Rhinoplasty

With covers of Stanley Clarke, Jerry Reed, Metallica, and The Police, Primus’ 1998 mini-album Rhinoplasty is crucial to any understanding of this revered cult band’s musical DNA. Many of these selections hark back to the band’s roots. Group leader Les Claypool went to school with Kirk Hammett and later auditioned to replace Cliff Burton in Metallica, which makes the reading of “The Thing That Should Not Be” a natural fit for Primus. Jerry Reed’s “Amos Moses” and Stanley Clarke’s “Silly Putty” point to two of Claypool’s formative musical idols: one a virtuosic redneck picker and the other a virtuosic funk slapper. If you blend these three covers, you have Primus' essential formula. Meanwhile, covers of Peter Gabriel (“The Family and the Fishing Net”) and The Police (“Behind My Camel”) let the band play with the more textural, abstract elements of its sound. While the group’s cover of XTC’s “Making Plans for Nigel” has long been a fan favorite, its take on “Scissor Man” is just as good. It's an indication that the band might have done well as a fleet-footed avant-pop outfit had its appetite for funk and metal not been so voracious.