Primus

中國的搖滾愛好者認識Primus也許是在94年Woodstock音樂節(jié)上，全長中表演最激動人心的可能就當書Primus和Red Hot Chill Peppers了。其實Primus的激動不安早從91年就開始了，這一年里他們發(fā)表了首張專輯&Sailing The Seas Of Cheese&。這支三人組合已出現(xiàn)就震動了舊金山城，狂野不羈的嬉皮風格與當時席卷全國的西雅圖風潮實在是太背道而馳了。主音Les Claypool也許是90年代以來最不可思議的歌手和創(chuàng)作歌手，他與他的同伴們在這張唱片里對陳腐的傳統(tǒng)搖滾樂著實作了一次徹底的大手術(shù)。他們在表露自信的同時也沒忘記自嘲。專輯第二首&Here Come The Bastards&就是Primus亮出的第一面旗幟。 而他們的具體行動就是樂器演奏上的毫無章法。Les同時也是貝斯手，因此可以猜到Primus 與一般搖滾樂隊結(jié)構(gòu)上的差別。在Primus的一出出音樂劇中，貝斯扮演的不再是一個模糊的配角，反之成了樂團表達自己情感旗幟火力最強的一劑彈藥。唱片中的一首&Fish On& 就是一次長達7分40秒的樂器革命。樂團吉他手也彈奏班卓琴，這為Primus的情感表達提供了一個更寬容的管道，不能不提的是Les的演唱，更多的時候你感覺自己聽到的更像是滑稽劇中小丑干巴巴的獨白。
 
兩年后，正當Interscope公司的奇兵4 Non Blonders震懾全球時，他們的同門師兄Primus又精神抖擻的制作了第二張大作&Port Soda&。這三位怪人更加變本加厲地實踐這個革命方針；旋律和節(jié)奏則早已被他們?nèi)缘脽o影無蹤，因此很多作品呈現(xiàn)出的是由一個個碎片構(gòu)成的塊面；最領(lǐng)唱人無法容忍的是他們往往會樂此不疲的對一個最簡單的音節(jié)做無休止的重復(fù)。Les的唱腔也依舊陰陽怪氣，毫不該色。在一首&The Air Is Getting Slippery&中，Les手中的曼陀林則變成了一支漫畫筆，一副副生動有趣的畫面便躍然眼前了。專輯的最后一首是音樂版的&Hail Santa&，但Primus的演奏與歌名是自相矛盾的，無精打采的走音吉他勾線與有氣無力的鈴聲對應(yīng)著這一年最后的燭光晚餐。
 
在92年，初露鋒芒的Primus曾不甘寂寞的發(fā)表過一張EP&Miscellaneous Debris&，三杰這次選擇了前輩藝人的原材料來表現(xiàn)自己的膚色和智慧。如Peter Gabriel的&入侵者&， The Residents樂團的&不幸的夸張者&，The Meters樂團的&搖搖晃晃的腳趾&，甚至Pink Floyd的&叼一支雪茄&。他們用仿舞曲的套路重新演習了搖滾史上的經(jīng)典動作，精湛的演技令主流非主流界目瞪口呆。在&不幸的夸張者&中，Les變成了一只邪異的夜貓像傳統(tǒng)的搖滾發(fā)出了最富戲虐感的嘲笑，儀表堂堂的搖滾建筑從這時起正式走入了崩塌時代。Primus顯然已成為革命隊伍中的一名堅定的勇士。
 
1995年，煤油爐又一次點燃了火焰。人們又一次被他無窮的能量與動力震懾了，樂談很就沒有出現(xiàn)一樣像&Tales From The Punchbowl&這樣具有豐富內(nèi)涵與幽默性的唱片了。至此，這群怪杰的本色一覽無遺了；Primus讓有心人感到欣慰的就是他們把即興視成了音樂的命脈，相信很多功成名就的藝術(shù)家面對這兩個字是不能不汗顏的。而Primus在音樂世界里所做的一切都是在盡情嘲笑兩個字，這就是修飾。因此，Primus在搖滾大軍中流露出的優(yōu)越感是十分自然的。
 1996年，Primus參加了Interscope旗下獨立的灌錄。共由21支樂壇著名的重型機械參與組合。令人吃驚的是樂團核心Les在同年發(fā)表了一張個人專輯&High Ball With The Devil&。蛻變后的Les面對惡質(zhì)的處境顯得更鎮(zhèn)定自若了，以往Primus的那種狂散步羈消失了，代之的是一份迷亂幽深的氣質(zhì)；然而，Les&不正經(jīng)&的怪人本色始終在一路延續(xù)著，這吸引了一些德高望重的老前輩前來助陣。在&Delicate Tendrils&中，70年代Punk樂隊Black Flag 的主音Henry Rollins與Les進行了一次忘年合作，Henry冷感的獨白配合著Les雷打不動的軍樂式演奏，映射了現(xiàn)代生活殘忍的人性廢除。換血后的Les依然沒有忘記摯愛的樂器試驗，&Calling Kyle&，&Delicate Tendreils&，&The Awakening&，&Carolina Rig&都是貝斯與鼓搭檔演出，這些也都是音樂家最原始直覺的濃縮。此外，Les的詞也離歌曲越來越遠，反而更像寓言詩了，這時我們會清楚的發(fā)現(xiàn)Les與他周圍的部落群體是多莫的格格不入。這讓人們漸漸產(chǎn)生了一個疑問:像Les這樣脫離公眾軌道獨自運行是離搖滾更遠還是更緊了呢?
 
就在我們以為Primus快成為記憶時，他們又給了我們一則讓人驚喜的消息:他們剛推出了第六張專輯&Brown Album&。盡管我們還沒來得及仔細聽聽這張唱片，但依然能感受到這張唱片復(fù)雜的風格，F(xiàn)unk，Jazz，F(xiàn)usion，Country甚止30年代的Big Band，最重要的是Primus 并沒有背叛自己和人群。他們毅然堅守者初衷，但出招卻越來越迅猛，以至于你不敢相信這個腐朽的年代，還有這樣一群革命者依然在堅守著一種寧死不屈的姿態(tài)。你看，他們又開始變形了，頓足爵士舞曲，軍樂進行曲，東倒西歪的卡通，昂首闊步的隊列曲……最終你會明白他們對前景無休止的欲望已超越了開拓新路本身。他們就像三個來自遠方的古怪男子，一路沿街叫賣者荒誕的偏方和苦悶的解藥；當他們招搖者呼嘯著肆笑著與你擦健而過時，你會突然感到那并非是一種無聊消極的生命方式，而在這面不規(guī)則形的鏡子里， 你會照見自己的身影。
 
Primus is all about Les Claypool; there isn't a moment on any of their records where his bass isn't the main focal point of the music, with his vocals acting as a bizarre side-show. Which isn't to deny guitarist Larry LaLonde or drummer Tim &Herb& Alexander any credit; no drummer could weave in and around Claypool's convoluted patterns as effortlessly as Alexander, and few guitarists would willingly push the spotlight away, like LaLonde does, just to can produce a never-ending spiral of avant-noise. All of this means that they are miles away from being another punk-funk combo like the Red Hot Chili Peppers; Claypool may slap and pop his bass, but there is little funk in the rhythm he and Alexander lay down. Instead, they're a post-punk Rush spiked with the sensibility and humor of Frank Zappa. Primus' songs are secondary to showcasing their instrumental prowess. Their music is willfully weird and experimental, yet it's not alienating; the band was able to turn their goofy weirdness into pop stardom. At first, the band was strictly an underground phenomenon, but in the years between their third and fourth albums, their cult grew rapidly. 1991's Sailing the Seas of Cheese went gold shortly before the release of Pork Soda. By the time of the album's 1993 release, Primus had enough devoted fans to make Pork Soda debut in the Top Ten. After touring for a year — including a headlining spot on Lollapalooza 1993 — Claypool revived his Prawn Song record label in 1994 and released a reunion record by Primus' original lineup under the name Sausage. In the summer of 1995, Primus released their fifth album, Tales From the Punch Bowl. It was another success, going gold before the end of the year. In the summer of 1996, Primus announced they were parting ways with their drummer, Tim Alexander. He was replaced by Brian &Brain& Mantia, who made his debut on The Brown Album, which was released in the summer of 1997. The covers EP Rhinoplasty followed in 1998, and a year later, Primus returned with Antipop. Antipop was a departure from previous Primus albums, as different producers were used on almost each track (including such notables as Rage Against the Machine's Tom Morello, Limp Bizkit's Fred Durst, Tom Waits, South Park creator Matt Stone, and former Police drummer Stewart Copeland) and it featured such guest artists as Metallica's James Hetfield and former Faith No More guitarist Jim Martin. After a supporting tour wrapped up in 2000, Mantia left the band to join Guns N' Roses. Claypool talked about reuniting with former drummer Tim &Herb& Alexander in the press, but shortly afterward announced that Primus was going on indefinite hiatus. During the ensuing break, Claypool focused on recording the debut album by his side project, Oyster Head (who also included Copeland and Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio), as well as releasing his two-part solo outing, Live Frogs: Set 1 and Set 2.