View source for Brown Album

{{Other uses|The Brown Album (disambiguation)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2025}}
{{Infobox album
| name         = Brown Album
| type         = studio
| artist       = [[Primus (band)|Primus]]
| cover        = Brown_Album.jpg
| alt          = 
| released     = July 8, 1997
| recorded     = December 1996 – April 1997
| venue        = 
| studio       = Rancho Relaxo, [[Sebastopol, California]]
| genre        = {{hlist|[[Funk metal]]|[[progressive rock]]|[[jazz&nbsp;rock]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Brown Album|website=[[AllMusic]]|author=Stephen Thomas Erlewine|author-link=Stephen Thomas Erlewine|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-brown-album-mw0000023938}}</ref>}}
| length       = 56:54
| label        = {{hlist|[[Interscope Records|Interscope]]|[[Prawn Song]]}}
| producer     = Primus
| prev_title   = [[Tales from the Punchbowl]]
| prev_year    = 1995
| next_title   = [[Rhinoplasty (EP)|Rhinoplasty]]
| next_year    = 1998
| misc         = {{Singles
 | name        = Brown Album
 | type        = studio
 | single1     = [[Shake Hands with Beef]]
 | single1date = 1997
 | single2     = Over the Falls
 | single2date = 1997
}}
{{Extra album cover
 | header  = Alternate cover
 | type    = studio
 | cover   = File:Brown_Album_Alternate_Cover.jpg
 | border  =
 | alt     =
 | caption = Additional cover featuring the then current lineup of the band
}}
}}

'''''Brown Album''''' is  the fifth studio album by American [[Rock music|rock]] band [[Primus (band)|Primus]]. It was released on July 8, 1997, by [[Prawn Song]] and [[Interscope Records]]. It was the band's first album with new drummer [[Bryan "Brain" Mantia|Brain]], who replaced former drummer [[Tim Alexander]]. The album has received a mixed reception from critics and fans.

==Background==
''Brown Album'' was the first Primus release to not feature drummer [[Tim "Herb" Alexander]] and the first to feature [[Bryan "Brain" Mantia|Brain]]. Les Claypool stated "Herb's departure was like a marriage that just slowly decayed to an end{{nbsp}}... When it came down to it, we came very close to dissolving entirely, to ending Primus. I went to [[Larry Lalonde|Ler]] and said, 'Look, I'm not content anymore. We've got a good thing going between us and we should probably get a new drummer.' When we talked to Herb about it, he wasn't surprised at all--in fact he seemed very relieved. He's got his own thing now. He's writing and singing [with his new band, Laundry] and he's much happier."<ref name="interview">[http://www.ram.org/music/primus/articles/BAMinter.html Interview with Primus taken from BAM magazine, July 11, 1997.] Retrieved 2012-10-22.</ref> Regarding the name of the album, Claypool said "This is a milestone record for Primus so it needed to have a milestone title. The Beatles have their ''[[The Beatles (album)|White Album]],'' [[Metallica]] have their ''[[Metallica (album)|Black Album]],'' now Primus have their ''Brown Album.''"<ref name="interview"/>

According to Brain, the album was called the ''Brown Album'' because of the way the band approached the recording session; the mixes were done in the most unconventional ways that sounded like a "muffled turd", hence the album title.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bozzio |first1=Terry |title=Brain in Conversation w/ Terry Bozzio on DC's The Art of Drumming |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6VknEO5W4c |website=YouTube |accessdate=13 December 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Mantia |first1=Brian |title=Primus Drumming with Brain |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qMq-A38iKk |website=YouTube |accessdate=13 December 2018}}</ref> According to Claypool, [[Tom Waits]] claimed it's his favourite Primus album because "It sounds like it needs a good wash".<ref name="kerrang">{{Cite web|url=https://www.kerrang.com/primus-les-claypool-my-daughter-tells-me-im-weird-all-the-time/|title=Primus' Les Claypool: "My daughter tells me I'm weird all the time"|date=May 14, 2021|website=Kerrang!}}</ref>

==Musical style==
Claypool stated "Song-wise I think ''Brown'' leans back to ''[[Suck on This|Suck]]''... or [1990's] ''[[Frizzle Fry]]''". "It's a far more aggressive album than we've done in a long time. The differences between this album and [ ''[[Tales from the Punchbowl|Punch Bowl]]''...] are far greater than the differences between this album and the very early stuff."<ref name="interview"/>

The band decided to record and produce the album completely analog at their "rancho relaxo" recording studio in California.<ref>{{Cite web |last=O'Beirne |first=Oran |date=2023-07-08 |title='Brown Album': Behind Primus' Hyper-Cross-Pollinated Musical Innovation |url=https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/rediscover-brown-album/ |access-date=2023-07-24 |website=uDiscover Music |language=en-US}}</ref> This approach would be completely reversed on the much more accessible ''[[Antipop]]'' album in 1999.

==Touring==
In 1997, Primus toured with [[Limp Bizkit]] and [[Powerman 5000]]; the two other bands had both released their major label debuts that year.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.revolvermag.com/music/primus-sucks-how-3-lazy-bastards-became-metals-most-beloved-weirdos|title=Primus Sucks: How 3 "Lazy Bastards" Became Metal's Most Beloved Weirdos|date=July 8, 2022|website=Revolver}}</ref>

==Reception==
{{Music ratings
| rev1=[[Allmusic]]
| rev1score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref name="Allmusic review">{{cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r278195|pure_url=yes}}|title=Brown Album - Primus|website=[[Allmusic]]}}</ref>
| rev3=''[[Entertainment Weekly]]''
| rev3score = C<ref name="EW review">{{cite magazine|url=https://ew.com/article/1997/07/11/brown-album/|title=Brown Album Review|last=Kim|first=Wook|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|date=1997-07-11|access-date=2012-04-08|archive-date=2011-09-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110924075508/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,288608,00.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
| rev4=''[[Rolling Stone]]''
| rev4score = {{Rating|2|5}}<ref name="Rolling Stone review">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/primus/albums/album/249664/review/5944365/brown_album|title=Primus: Brown Album : Music Reviews|last=Moon|first=Tom|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|date=1997-07-15|accessdate=2012-04-08|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071002121420/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/primus/albums/album/249664/review/5944365/brown_album|archivedate=2007-10-02|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| rev2 = The Daily Vault
| rev2Score = A−<ref name=vault>{{cite web |url= http://dailyvault.com/toc.php5?review=9748 |title=The Daily Vault Music Reviews : Brown Album |first=Pete |last=Crigler |work=dailyvault.com |year=2019 |accessdate=2 August 2019}}</ref>
}}
In his review for [[Allmusic]], [[Stephen Thomas Erlewine]] contends that "the replacement of drummer Tim "Herb" Alexander with Brian {{sic}} "Brain" Mantia doesn't affect Primus' sound in any notable way", but also notes that the album "moves Primus even further into progressive and jazz-rock territory". In conclusion, he describes ''Brown Album'' as "standard Primus – all instrumental interplay and adolescent humor – but it's delivered with more finesse and skill than ever."<ref name="Allmusic review"/> For ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'', Wook Kim describes the band as "in decline" since their "satisfyingly eclectic" early albums, noting that with ''Brown Album'' they "cross that thin line between novel and novelty."<ref name="EW review"/> The ''[[The San Diego Union-Tribune|San Diego Union]]'' labeled the album as "flat-sounding".<ref>[http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=MWSB&p_theme=mwsb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0FB3438FF78D6984&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM PRIMUS comes jammin' back] "wipes away memories of 1997's aptly titled, flat-sounding "Brown Album." The San Diego Union, October 14, 1999. Retrieved March 1 2013. {{subscription required}}</ref>

Tom Moon, for ''[[Rolling Stone]]'', describes ''Brown Album'' as "precisely the type of weirdness that Primus have been peddling for years – [[progressive rock|progressive-rock]] instrumentals camouflaged in the tattered rags of [[punk rock|punk]] and the absurdist narratives of a junior [[Frank Zappa|Zappa]]", although he notes that the songs "all wind up sounding the same... Galumphing processionals more notable for their robotic persistence than for their musical invention." He calls the album "more accessible" in the way that it "moves away from Primus' pet herky-jerky shifts of meter long enough to establish serious, straightforward grooves", but also "more accomplished than inspired" with an "increasingly obvious soul deficit."<ref name="Rolling Stone review"/> In their September 1997 review, ''[[CMJ]]'' compared the album to [[Frank Zappa]] and the television series ''[[King of the Hill]]'', and referred to it as being "bizarre", writing "If anyone was afraid that Primus was going to sell out, ''The Brown Album'' will quickly put those fears to rest."<ref>https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/CMJ/1997/CMJ-New-Music-1997-09.pdf</ref>

===Legacy and commercial performance===
Oran O'Beirne of ''[[Yahoo!]]'' reflected on the album on its 25th anniversary in July 2022, describing it as showcasing "a unique form of psycho jazz, bass-oriented metal, and alt-rock psychedelia."<ref name="yahoo"/> The writer added, "in hindsight, the band themselves regarded it a difficult album to digest, but there is a lot of magic between its grooves, along with a tremendous amount of passion and courageous soul that assisted Claypool and co in becoming one of the most highly regarded bands in the alt.metal/rock history books."<ref name="yahoo">{{cite web | url=https://www.yahoo.com/now/brown-album-behind-primus-hyper-130929796.html | title='Brown Album': Behind Primus' Hyper-Cross-Pollinated Musical Innovation }}</ref>

Claypool claimed the album was "not as financially successful".<ref name="kerrang"/>

==Track listing==
{{track listing
| all_lyrics=[[Les Claypool]] || all_music=Primus |
| total_length=56:54
| title1=The Return of Sathington Willoughby || length1=5:04
| title2=Fisticuffs || length2=4:25
| title3=Golden Boy || length3=3:05
| title4=Over the Falls || length4=2:41
| title5=[[Shake Hands with Beef]] || length5=4:02
| title6=Camelback Cinema || length6=4:00
| title7=Hats Off || length7=1:57
| title8=Puddin' Taine || length8=3:37
| title9=Bob's Party Time Lounge || length9=4:44
| title10=Duchess and the Proverbial Mind Spread || length10=3:30
| title11=Restin' Bones || length11=4:29
| title12=Coddingtown || length12=2:52
| title13=Kalamazoo || length13=3:31
| title14=The Chastising of Renegade || length14=5:03
| title15=Arnie || length15=3:54
}}

== Personnel ==
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break}}

===Primus===
* [[Les Claypool]] – vocals, bass, upright bass
* [[Larry LaLonde]] – guitar
* [[Bryan Mantia|Brain]] – drums
{{col-break}}

===Production===
* Produced by Primus
* Engineered by Les Claypool
* Production coordinator: Jill "Galaxy Queen" Rose
* Studio assistant: Tim "Soya" Solyan
{{col-end}}

==Charts==
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|+ Chart performance for ''Brown Album''
!scope="col"|Chart (1997)
!scope="col"|Peak<br />position
|-
{{album chart|Australia|34|artist=Primus|album=Brown Album|rowheader=true|access-date=September 7, 2022}}
|-
{{album chart|Finland|14|artist=Primus|album=Brown Album|rowheader=true|access-date=September 7, 2022}}
|-
{{album chart|Germany4|99|id=34180|artist=Primus|album=Brown Album|rowheader=true|access-date=September 7, 2022}}
|-
!scope="row"|US [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]]<ref>{{cite magazine|url={{BillboardURLbyName|artist=primus|chart=all}}|title=Primus Billboard 200 Chart History|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]}}</ref>
|align=center|21
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==See also==
*[[Kalamazoo, Michigan#Popular culture|Kalamazoo, Michigan]]

{{Primus}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Primus (band) albums]]
[[Category:1997 albums]]
[[Category:Interscope Records albums]]
[[Category:Jazz-rock albums]]
[[Category:Progressive rock albums by American artists]]