Primus - Pork Soda (1993/2018) [Hi-Res]

Primus' platinum-selling third studio album is HiRes remaster from the original analog tapes. Features one of the band's biggest singles – "My Name Is Mud".

"Brimming with pop culture references (from MacBeth to Deliverance, Jerry Garcia to James Brown) and boasting a darker tone (murder, suicide, depression), Pork Soda further demonstrated that Primus are more than capable of walking down multiple paths at the same time. Some of their interviews accredit that to the stress of touring for two years on the back of their massive major debut, but Les himself has said that that wasn’t necessarily the case: 'Pork Soda was the first straight-up Ler, Herb, and Les record. Even Sailing the Seas of Cheese had some songs that Todd and Jay Lane had helped with. It’s a little darker, heavier. That was the beginning of our really DIY recording. We recorded that in our rehearsal space, and we had our sound man do it. That album went platinum, but it took four years. We were always the slow-burn guys; we were the guys called 'the catalog band.' We didn’t come out and Pearl Jam-it and sell a gazillion records right out the gate.'" - Consequence Of Sound

"Pork Soda is the exact opposite of what people want from a soda these days. It's got all the cholesterol, all the calories." (Les Claypool)

"Once audiences got a chance to hear Primus' instantly recognizable sound, driven by Les Claypool's bizarrely virtuosic bass riffs, their audience grew by leaps and bounds. It was enough to make their second major-label album, Pork Soda, one of the strangest records ever to debut in the Top Ten. Stylistically, it isn't much different from Sailing the Seas of Cheese, though the band does stretch out and jam more often. This can result in some overly repetitive sections, since Claypool's riffs are the basis for most of the compositions, but it also showcases the band's ever-increasing level of musicianship. Their ensemble interplay continues to grow in complexity and musicality, and that's really what fans want from a Primus record anyway. The material isn't quite as consistent as Seas of Cheese, though there are numerous high points; among them are "My Name Is Mud," on which Claypool plays his instrument like percussion, and "Mr. Krinkle," where he switches to a bowed upright bass. There are hints of lyrical darkness stripped of the band's usual goofiness (especially in the suicide lament "Bob"), but for the most part, the humor is again split between eccentric character sketches, cheery paranoia, and annoying novelties (with a slightly higher percentage of the latter than before). Still, despite occasional flaws, what makes Pork Soda a success is that the band keeps finding novel variations on their signature sound, even if they never step out of it." (Steve Huey, AMG)

Les Claypool, bass, vocals, mandolin
Larry LaLonde, guitar, banjo
Tim Alexander, drums

Digitally remastered