The Grand Pecking Order

Oysterhead - The Grand Pecking Order

The Grand Pecking Order
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CD Details

Artist: Oysterhead
Edition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 2001-10-02
Music Label: Elektra / Wea
Soundtracks:
  1. Little Faces
  2. Oz is Ever Floating
  3. Mr. Oysterhead
  4. Shadow Of A Man
  5. Radon Balloon
  6. Army's On Ecstasy
  7. Rubberneck Lions
  8. Polka Dot Rose
  9. Birthday Boys
  10. Wield The Spade
  11. Pseudo Suicide
  12. The Grand Pecking Order
  13. Owner Of The World

Music reviews of The Grand Pecking Order

Music Review: Its alive...ALIVE!
Rating: 4 Stars

A bass player here, a drummer there, add a little guitar and you've created a band, right? Not necessarily. More often than not, "supergroups" don't work as well in real life as they do on paper. It's difficult to put several leaders in the room and convince them to follow each other. The name of the game in any successful band is cooperation and compromise, but if you are accustomed to people cooperating with you, why should you compromise?

To its credit, Oysterhead has a very convincing band vibe. It would seem very dangerous to let Les Claypool play in your band. No matter what happens, what you do is going to sound like Primus. Although I'd be a liar if I said that Oysterhead did not have that component to its sound, I'm not really sure if they sound THAT MUCH like Primus. They sound more like a band that has Les Claypool on bass & some vocals, Trey Anastasio on guitar & some vocals, and Stewart Copland on drums (by the way, that's exactly what it is, if you are just tuning in). This speaks highly of the maturity and professionalism of all three of these guys. It is obvious that they cooperated and compromised enough to find the middle ground between them, and have created a new, perhaps even original, sound.

A big part of Oysterhead's sound that distinguishes it from Primus' is Stewart Copeland's drumming. I was sort of left cold by his work in Animal Logic (snore), but now I am reminded of how excited I was when I heard the rumor that he was replacing Bill Bruford in King Crimson (totally untrue, by the way, but fun to think about). In contrast to Herb's thunderous grooves or Brain's whiteboy funk, Copeland' s feel is like skipping a rock across the top of a still lake - it has drive and momentum, but it's light, bouncy, and undeniably jazzy. Juxtaposing his feel against Les' makes for interesting listening. Even more interesting is his sonic palatte. His work with Oysterhead finds him experimenting with a lot of sounds outside of your standard rock trap set. Listen to "Radon Balloon" and identify everything he's hitting without using the words "I think it's a...".

Of course, I would be remiss if I did not mention Trey's contribution. In all honesty, I did not realize how much Phish's sound revolves around him and his playing. In this format, his distinctiveness as a player shines through. Although we have some areas that sound Phish-y, it never really sounds like Phish. He plays great here, and is actually a bit more aggressive than I am accustomed to hearing from him.

Compositionally, there are a few really great songs on here. I particularly like "Little Faces", "Oz is Ever Floating", and "Mr. Oysterhead". Some songs I don't like so much, but it is my understanding that the whole album was written and recorded in under two weeks, and Trey likened the writing process to "throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks". In a situation like this, there are bound to be some imperfections, and there are. However, the playing generally more than makes up for any repetitive song forms or haphazard lyrics.

Speaking of the lyrics, one should be warned that there is a slight goofiness factor here. We're talking about guys that, if combined properly, would write a song about cutting of your fingers in the door of your car because you shook hands with a llama on any other day. What did you expect? However, there is an underlying sarcasm that implies a politically serious side to "The Grand Pecking Order".

The lowdown: it's no "Synchronicity", it's no "Sailing the Seas of Cheese", nor is it even "A Picture of Nectar", but if you like anything that any of these guys have ever recorded, you will most likely find their musical interactions fascinating and exciting. I shudder to think of the damage that these guys do live. I would particularly like to see them develop this project a little further in their spare time (if there is such a thing).

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Description of The Grand Pecking Order

Album Notes Oysterhead: Trey Anastasio (vocals, guitar); Les Claypool (vocals, bass); Stewart Copeland (drums).Recorded at The Barn, Vermont in April 2001.Audio Mixer: Toby Wright.Recording information: The Barn, VT (04/2001).Photographer: Danny Clinch.When is a supergroup not a supergroup? When it's stellar members don't tote along the sonic baggage of their former groups into their new collective endeavor. In that spirit, it's time for the world to meet Oysterhead. This power trio consists of Police drummer Stewart Copeland, Primus bassist/vocalist Les Claypool, and Phish guitarist/Jerry Garcia of the Gen-X set Trey Anastasio. Whether fans of these gents' former bands are impressed that THE GRAND PECKING ORDER doesn't rehash former glories, or disappointed that echoes of great bands past can't be heard to their satisfaction, Oysterhead must be given their due. There's not even a trace of rock-star pomposity to be found in these tunes, which are defined by quirky, often-humorous lyrics, and slippery, funky grooves that make the most out of Copeland's superhuman polyrhythms and Claypool's wide variety of bass tones. For diehard Primus fans, there's probably more of Claypool's past at work in the sound than that of the other members, but Oysterhead is still very much it's own group.

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