One thing is certain though, Primus is never boring. I’d never suggest someone pick up one of their albums without first having them listen to a few samples on Amazon on the very least, and I’m more likely to just hand them a CD and say “yo, try it.” Though I might not say “yo”, it depends on how recently I’ve seen a Rocky movie.

The Brown Album is quite accessible with jammin tunes that most anyone can enjoy. Some fans complained it was too mainstream, but I don’t really see that. People aren’t going to be exposed to Primus on the radio and the most contact the average Joe has with their sound is the theme from South Park. No, Primus is still unique, no worries about hearing them on that pop radio station you don’t want people to know you listen to.

If there’s a track you might have heard, it would be Bob’s Party Time Lounge or perhaps Puddin’ Taine as I’ve heard both via Sirius, but my favorite track is Golden Boy. Golden Boy has a bass riff that’s almost impossible not to imitate when listening to it. Go ahead, listen to it and try to keep your mouth shut.

Standout Lyric - Paranoia is a disease unto itself, and may I add, the person standing
Next to you, may not be who they appear to be, so take precaution. – The Return of Sathington Willoughby, Track 1

Verdict - Listen on Amazon, then buy it. If you like the samples you’ll love the whole thing.

I went a little older with the second full CD experience with Queensryche, back to the 1999 release of Q2K. I was quite pleased with the first two tracks, Falling Down and Sacred Ground, but unfortunately after that the CD falls apart. It’s not that it particularly sucks it’s just completely forgettable. Kinda like the metal version of elevator music.. you could have it on in the car and when you got out if someone asked you what you were listening to you’d say “I don’t know.”

Not to jump ahead in these reviews, but this seems to be a trend from what I’m hearing so far. Fortunately there are people already requesting these CDs from me on lala, so I’m not stuck with them.

Standout Lyric

Yes we’ll love till there’s nothing left to give…
matching every movement, swimming in an ocean of sweat, and
scent of you. It drives me to …

You bring me to sacred ground, when I’m inside you.
You bring me to sacred ground. - Sacred Ground, Track 2

Verdict - Skip it, the two good songs aren’t worth buying the whole CD for.

So I saved up my quarters and bought the album (hoping there was a picture of that angels face somewhere inside, but alas no…) and was promptly disappointed. There’s nothing else on the album even close to the sound of the title track which to me then was false advertising. Hell, it’s false advertising now but at least it’s much easier to determine this fact before making a purchase than it was then.

Still, it had been a long time since I’ve heard this album so I put it on my want list. Unfortunately my memory was correct, other than Abracadabra this album is a waste of time. Sure, it’s somewhat amusing to hear how horny he is in Give It Up and Never Say No doesn’t totally suck, but it’s still a waste of time.

This is why I love lala. I’ve refreshed my memory, I’ve gotten to hear Abracadabra plenty of times and now it’s time to send it back into the pool.

Standout Lyric – I feel the magic in your caress, I feel magic when I touch your dress. Silk and satin, leather and lace, Black panties with an angel’s face. – Abracadabra, Track 2

Verdict - Just go download the one good song and call it a day.

So I start off the CD and I’m not impressed. The first track is kinda bland.. nothing exciting. The next track starts with some synthesizers, which I wasn’t expecting.. and it’s also rather boring. Track 3.. hey.. maybe this doesn’t.. yeah, it sucks. Track 4. Yawn.

But then, I get to Track 5 “Great Divide” and it dawns on me that this guy can sing! The lyrics are interesting, the musical composition is tight and it’s got a great feel to it. This continues for the rest of the CD, I was quite pleased from this point on and found myself turning the volume up a few times.

I’m not sure yet what my final verdict on Queensryche is on an overall basis, but I did enjoy Tribe enough to order the rest of their catalog.

Standout Lyric – A very simple mechanism separates the fool from wisdom. The lines between us are not real. Conditioning is what makes us feel ignorant. And apathy will feed our hate. So we can never give in. – Great Divide, Track 5.

Verdict – First half was weak, second had some rockin moments.. so pick it up used.

The first 4 tracks on the CD are really good, no substantial complains. Track 5 “Mind Your Own Business” decides it wants to get cute with the tempo and it drives me batty. From that point on I think they forgot they weren’t in Buckethead or something.. lots of weird sounds happening during the music that if I weren’t listening to the actual CD I’d think someone had futzed with my MP3. Don’t get me wrong, I love Buckethead.. but Living Colour ain’t no Buckethead.

Still, if you’re using a service like lala.com so you can grab this one for under $2, it’s worth giving it a spin.

Standout Lyric – My lover told me, well that’s she’s bi. I wanted to scream, there were tears in my eyes. She said baby, baby, don’t you cry cause the one that I’m with you’ve been seeing on the side. – Bi, Track 4

Verdict – Worth picking up in the used bin if you’re into this sort of thing.