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Pork Soda

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Not to be confused with Bacon soda.
For the Glass Animals song, see How to Be a Human Being.
Untitled

Pork Soda is the third studio album by the American rock band Primus, released April 20, 1993, certified Gold in September 1993 and certified Platinum in May 1997.[2] The album comes in a digipak and contains a booklet with lyrics printed to nine songs, omitting "Pork Soda" which consists of a series of unintelligible rants. This is also the first of three Primus releases to feature explicit lyrics printed for any of their songs.

The album was performed in its entirety for the first time at The Fox Theater in Oakland, California, on December 31st, 2015.

Music and lyrics

The album contains darker content than previous Primus efforts, featuring lyrics dealing with murder, suicide, and alienation. The band has commented that prior to recording, they had been touring for nearly two solid years and were thus in a sombre mood, although in a 2015 interview Claypool described the era surrounding the album as "Good times, happy times. It's not like we were reflecting any personal drama or anything." [3]

Regarding the song "Wounded Knee" drummer Tim Alexander said "I needed a name. I was reading this book called "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee". It was something I never really thought about before... I mean how this country came to be. We are taught to be so proud. But a lot of what we have is based on lies and deceit. They only teach you what they want you to know. I hope people will see the title and check it out. Next time you listen to `Wounded Knee', try and put the story and the music together. The rhythm and the pulse, there is an element of it that is angry then peaceful."[4]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[5]
Christgau's Consumer Guide(2-star Honorable Mention)(2-star Honorable Mention)[6]
Entertainment WeeklyB[1]
Rolling Stone[7]
Spin Alternative Record Guide6/10[8]

In his review for Allmusic, Steve Huey contends that Pork Soda is "one of the strangest records ever to debut in the Top Ten." He notes that the album "showcases the band's ever-increasing level of musicianship" and that "[their] ensemble interplay continues to grow in complexity and musicality", although "[the] material isn't quite as consistent as Seas of Cheese". He concludes that "the band keeps finding novel variations on their signature sound, even if they never step out of it."[5] Reviewing the album for Entertainment Weekly, Deborah Frost notes that "the band is starting to gel". She describes Pork Soda as "goofy" and "Zappa-esque", predicting that the "alternative-metal-fusion will appeal mostly to folks who like a little fizz with their lard."[1] In his review for the album, Robert Christgau calls Primus "quite possibly the strangest top-10 band ever, and good for them."[6] Tom Sinclair, for Rolling Stone, describes the album as "an amalgam of elements that have no reason to be joined together in a sane universe", noting that "the band invokes the circa '69 Mothers of Invention and Trout Mask Replica-era Captain Beefheart as often as it does George Clinton or Bootsy Collins." He concludes that "hard-core funk-metal freaks may find it all a bit diffuse, but if you think its high time surrealism entered the mosh pits of America, Pork Soda just may be your cup of meat."[7]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Les Claypool; all music is composed by Primus

No.TitleLength
1."Pork Chop's Little Ditty" (instrumental)0:21
2."My Name Is Mud"4:48
3."Welcome to This World"3:40
4."Bob"4:40
5."DMV"4:58
6."The Ol' Diamondback Sturgeon (Fisherman's Chronicles, Part 3)"4:39
7."Nature Boy"5:35
8."Wounded Knee" (instrumental)2:25
9."Pork Soda"2:20
10."The Pressman"5:11
11."Mr. Krinkle"5:27
12."The Air Is Getting Slippery"2:31
13."Hamburger Train" (instrumental; beginning sample is audio of Paul Reubens from the film Nice Dreams)8:11
14."Pork Chop's Little Ditty" (instrumental)1:03
15."Hail Santa" (instrumental)1:51

Personnel

Primus

Production

  • Derek Featherstone – engineer
  • Leslie Gerard-Smith – project coordinator
  • John Golden, K-Disk – mastering
  • Manny LaCarrubba, Neil King, Kent Matchke – second engineers
  • Ron Rigler – engineer
  • Tom Whalley – A&R direction

Visual art

  • Jay Blakesburg – front cover and background photography
  • Paul "Bosco" Haggard – cover layout
  • Lance "Link" Montoya – sculpture
  • Snap – airbrushing

Charts

Album

Chart (1993–94) Position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[9] 54
US Billboard 200 7

Singles - Billboard (North America)

Single Chart (1993) Position
"My Name Is Mud" Modern Rock Tracks 9

References

  1. ^ a b c Frost, Deborah (1993-04-23). "Pork Soda Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2012-04-08. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  2. ^ "RIAA - Gold & Platinum". RIAA. Archived from the original on 2010-12-10. Retrieved 2009-07-21. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ Rank Your Records: Les Claypool Retrieved 2017-08-08.
  4. ^ Primus FAQ Retrieved 2012-10-18.
  5. ^ a b "Pork Soda - Primus". Allmusic.
  6. ^ a b Christgau, Robert (2000-10-15). "Primus". Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s. Macmillan Publishing. ISBN 9780312245603. {{cite book}}: External link in |chapterurl= (help); Unknown parameter |chapterurl= ignored (|chapter-url= suggested) (help)
  7. ^ a b Sinclair, Tom (1993-06-10). "Primus: Pork Soda : Music Reviews". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2007-06-11. Retrieved 2012-04-08. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (1995). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. ISBN 9780679755746.
  9. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988-2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
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