The Power of Beef

I would suggest that it's a fair assuption that 99% of the good folks that have visited this page or purchased this CD have done so because of the "Danny Carey" name attached to it. That's fair and understandable -- would A Perfect Circle's sales been as high if Maynard hadn't been attached to it? Doubtful. And I suppose a few of those people have been taken somewhat aback by this release. APC (and I hate to say it) is a "safe" side project. Yeah, I love 'em too (except for the Steaming Pile Known as "Emotive"), but they're basically TOOL Lite. Same dreamy environs, a smidge more rock. For those who'd like to get their TOOL in sub-12 minute doses. Let's face it, MJK's very distinctive (and very good) voice doesn't help distinguish between the two. But it's still enjoyable.

What you have here is one mean album. My old school Korn CDs, who thought they were pissed, get nervous when sitting next to "The Power of Beef." Imagine an aberrant amalgamate of the Melvins, Helmet, Butthole Surfers, Clutch, pre-1994 Rollins Band and a handle of bad bourbon and you'll be sniffing around the right orifice. This album probably would have been cutting edge 10 years ago, but as it stands it's a pleasant throwback to the Good Ol' Days of metal when a trip to the pit could turn into a trip to the ER.

Standout tracks: All of 'em. I rarely say that, but after repeated listenings (aka getting hung up in traffic), this CD has slowly grown on me like a creeping case of skin fungus. All are hard rockers.

If you are a fan of early nineties metal, you will enjoy this. Immensely.

Pigmy Love Circus is easily one of the best bands that more than likely most people have never heard of.

PYC (as I'll refer to them from here on out) have actually been around since 1987. Based out of Southern California, they became something of a cult favorite on the live circuit due to some infamous out-of-control performances in addition to some very twisted (and funny songs).

In 1992, they replaced drummers with a certain Danny Carie (though he goes by Dan on this PYC CD) . Most people probably know him from his drum duties in a little band called Tool. He played with PYC for a little while but Tool ended up getting signed and pretty much exploding popularity wise so Danny's tenure in the band was cut short. PYC ended up disbanding in 1995 after slogging it out in bars and clubs for about 8 years straight.

But in 1999, Danny Carey ended up getting PYC to re-form and they started touring again opening up for the likes of bands like A Perfect Circle (fronted by Tool's singer Maynard). In 2003, they would record a batch of songs that would end up getting released in 2004 as the CD entitled curiously enough The Power of Beef.

The lineup on the album consists of:

Michael Savage---------vocals

Peter Fletcher---------guitars

E. Shepherd Stevenson--bass

Dan Carey--------------drums, saxophone

The first 3 members are all original members who have been with PYC since the beginning.

The track listing on the CD is as follows (with the CD being a little over 42 minutes in length):

1) Livin' Like Sh*t

2) Drug Run to Fontana

3) Swamp Creature

4) Bone Orchard

5) Pistolero Sleep

6) Bad Luck

7) Murderer

8) Highway Man

9) Headless Horseman

10)12 Gauge Kiss

11)Madhouse Clown

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To try and describe PYC's sound is a bit hard. If you're familiar with the style of the band Clutch, PYC is kind of in the same vein to a certain extent, though PYC is more talented, versatile and varied than Clutch is.

Michael Savage's vocal style is also reminiscent of the singer from Clutch but Michael has a much more aggressive style. At some points he seems to recall Phil's vocal style from the metal band Pantera while at other times he seems to sound kind of like what Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top would sound like if he was a psychotic mass murderer. Add a little bit of Lemmy from Motorhead for extra spice. His lyrics are extremely twisted & violent and run the gamut from a guy talking about killing people indiscriminantly, being a lazy drunk bastard, killing his cheating girlfriend, making illegal drug runs and the headless horseman just to name a few.

The lyrics are pretty extreme stuff and will likely turn a lot of unsuspecting people off. But as twisted and questionable as some of the lyrics are, they are done more in the manner of him inhabiting a character of some sort and talking from that person's point-of-view. They are also really tongue in cheek most of the time, especially if you have an extremely dark and twisted sense of humor (like me!).

The music itself is kind of loud classic rock fused with metal and a touch of punk & blues as well. But the music doesn't sound dated and instead takes a lot of rock conventions and turns them on their collective heads. The music is loud and would feel right at home in a biker bar with a bunch of drunk bikers singing along while occasionally puking and beating the crap out of each other.

The musicianship is top notch and it's really cool to hear Danny Carey just rocking out on the drums. The music of his main bread and butter gig Tool is extremely complex and dense. The music of PYC on the other hand is just loud, fun and extremely dark hard rock that is just hard not to get into. Fletcher's guitar hits you like a ton of bricks and Stevenson's bass rumbles with one of the better bass tones that I've heard lately in hard rock.

The production is crystal clear as Danny Carey clearly used his clout from Tool to get them some great production quality that is one of the clearest and best sounding CD's that I've heard in recent times.

Some personal favorite songs include the driving Dry Run to Fontana which is a vocal tour-de-force for Michael Savage. Swamp Creature features lyrics inspired by old 50's B-movies like Creature from the Black Lagoon. 12 Gauge Kiss is about a questionable guy blowing away his girlfriend with a shotgun. and the last track Madhouse Clown features a really catchy and infectious sing along chorus that would fit right at home in any bar during last call.

I would've liked to be able to give more in depth descriptions of all of the tracks, but like I mentioned earlier, this is a really difficult CD to try to describe to someone.

If you are into bands like Clutch, Queens of the Stone Age, Monster Magnet and Kyuss along with the more extreme vocals stylings of bands like Pantera, you'll love PYC.

The CD might initially make you think it's going to be just another retro southern rock hard rock band, but by the time the vocals have kicked in and you've then gotten to track #2, you'll realize that you're listening to one of the most innovative, original and just plain cool CD's to come out in 2004 so far. This CD has been pretty much stuck in my CD player since I picked it up.

I'm sure that a lot of Tool fans will pick up this CD just because of the Danny Carey connection, but let me emphasize that PYC is about as far on the opposite side of the musical spectrum from Tool that it isn't funny. But it's just so refreshing to hear Danny just rocking out without any pretentious/progressive arrangements to get in his way. You can tell that these guy's are having a blast doing what they do and that's what truly counts!

The members of Pigmy Love Circus aren't youthful, pretty, or peppy. They're, unhealthy, lowdown, and lumpen. They aren't twenty-something Texas-to-L.A. transplants with visions of MTV Awards dancing in their heads. These guys are just tryin' to get through the day without the voices in their heads taking over. Census data indicates that roughly six hundred thousand people migrate to Co-Dependant California each year. Los Angeles cynics --otherwise known as natives-- know that more and more of these misguided refugees are headed for Hollywood. While thankfully, scores of 'em will end up in scenic Riverside County or other outlying Consolation Prize Communities, far too many will clog the arteries of that already dream-choked amusement park. The question is, how many of the music fans and aspiring rock stars among them can claim familiarity with the impossibly clever, kick-ass, Trucker-Punk of Pigmy Love Circus? How many music scensters, native 'er not, can say they've actually witnessed the wayward wrecking ball of a live Pigmy show, let alone the long history of dastardly rises, disappearances, and nonsensical triumphs of this chain gang of reckless men? Too g-damn few, that's who. There just aren't enough supporters of local music - fans of the Velvet Hammer, the Supersuckers, or System of a Down - who know that members of these bands cite the influence of the Pigmies, or that Tool drummer Danny Carey is the group's Hemi under the hood. That's about to change. The long-awaited Power of Beef CD is a reunion, a parole, a fistful of pain drugs and a boot, stomping on the face of corporate Nerf-Punk. It's a recording that captures the militaristic cartoonishness of the band's charisma and sums up what's most important about real rock 'n roll: Keep it simple, keep it fun, keep it threatening. The bottom line? First buy this record, and then find out where Pigmy Love Circus can, will or might accidentally tour next.