Frizzle Fry is the debut studio album by American rock band Primus. It was released on February 7, 1990, by Caroline Records. Produced by the band and Matt Winegar, the album was recorded at Different Fur Studios in San Francisco in December 1989. In 2015, Primus frontman Les Claypool ranked Frizzle Fry as his favorite Primus album.
Background
Primus self-financed the recording of Frizzle Fry using proceeds from their preceding album, Suck On This. The completed album was then released in 1990 on Caroline Records.
The album was performed live in its entirety on the band's Hallucino-Genetics Tour in 2004 and a few more times in 2010. During the Hallucino-Genetics Tour, "You Can't Kill Michael Malloy" was featured in its entirety as a short set break, as opposed to merely the excerpt that appears on the album.
Critical reception
Robert Christgau described the album as "Don Knotts Jr. joins the Minutemen." The Washington Post wrote that "echoes of San Francisco's late and (in some quarters) lamented Dead Kennedys can be heard in this S.F. trio's cartoonish vocals and blasts at adult hypocrisy ('To Defy the Laws of Tradition') and mindless conformity ('Too Many Puppies'), but the sound is jazzy speed-metal, not punk." The Times said that "Primus exhibits the delinquent musical tendencies of early Frank Zappa updated to sit comfortably in the modern milieu of bands such as Anthrax and Faith No More".
Trouser Press stated that Frizzle Fry "effectively showcases drummer Tim 'Herb' Alexander's tight, frenetic technique and guitarist Larry LaLonde's aggro-fusion chops." Reviewing the album for AllMusic, Ned Raggett noted that "it's pretty easy to see in retrospect how much of a melange went into the group's work. Nods but thankfully few outright steals to everything from Frank Zappa's arch humor and Funkadelic's sprawl to the Police's early, spare effectiveness crop up and, indeed, so does plenty of Metallica." He contended that "something about Frizzle Fry is ultimately and perfectly of its time and place."
| title1 = To Defy the Laws of Tradition
| music1 = Claypool, Todd Huth, Alexander
| length1 = 6:42
| title2 = Groundhog's Day
| music2 = Claypool, Huth, Alexander
| length2 = 4:58
| title3 = Too Many Puppies
| length3 = 3:57
| title4 = Mr. Knowitall
| length4 = 3:51
| title5 = Frizzle Fry
| music5 = Claypool, Huth, LaLonde, Alexander
| length5 = 6:04
| title6 = John the Fisherman
| music6 = Claypool, Huth, Alexander
| length6 = 3:37
| title7 = You Can't Kill Michael Malloy
| note7 = performed by Matt Winegar
| music7 = Winegar
| extra7 =
| length7 = 0:25
| title8 = The Toys Go Winding Down
| length8 = 4:35
| title9 = Pudding Time
| music9 = Claypool, Huth, Alexander
| length9 = 4:08
| title10 = Sathington Willoughby
| length10 = 0:24
| note10 = Title misspelled as "Sathington Willoby" on back cover
| title11 = Spegetti Western
| length11 = 5:43
| title12 = Harold of the Rocks
| music12 = Claypool, Huth, Alexander
| length12 = 6:17
| title13 = To Defy
| music13 = Claypool, Huth, Alexander
| length13 = 0:36
Personnel
Writing, performance and production credits are adapted from the album liner notes.
Personnel
Primus
- Les Claypool – vocals, bass, electric upright bass, double bass
- Larry LaLonde – electric guitar, acoustic guitar
- Tim "Herb" Alexander – drums, percussion
Additional musicians
- Todd Huth – second acoustic guitar on "The Toys Go Winding Down"; guitar melodies (tracks 1, 2, 5, 6, 9, 12, 13)
- Matt Winegar – composer of "You Can't Kill Michael Malloy"
- Stan Hearne – vocals on "Harold of the Rocks"
- “Fart Sandwich Posse” (gang vocals on “John the Fisherman)
- Trouz Cuevas
- Mike Bordin
- Clem Donahue
- Deanne Franklin
- Brain Mantia
- Flipjax Libby
- Smiley
- Sathington Willoughby Orchestra
- Les Claypool a.k.a. "Snap" – banjo, string bass
- Larry LaLonde a.k.a. "Chunker" – archtop acoustic guitar
- Tim Alexander a.k.a. "Herb" – toy organ
- Matt Winegar a.k.a. "Exxon" – toy piano
- Todd Huth – acoustic guitar
Production
- Primus – production
- Matt "Exxon" Winegar – production
- Ron Rigler – engineering
- Matt Murman – second engineer
- John Golden – mastering
- Stephen Marcussen – remastering (2002 remaster)
Visual Art
- Lance "Link" Montoya – sculpture
- "Snap" (Les Claypool) – airbrushing, cartooning
- Paul Haggard – jacket design, photography
Studios
- Different Fur, San Francisco – recording
- Marcussen Mastering, Los Angeles – remastering
Charts
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|+ Chart performance for Frizzle Fry
! scope="col"| Chart (1994)
! scope="col"| Peak<br />position
|-
| Australian Albums (ARIA)
|align="center"| 178
|}