Colonel Les Claypool's Fearless Flying Frog Brigade

Colonel Les Claypool's Fearless Flying Frog Brigade - Live Frogs Sets 1 & 2 - 2001 - Prawn Song

Live Frogs Set 1 is a live album by Colonel Les Claypool's Fearless Flying Frog Brigade, released by Prawn Song Records on 10 April 2001. It chronicles the first part of the 8 October 2000 show the Frog Brigade played at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco, the second part released as Live Frogs Set 2. It is primarily composed of originals by the various side projects of Claypool and his fellow band members, sandwiched by two covers. Featuring legendary bassist Les Claypool, original Primus (and later, Sausage) members Todd Huth and Jay Lane, Jeff Chimenti on keyboards, Eenor ("the world's first guitar playing redwood tree") on guitar, and saxophonist Skerik, this jam album does not completely revolve around the bass of Claypool. The seven song set, featuring the Pink Floyd classic "Shine On You Crazy Diamond", keeps the jam session going for at least 5 minutes a song, rotating solos between Claypool, Huth, Chimenti, Eenor and Skerik. This album was the winner of the Best Live Album at the Second Annual Jammy Awards show in 2001. Live Frogs Set 2 is the second set of live recordings by Les Claypool's Frog Brigade, released on July 24, 2001. The album is a complete performance of the Pink Floyd studio album Animals. It is introduced at the end of Live Frogs Set 1 as "more Pink Floyd than any human being should ever withstand", as the band's version of "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" comes to an end.

SET ONE REVIEW

Taking a welcome break from Primus, this Les Claypool side project finds him reunited with Sausage bandmates and original Primus members Todd Huth (guitars) and Jay Lane (drums), but this time they've brought a few friends along for the ride. Keyboardist Jeff Chimenti, who's also in Ratdog with Lane, has played with jazz legends like Pharoah Sanders and James Moody; saxophonist Skerik has played with New Orleans funksters Galactic and world music experimentalists Tuatara; and guitarist Eenor was chosen by Claypool from submissions he received from musicians around the Bay Area after placing an ad in the paper. Together, they tackle an hour-long, seven-song set that's long on prog rock-style jamming and short on "Jerry Was a Racecar Driver"-like accessibility. As if to reinforce the prog connection, the group's live debut opens with a 14-minute cover of King Crimson's "Thela Hun Ginjeet" and closes with a 12-minute version of Pink Floyd's "Shine on You Crazy Diamond." The five songs sandwiched in between are expanded versions of Sausage and Holy Mackerel tunes, but with the additional instrumentation and extended noodling, only "Riddles Are Abound Tonight" sounds much like the original version. Even if your wankery tolerance is low, Claypool fans will enjoy hearing the ol' boy obviously having the time of his life jamming with some mighty fine musicians. It may not make you forget the brilliance of Sailing the Seas of Cheese, but Live Frogs should help you forget the blandness of The Brown Album. © Bret Love © 2011 Rovi Corporation. All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/album/live-frogs-set-1-r526982/review

SET TWO REVIEW

If it takes serious chutzpa to play a legendary band's classic album live in its entirety, what type of cojones are required to record said performance and release it on your own label? That's precisely what the Flying Frogs' frontman Les Claypool has done with Live Frogs: Set 2, paying homage to Pink Floyd's dazzling (but underrated) 1977 conceptual epic, Animals. And although purists may bristle at the mere thought, it's actually not half-bad. Sure, it's a bit strange to hear Claypool's nasal twang tackling the pastoral balladry of "Pigs on the Wing," but when his crack ensemble launches into their sizzling version of the 14-minute "Dogs," all is soon forgiven. The sound stays surprisingly faithful to the original songs, making the album sound more like the work of a tribute band (albeit the greatest one since Phish covered Quadrophenia) than musicians best known for innovative bands like Primus, Ratdog, and Tuatara. But open-minded Floyd fans will realize that Claypool's imitation is the sincerest form of hero worship -- er, flattery. © Bret Love © 2011 Rovi Corporation. All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/album/live-frogs-set-2-r541718

Tracks 1-7 Set 1 were recorded on October 8th and 9th, 2000 at the Great American Music Hall, San Francisco. Tracks 1-5 Set 2 are covers of songs from Pink Floyd's "Animals" album. N.B: Both these sets were released as two separate albums. Quirky and eccentric at times, with a few "madcap" vocals thrown in, but great musicianship on both discs, and HR by A.O.O.F.C. If you like King Crimson, Frank Zappa, Pink Floyd, etc., you should find something here to interest you. It makes a change to hear Pink Floyd's great "Animals" re-interpreted. DSOTM has been covered to death at this stage ! Listen to Primus' extraordinary"Sailing the Seas of Cheese" album. [2 x rar files: All tracks @ 192 Kbps: Set 1 = 90.6 Mb: Set 2 (Animals) = 58.5 Mb]

TRACKS / COMPOSERS / TRACK INFO

SET 1

1. Thela Hun Ginjeet - Adrian Belew, Bill Bruford, Robert Fripp, Tony Levin (originally recorded by King Crimson)
2. Riddles Are Abound Tonight - Les Claypool, Sausage (originally recorded by Sausage)
3. Hendershot - Les Claypool (originally recorded by Les Claypool and the Holy Mackerel)
4. Shattering Song - Les Claypool, Sausage (originally recorded by Sausage)
5. Running The Gauntlet - Les Claypool (originally recorded by Les Claypool and the Holy Mackerel)
6. Girls For Single Men - Les Claypool, Sausage (originally recorded by Sausage)
7. Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Jack Irons Version) - David Gilmour, Richard Wright, Roger Waters (originally recorded by Pink Floyd)

SET 2

1. Pigs On The Wing Pt. 1 - Roger Waters (originally recorded by Pink Floyd)
2. Dogs - David Gilmour, Roger Waters (originally recorded by Pink Floyd)
3. Pigs (Three Different Ones) - Roger Waters (originally recorded by Pink Floyd)
4. Sheep - Roger Waters (originally recorded by Pink Floyd)
5. Pigs On The Wing Pt. 2 - Roger Waters (originally recorded by Pink Floyd)

MUSICIANS

Eenor (aka Jim Bush) - Guitar, Cümbüş, Vocals
Todd Paclebar Huth - Guitar, Vocals
Les Claypool - Bass, Vocals
Jeff Chimenti - Keyboards, Vocals
Jay "Rhino Boy" Lane - Drums, Vocals
Skerik (aka Marvin Pickles) - Saxophone

ABOUT LES CLAYPOOL

The most original rock bassist to come along in the '90s was unquestionably Primus' Les Claypool. With his oddball sense of humor and funky playing, Claypool took his varied musical influences and created an invigorating and completely inventive style. The Les Claypool story begins on September 29, 1963, when he was born in Richmond, CA. As a teenager, Claypool met fellow student Kirk Hammett (yes, the Kirk Hammett of Metallica fame), who turned him on to such rock acts as Jimi Hendrix, Cream, and Led Zeppelin. It was around this time that Claypool took up the bass, influenced by the likes of Rush's Geddy Lee, Yes' Chris Squire, and Paul McCartney. Although Hammett asked Claypool to join a band he was in, he opted for another group in his high school, progressive metallists Blind Illusion, while broadening his musical horizons by playing in jazz and swing bands. Upon discovering such fusion and funk bass greats as Stanley Clarke and Larry Graham around this time, Claypool began incorporating "slapping" into his playing technique. After graduation, Claypool played in a local cover band, the Tommy Crank Band, which specialized in blues, R&B, funk, and mainstream rock hits. Playing several sets a night almost every night of the week, he sharpened up his improv skills, and after a short while, there wasn't a musical style that he couldn't pull off convincingly. It was while with Tommy Crank that Claypool bought his first Carl Thompson piccolo bass (after seeing Stanley Clarke play one), an instrument that would become his trademark. It was around this time (early to mid-'80s) that Claypool began demoing his own original compositions, which would become the impetus for Primus. Originally called Primate, Primus consisted of guitarist Todd Huth and drummer Jay Lane in addition to Claypool, who also contributed vocals (in a strange sing-speak style, almost akin to a narrator) in addition to bass. Although the trio instantly created an underground following in the San Francisco area, Primus was put on hold when Huth left and Claypool returned to Blind Illusion (whose sound now resembled a thrash metal band), and appeared on the group's lone album, The Sane Asylum, on Combat Records. His return to Blind Illusion didn't last long, but he met a kindred musical spirit in BI's guitarist, Larry LaLonde. By 1989, a new Primus lineup was formed -- Claypool, LaLonde, and new drummer Tim "Herb" Alexander -- and not long afterward, their first album was issued, the live set Suck on This. The album caused such a buzz with college radio that the independent label Caroline signed the group, resulting in the reissue of their debut and their sophomore effort, 1990's Frizzle Fry, while the trio toured with such bands as Jane's Addiction and 24-7 Spyz. 1991 proved to be an even better year for the group, as their major-label debut (for Interscope), Sailing the Seas of Cheese, reached gold status a year after its release, as the trio opened for such varied artists as Public Enemy, Anthrax, U2, Fishbone, and Rush. Primus scored a surprise Top Ten hit with 1993's Pork Soda (and subsequent headlining spot on that year's Lollapalooza festival tour), solidifying the band's status as quirk rock's undisputed kings, as more hit releases followed throughout the decade and new millennium: Tales from the Punchbowl, The Brown Album, Rhinoplasty, and Antipop, as well as the theme song to TV's South Park (Claypool also tried his hand at directing the band's videos). In addition to his Primus duties, Claypool has always had time for side projects -- Sausage (a reunion of the original Primus lineup), Les Claypool and the Holy Mackerel (Highball with the Devil), the Frog Brigade (Live Frogs, Purple Onion), and Oysterhead -- as well as guesting on albums by other artists (Buckethead, Jerry Cantrell, Victor, Limp Bizkit, Tom Waits, Rob Wasserman). He released Of Whales and Woe in 2006, the first project solely credited to the man himself. © Greg Prato © 2011 Rovi Corporation. All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/artist/les-claypool-p64967/biography

LES CLAYPOOL'S FROG BRIGADE - BIO

Fresh from his recent success with Oysterhead (which also features Trey Anastasio of Phish and Stewart Copeland, formerly of the Police), Primus main man Les Claypool continues to broaden his horizons with another musical alliance, the Les Claypool Frog Brigade. "Purple Onion" released in September 2002 is the first ever Les Claypool Frog Brigade studio recording, Les' first all original solo project since Primus. While the Brigade regulars are consistent on much of the record (eenor, Skerik, and new percussionist Mike "Tree Frog" Dillon), many special guests grace the album as well. "D's Diner" features sitar player Gabby Lang in addition to the triple-bass onslaught of Claypool, Norwood Fisher (Fishbone) and Lonnie Marshall (Weapon of Choice). Warren Haynes (Allman Brothers, Gov't Mule, Phil Lesh) handles guitar on the psychedelic hillbilly stomp of "Buzzards of Green Hill" and Fish Fisher (Fishbone drummer) guests on "Whamola," a live show staple named after the unique instrument Les employs -- a one-string bass played with a drumstick. Original Frog drummer Jay Lane (Ratdog, Sausage) appears on four songs, while Bay Area monster Dean Johnson also makes an appearance. Bassist extraordinaire, vocalist and songwriter are just a few of the roles Claypool has taken on over the years with Primus. Producer, video director, cartoonist/animator, screenwriter, record label owner, and interactive design artist are all part of the panoply of talents and interests this unique multimedia adventurer has explored. Claypool has always kept his musical hands wet outside the Primus waters with side projects including Sausage (featuring Jay Lane of Rat Dog) and Les Claypool & the Holy Mackerel (which included the talents of Jay Lane, Charlie Hunter, and Henry Rollins). His playing can also be heard on albums by Tom Waits, Rob Wasserman, Alex Lifeson of Rush, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Jerry Cantrell (Alice In Chains), and the Gov't Mule release "The Deep End, Volume 2". Two live Les Claypool Frog Brigade CD's were released in 2001 on Les' own Prawn Song Records label, "Live Frogs Set 1" and "Live Frogs Set 2". While "Set 1" contains versions of originals and covers, "Set 2" is a complete performance of the Pink Floyd classic album, "Animals". Musicians included in this recorded line-up of the Les Claypool Frog Brigade included Todd Huth on guitar (Primus, Sausage), drummer Jay Lane (Sausage, Rat Dog), and keyboardist Jeff Chimenti (Rat Dog, Pharoah Sanders). "Set 1" received the Jammy Award (Jambands.com awards) for best live album of the year. © 2011 Les Claypool. All Rights Reserved http://www.lesclaypool.com/discography/frogbrigade/