Track Listings (13) - Disc #1| All Artists: Oysterhead Title: The Grand Pecking Order Members Wishing: 6 Total Copies: 0 Label: Elektra / Wea Original Release Date: 1/1/2001 Re-Release Date: 10/2/2001 Genres: Pop, R&B, Rock Styles: Funk, Jam Bands, Rock Jam Bands, Progressive, Progressive Rock Number of Discs: 1 SwapaCD Credits: 1 UPCs: 075596267724, 0075596267762 |
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Search - Oysterhead :: The Grand Pecking Order
 | Oysterhead The Grand Pecking Order Genres: Pop, R&B, Rock
It's not difficult to see why Trey Anastasio (of Phish) and Les Claypool (of Primus) have a musical attraction to each other: they both revel in a balance of technical proficiency and head-spinning absurdity. Of course, Fr... more » |
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Amazon.com It's not difficult to see why Trey Anastasio (of Phish) and Les Claypool (of Primus) have a musical attraction to each other: they both revel in a balance of technical proficiency and head-spinning absurdity. Of course, Frank Zappa was a pioneer in this realm and you can hear his influence throughout. With former Police drummer Stewart Copeland on board as the third accomplice, Oysterhead pretty much wear out the lines between creativity and self-indulgence, between the clever and the goofy--a fact that is not at all surprising given the histories of Anastasio and Claypool, neither of whom are known for their self-editing abilities. Still, Oysterhead earns considerable points for the level of musicianship, originality, and sheer abandon of the project. And Copeland seems liberated by the setting, showing ingenuity and dexterity in driving these ultra-quirky tunes. In the end, this mix of clunky funk and decadent weirdness is maddening almost as much as it is rewarding, but The Grand Pecking Order has a sinister futuristic quality that is simply too peculiar to ignore. --Marc Greilsamer Similar CDsSimilarly Requested CDs
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CD ReviewsOpposing Viewpoint: Oysterhead shows the Artists Limitations Brendan Heddle | New York City | 10/05/2001 (3 out of 5 stars) "First off let me say there are few people who are as big a fan of Phish, Primus, and the Police as I am. However, I felt this album left me wondering exactly how much I SHOULD appreciate these three incredible artists. I think my viewpoint of Les Claypool has totally changed after hearing this album. Ive learned that although he is an incredible musician, he has a pretty limited scope of musical range.For all intents and purposes the songs on "The Grand Pecking Order" written by Les Claypool are Primus. I write specifically of the songs where either the music or lyrics were written specifically by Claypool alone, such as "Shadow of a Man" and "The Army's on Ecstasy." There is little to no difference from the songs he wrote on this album to what you might find on Primus or Les Claypool's Flying Frog Brigade. You can tell Try didnt really know how to approach these songs.To a lesser extent, the two songs written by Anastasio alone, "Radon Balloon" and "Birthday Boys" follow the similar scheme. These songs could easily be passed off as Phish songs.I think Copeland is the only one who benefits from working with the other two. I think his talent is realized to its full extent, and you can tell he was challenged by working with Trey and Les. You can hear that his talent goes far beyond what was expected of him with the Police.It is only on the songs written by the collective that you really see the potential of these 3 artists working together. All of these songs have incredible compositions, and they gel together beautifully. It is for these songs that you should purchase this album. But the songs written by only one person in the band, makes you wonder if they have the ability to look past the scope of their own musical scope." A highlight for 2001 Colin Pool | 10/03/2001 (5 out of 5 stars) "I admit, I was fanatical when i first heard about the Oysterhead project. My favorite drummer, guitar player, and one of my favorite bass players decided to start a band. How cool is that?I immediately found a bootleg of the 5-4-00 show from the NO saenger and was quite impressed, despite some very obvious rough spots. Since that time, I've been waiting for what seems like forever for the release of the album. Today the wait was over, I travelled to my local record store at 11 am and bought this album without even looking at anything else (quite unusual for me). I then found the first CD player I could and put this in. It is amazing how much these three musicians, whose usual bands (primus, phish, and the police) have such a signature sound, could create something with such a unique sound. You can hear definite touches of these bands in the songs, but they compliment each other in new ways. Claypool's heavy bass tone has forced Trey to play in a more metallic, yet still funky fashion. consequently, Copeland's drumming has reached new funky heights never reached with the Police (in addition, its awesome to finally hear from stewart copeland again.). the addition of copeland also brought new production values to the project. If you listen, there are all kinds of cool electronic effects, drum machines, etc. in the background that enhance the project immensely. All in all this is an awesome project. Highly reccomended." Very Promising Combination of Talent Worgelm | United States | 10/13/2001 (4 out of 5 stars) "Hopefully this will not be a one-off for these guys. I think they have yet to fully realize the potential as a unit. Mostly the project comes off as separate songwriters who are operating just slightly off-kilter from their normal spheres of influence; Les put the whole thing together so its not surprising the larger portion of the material, like "Little Faces" and "The Grand Pecking Order", has a strong Primus slant. A few of the tracks, like "Oz is Ever Floating" and "Radon Baloon" could be outtakes off of a Phish album. Anastasio and Claypool contribute most of the lyrics, which means a lot of silliness for the most part in that area. Focusing on the musicians, each member definitely gets a chance to shine; Les and his drippy bass are on display on the album's best (and funkiest) track, "Mr. Oysterhead" (I dare you all to *TRY* not to bob your head to this damn nasty slice of P-Funk); Trey puts in some most excellent Nashville-style picking on "Birthday Boys" while Stewart gets some great and subtle percussive work on "Shadow of a Man".As a whole, the only disappointment comes from the fact that it plays like a slightly edgier version of Phish with a meaner bassist, which is more or less going to be exactly what most people are expecting. This is not a bad thing at all - it's just a little more predictable and safe than it could have been.Shake Your Booty: Mr. Oysterhead, Pseudo Suicide
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