead Album Review, The Gauntlet
  23. ^ 50 fastest guitarists of all time, Guitar World, November 2008
  24. ^ The Boston Herald, March 29th, 2006
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