Being a long time Primus fan I was excited when I heard that Les Claypool, lead singer and arguably one of the best bass players around, would be making a new CD for this fall. The band’s name, Colonel Claypool’s Bucket of Bernie Brains, is a combination of each of the artists in the new group: Claypool, who has produced CD’s with Primus, Colonel Claypool’s Fearless Flying Frog Brigade, and Oysterhead to name a few; Buckethead, a guitar prodigy who appeared on the new Guns n’ Roses album, as well as several solo ventures; Bernie Worrel, keyboard player for the infamous Parliament Funkadelic, and Brain, former Primus drummer.

Claypool, the most recognized of the four, is a performance-hardened veteran who has been playing for well over a decade and has released dozens of albums previous to this one. This album marks new territory for these artists, most of whom (Buckethead, Brain, and Claypool) emerged from hard rock backgrounds. Each artist successfully displays an ability to play music of all genres, making this venture a successful amalgamation of different sounds and styles. Their sound is definitely more geared towards live performances, and hearing them on record pales in comparison to seeing these amazing artists perform. The only defect to be found in this CD is that the music recorded is not necessarily an accurate representation of how the band sounds live. Often these artists take a five minute piece and extend it by two or three times the length, changing and improvising as they play. Their unparalleled sound is quickly growing on me, but is certainly not for everyone. If you would like to learn more about the band you can go to www.c2b3.com to hear some sample music and learn about their tour which is already in progress.