Pork Soda
| Pork Soda | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by Primus | ||||
| Released | April 20, 1993 | |||
| Recorded | 1992 | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock, alternative metal, funk metal, funk rock, experimental rock | |||
| Length | 57:40 | |||
| Label | Interscope, Prawn Song | |||
| Producer | Primus | |||
| Primus chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Pork Soda | ||||
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Pork Soda is the third studio album by the American rock band Primus, released April 20, 1993.
Pork Soda was certified Gold in September 1993 and certified Platinum in May 1997.[1]
The album comes in a digipack 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.
Pop culture references abound on the album, including Hank Williams Jr., Cher, Pink Floyd, The Residents, Jerry Garcia, Jimi Hendrix, James Brown, Macbeth, Costco, Dr. Martens and Ren & Stimpy.
Music and lyrics
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."[2]
Reception
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [3] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B[4] |
| Robert Christgau |  [5] |
| Rolling Stone |  [6] |
| Piero Scaruffi | (7/10)[7] |
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."[3] 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."[4] In his review for the album, Robert Christgau calls Primus "quite possibly the strangest top-10 band ever, and good for them."[5] 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 it's high time surrealism entered the mosh pits of America, Pork Soda just may be your cup of meat."[6]
Track listing
All lyrics written by Les Claypool, all music composed by Primus.| No. | Title | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Pork Chop's Little Ditty I" | 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 III)" | 4:39 | |
| 7. | "Nature Boy" | 5:35 | |
| 8. | "Wounded Knee" | 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" | 8:11 | |
| 14. | "Pork Chop's Little Ditty II" | 1:03 | |
| 15. | "Hail Santa" | 1:51 |
Personnel
- Primus
- Les Claypool – Vocals, Bass, Mandolin, Double Bass
- Larry LaLonde – Guitar, Banjo
- Tim "Herb" Alexander – Drums, Marimba, Bicycle Bell
- 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 - Billboard (North America)
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1993 | The Billboard 200 | #7 |
Singles - Billboard (North America)
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | "My Name Is Mud" | Modern Rock Tracks | #9 |
| 1993 | "Mr. Krinkle" | Modern Rock Tracks | #15 |
References
- ↑ "RIAA - Gold & Platinum". RIAA. Retrieved 2009-07-21.
- ↑ Primus FAQ Retrieved 2012-10-18.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Pork Soda - Primus". Allmusic.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Frost, Deborah (1993-04-23). "Pork Soda Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2012-04-08.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "CG: Primus". Robert Christgau.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Sinclair, Tom (1993-06-10). "Primus: Pork Soda : Music Reviews". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2007-06-11. Retrieved 2012-04-08.
- ↑ Scaruffi, Piero (1999). "Primus". pieroscaruffi.com. Retrieved January 17, 2014.
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