Bassist Les Claypool wears many hats, literally and figuratively, in the course of 5 Gallons of Diesel, a comprehensive look at his many band and solo projects. Clocking in at well over three hours, including bonus materia... more »l, this mostly-live collection finds the former Primus mainstay performing with no less than five different groups; all of them feature Claypool's amusing stage outfits (replete with an ever-changing array of crazy lids), supremely funky playing, decidedly strange songwriting, and so-so vocals, but each is distinctive enough to warrant its own monicker. They include Sausage, a kind of heavy industrial funk trio appearing in a very entertaining video for "Riddles Are Around Tonight" (imagine an ingenious set combining Rube Goldberg and the Blue Man Group and you get the basic idea); Holy Mackerel, best described as Egyptian surf music; Oysterhead, a virtual alt-rock supergroup with Claypool, former Police drummer Stewart Copeland, and Phish mainstay Trey Anastasio (whose guitar comes with a set of antlers--and yes, he does "play" them); the Frog Brigade, whose eight tunes (all live) reveal influences ranging from Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart to the Ramones and Jimi Hendrix; and Colonel Claypool's Bucket of Bernie Brains, another star-studded outfit (with guitarist Buckethead and P-Funk keyboardist Bernie Worrell) whose lengthy metal-funk jams never quite coalesce. And wait, there's more: a live performance of "Riddles," another appealingly weird video (for "Buzzards of Green Hill"), behind-the-scenes and "making of" footage? it goes on. Claypool is not a great singer, and his songwriting is an acquired taste. But superb musicianship and an abiding sense of humor mean that 5 Gallons of Diesel is never less than entertaining, and often a good deal more. --Sam Graham« less
Actor:Les Claypool Genres:Music Video & Concerts Sub-Genres:Pop, Rock & Roll Studio:Prawn Song Format:DVD - Color DVD Release Date: 11/15/2005 Original Release Date: 01/01/2005 Theatrical Release Date: 01/01/2005 Release Year: 2005 Run Time: 3hr 23min Screens: Color Number of Discs: 1 SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Total Copies: 0 Members Wishing: 1 MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated) Languages:English
"It's about time they put out a DVD for Les Claypool's solo work. While I would've love an entire concert by any of his solo incarnations, it's nice to see a sampling of everything he's done. The dvd is very similar to the Animals Should Not Act Like People dvd. The quality of the live stuff varies, some of it is shot on home video, while others are high quality professional mixes. For example, a couple tracks from the Frog Brigade were taken straight from unused Bonnaroo footage. If you have seen the first Bonnaroo dvd then you know what you're in for. Of particular note on this set are the two Frog Brigade tracks from 10/9/00 and the two CCBBB tracks from 9/16/02. Both shows were supposedly taped to be released in entirety. While it would be great to get those shows.. it's nice to see a few tracks at least make an appearence here. This set isn't for everyone, but if you can appreciate Les' more eccentric catalog and not just for his work with Primus, then it's a great purchase. For the price you get a lot of material. I only wish more bands would release DVDs as rich as this one. Highly recommended.
Complete Track List:
Sausage
1. Riddles Are Abound Tonight (video)
2. The Making Of Riddles
3. Prelude To Fear (live, The Fillmore, 10/15/94)
Holy Mackerel
4. Hendershot (live, City Walk, 10/6/96)
Oysterhead
5. Shadow Of A Man (live, Hollywood Paladium, 10/21/01, from HBO's Reverb taping, I was there!)
Frog Brigade
6. Here's To The Man (live, Great American Music Hall, 10/9/00, from Live Frogs: Set 1 taping)
7. Running The Gauntlet (live, Great American Music Hall, 10/9/00, from Live Frogs: Set 1 taping)
8. David Makalaster (live, Bonnaroo, 6/21/02, unused Bonnaroo 2002 DVD footage)
9. Long In The Tooth (live, Bonnaroo, 6/21/02, unused Bonnaroo 2002 DVD footage)
10. Whamola (live, Bonnaroo, 6/21/02, unused Bonnaroo 2002 DVD footage)
11. Granny's Little Yard Gnome (live, High Sierra, 7/6/03)
12. Ding Dang (live, Jam Cruise 3, 1/8/05)
13. Buzzards Of Green Hill (live, Jam Cruise, 1/8/05)
C2B3
14. Opening Jam (live, Great American Music Hall, 9/16/02)
15. Encore Jam (live, Great American Music Hall, 9/16/02)
16. Tyranny Of The Hunt (live, Roxy Theater, 9/29/04)
17. Scott Taylor (live, Roxy Theater, 9/29/04)
Les Claypool
18. Riddles Are Abound Tonight (live, Vic Theatre, 7/22/05)
19. The Awakening (live, Vic Theatre, 7/22/05)
Extras
20. 3 Guys Named Schmo (live, Bay Area Music Awards, 3/5/94)
21. Buzzards Of Green Hill (video)
22. The Making Of Buzzards
23. The Recording Of Buzzards
24. Fly Fishing The World 2004 Idaho
25. Fly Fishing The World 2005 Quebec"
Music is always better with costumes!
I. Peek | Newark, DE | 04/21/2006
(3 out of 5 stars)
"Les Claypool's 5 gallons of diesel gets mixed reactions from me. It is a great disk & I still recommend it, with some reservations.
First, the costumes and on-stage antics are reminiscent of Frank Zappa (Baby Snakes (DVD), for example). They are comical, and add to the incredible music that is made.
Some of the footage appears to have been shot from someone's digital camera or a security camera in the building. The footage and sound quality is quite bad in some performances, and makes me question the price I paid. The available amount of good material does outweigh the bad, though.
The bass fishing bits give an interesting human element to Claypool, however, they are much too long. The candid interviews speak much more about him than watching some guy bob a fly in a creek somewhere. Perhaps if they had decreased the number of "fishy takes the bait" routines, it would be more bearable. Longer videos of his recording sessions would have been much better.
Watching Claypool is entertaining, though, and inspires me to create, and get out the bass & practice.
"
Les Claypool is more than just a great bass player...
Alejandro Frisancho | Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela | 08/11/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)
"He is a multi talented artist with a great imagination, he has his own world and a great spirit for slap his bass. After so many years with funk rock or maybe alternative rock band primus now he is more experimented... always adding new sounds to his projects such as sax, marimba, sitar, funk keyboars, etc...I will always buy his new cds ... he is an only choice in his style !!!... Les keep your work ... I recommend you to start using some latin beats,... I wonder what would happened... This dvd shows all his side projects, It is a great souvenir of all what les involves... even fishing experience..."
4.5 stars really, great dvd for claypool fans
travis sweny | holland, ma usa | 04/25/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)
"this dvd is honestly one of the best i own, the jamming on all the frog brigade live tracks are out of controll, so much energy and the version of Buzzards of Greenhill off the jam cruise is the absolute greatest thing ive ever herd, i dont remember the guys name, but a special guest comes out and RIPS on the guitar for this song, honestly the biggest highlight of the entire dvd, i had to watch it again to let it set in for me, its honestly and overwhealming amount of great jamming on this dvd, the only disapointment for this dvd, is the lack of Oysterhead tracks, i love Oysterhead and i was pretty bummed out to see the only track of theirs on here is Shadow of a Man, a great song, but a little too eerie and slow for this dvd i think, all in all its a spectacular dvd, and worth the buy"
Claypool fan must-have
Rupert A. Brink | South Carolina | 01/04/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This was a very cool Claypool DVD and definently a must own for fans. That being said... a couple of things that would have good
*More Oysterhead songs and not (in my opinion) one of the crappiest Oysterhead tracks (Shadow of a Man) por ejemple... Mr. Oysterhead, Oz is Everfloating, Army's on Ecstasy, and Radon Balloon.
*I know I'm asking too much and being unreasonable when asking for a splash of Primus...oh well..haha (too much awesome Primus to fill one dvd)
That being said I enjoyed the DVD quite a lot and still going back constantly JUST to watch Long in the Tooth (standing bass both different and magical!) Also if you are unfamiliar with Les's side projects...this gives you a new appreciation and will definently broaden your horizons (C2B3 awesome stuff)
Didn't get the 5th star due to lack of Oysterhead tracks (and if you're looking for primus footage don't buy this DVD for there is none to be found, except for quick little clips in the "bass fishing the world" segment (which is great if you want to see some great Les interview footage)