The Grand Pecking Order - Oysterhead
Track List:
Little Faces
Oz Is Ever Floating
Mr. Oysterhead
Shadow of a Man
Radon Balloon
Army’s on Ecstasy
Rubberneck Lions
Polka Dot Rose
Birthday Boys
Wield the Spade
Pseudo Suicide
Grand Pecking Order
Owner of the World
Seriously I’ve not heard this
I knew that Oysterhead was one of Les Claypools projects but it was yesterday that I found out that the other members were Trey Anastasio from Phish and Stewart Copeland from The Police. I have familiarity with both The Police and Phish and I can’t think of any project from Claypool I’ve not enjoyed (other than this one) I just never got around to listening to this one until now!
Little Faces
A phishy intro with Claypools signature sounding bass. That was weird, it’s basically what I expected. The Flying Frog Brigade doing more jam music. I enjoyed it. So for an interpretation. The narrator is having to deal with children, likely his own, but is also tripping.
Oz Is Ever Floating
Well I wasn’t sure about the accuracy of my thoughts on Little Faces, this is an ode to Dr John C. Lilly. He ran in the same circles as Timothy Leary in the 60s. This song talks about him floating in a sensory deprivation chamber while tripping on acid. The song was more like Phish than anything else. It does have some neat bass but the soundscape is so much more like Phish. I think Trey is also singing.
Mr. Oysterhead
This is the first one that doesn’t sound like a Phish derivative to me. Some weird growly bass stuff. This is much more like Primus than Phish. I hope I don’t just go this entire album picking between if this sounds like Primus or Phish but generally I document my initial thoughts while listening and that’s what it’s been. This one is fun and bouncy. Les is the primary singer on this one. Guitar solo into a bass solo is fantastic. The percussive squishiness of the bass is so neat. For a meaning of this one. I have no clue. It’s somewhat indicating that most bands have nothing to say but this one is different. But then I could also see Mr. Oysterhead being a drug dealer who likes to trip, I can’t think of what else “slippery between the ears” could mean. So I think we have a theme here and it’s little pieces of blotter paper.
Shadow of a Man
This one starts much darker. This one is much darker. It tells the story of a Vietnam vet named Billy who was part of the teams that handled disbursement of distribution of Agent Orange. He came back shell shocked. After getting married he finds out he is infertile due to the chemical exposure and turns to drugs and alcohol to deal with the stress.
Radon Balloon
The previous song births the start of this one. It's a neat showing of morphing from a Claypool heavy song to a Anastasio heavy song. I really like the use of the bass for the low percussive elements. I think that this song is also about tripping and possibly heavy drug use.
Army’s on Ecstasy
This has a very heavy Claypool influence. The song tells about drug testing in the army because of an increased use of Ecstasy. The article he mentions can be read here. There is then a story about a royal family infighting and starting an international incident. I am guessing this is perhaps the Japanese royal family since towards the end of the song the song is sung in Japanese. It sounds very anti army. Perhaps Mr. Oysterhead was foreshadowing that they aren’t just going to play songs but actually want to make a demonstration.
Rubberneck Lions
I really like the guitar on this one, it is the emotional inflection on this. The lyrics are nearly chanted. It could be a story of a drug addict who is living off charity and welfare while still using and being paranoid.
Polka Dot Rose
The bass is really cool here. Well that is heavy. It’s a story to tell the listener to remain grounded and work on what you do well while not chasing unrealistic fantasies.
Birthday Boys
It sounds like Phish again, I may have heard this one before in a couch tour video. It’s a story about a stripper or a prostitute and her feelings.
Wield the Spade
This is really cool. More like the Claypool Lennon Delirium than anything else I can think of. The soundscape is set by Claypool saying “Babylonian Pele” panned right, then Trey echoing panned left. The music develops on top of this spacey sound. There is a spoken word speech. I think this is Copeland. The speech is a call to arms a fascist socialist movement telling the masses to “Wield the Spade” and that some of the folks in power will die by execution others will be forced to farm. After the speech the same lyrics are sung and we bounce betwixt the two. It's really neat and enjoyable.
Pseudo Suicide
Now it sounds like Primus with a bridge by Phish. It’s weird at one point Trey is singing more in Claypool's style in pacing and lyrics but not tone and at the same time Claypool is singing more in Trey’s style in pacing and lyrics but not tone. It’s an anti-suicide song and it’s heartfelt he acknowledges the other band members in the song. They are pleading to anyone who is contemplating suicide to get help. RIP Danny!
Grand Pecking Order
This is heavily influenced by Claypool. So this is talking about a an inherit hierarchy in a society. This is a weird song.
Owner of the World
Phish again. I don’t know who the song is about. I was thinking maybe it’s an echo to the man who sold the world, and I think it could be but that’s probably a stretch. The song talks about someone who lost something and now he is just like everyone else.
Weird
That is probably the best way to describe this album. Don’t get me wrong I enjoyed the hell out of it and if I ever have a desire to make a Phish x Claypool playlist this will be on it. That’s what this album is great creative forces working together to make neat noises. I feel like they didn’t have enough history together to make a single cohesive experience. I think if they had done more albums together it would have ended up with something more of a middle ground between Claypool and Phish. I think the only albums I have left from Claypool’s studio releases to listen to are a few Primus ones and I am planning to see them in concert this year so…
I think the album may have had some world building with a story of a land that is governed by a royal family who end up being overthrown by a socialist regime. But that story will need another listen or 2 to confirm.
