Compare Prices and Read Reviews on P - P at Epinions.com

Compare Prices and Read Reviews on P - P at Epinions.com
Full frontal assault on your eardrums...
Feb 01 '02 (Updated Feb 27 '02)

Author's Product Rating
Product Rating: 2.0

Pros
Zing Splash, Michael Stipe, Dancing Queen.

Cons
The eight other tracks, and Haynes.

The Bottom Line
Johnny Depp was in a band? Yeah, and you're about to find out just how bad it was...

Full Review
Before I delve too deeply into this opinion, I want to say that I have no good reason why I own this album. I bought it about seven years ago from one of those music clubs. Because of it’s, uh, quality, I’ve listened to the album no more than twenty times from beginning to end. Stick around to find out exactly what that means…

P is not a real band, nor were they ever meant to be taken too seriously. In fact, let me say this first off. Any band with Johnny Depp on guitars/bass is making the conscious choice not to be taken seriously in a musical sense. If nothing else, Depp did offer a little star power. But, the other members of P really didn’t need that much help to begin with.

Recorded in 1995, the self-titled album is an experiment in rock and roll for Gibby Haynes (of Butthole Surfers fame). He recruited Depp along with friend (and guitarist/bassist) Bill Carter and Sal Jenco on percussion. The resulting noise-rock is a relatively well-rounded combination of grunge, folk, and funk-metal. I’d never go so far as to call the album innovative, rather it’s simply another mediocre attempt from a guy that I have little taste for—Gibby Haynes.

P released this album in 1995 thanks to backing from Capitol/EMI. I’ll never quite understand why they invested in such a strange novelty band, but I do suspect it has something to do with the fact that the label supported Haynes’ other ongoing musical effort Butthole Surfers. With that said, P featured guest performances from Surfer Andrew Weiss, Flea of Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols. Even with Flea’s trademark slap-bass I couldn’t get into the majority of the P tracks.

I Save Cigarette Butts begins by sounding a bit like something from the late 1960’s. The guitars and bass are regulated pretty skillfully, and Haynes’ vocals are much more controlled than the grinding and painful Surfers songs I’ve had the pleasure of listening to. The song comes off sounding more like spoken word than a folk-rock track. When the song eventually breaks into the chorus, it’s a let down. The track spins out of control. Decent track, just not a great one.

The track on this album I really enjoy is Zing Splash. Besides having a really great title, the song has a great funk groove. It feels like some of RHCP’s more psychedelic tracks. It’s loud and obnoxious with little attempt at meaning, but heck! How can you complain when the song rocks as a whole? If I had to choose one real standout song, it would definitely be the multi-layered and at times confusing Zing Splash.

An ode to one Michael Stipe is actually reminiscent of the band in question. I’m not particularly interested in the strange track, but it’s also not completely repulsive. And, with all the name dropping (Sofia Coppola, Martin Landau, etc…) the track sounds very much like an ode to celebrity and Hollywood. Haynes distorts his already harsh voice into a surreal country-rock vocal performance.

Dancing Queen is a funny take on the classic Swedish disco classic from Abba. P’s take isn’t a bastardization of any sort. It’s strange, and somehow straighter than you would expect from Haynes. Rather than playing disco, P interprets the song more as a lounge act with only brief slips into the 1970’s phenomenon.

Mr. Officer seems to try to be a honky tonk track with a sense of humor. My ears reject the attempt. It’s horribly annoying especially with banjos and Haynes’ rough voice. In addition, the fact that so many distortions are spread throughout makes this song absolutely intolerable. The same things apply to the pseudo-blues of White Man Sings the Blues. If something besides being novel was intended by these tracks, I’d be surprised.

Overall, this album lacks consistency and an overall effect. While I do have some like for Zing Splash, Michael Stipe, and Dancing Queen, this album is overall better left alone. If you can get hold of those MP3’s you’ll be much better off than buying this album in the 99 cent bargain bin. Seriously. Maybe Haynes’ musical vision is an acquired taste. I have problems appreciating music even from Butthole Surfers. But, what I think is that he doesn’t really have that much talent. What keeps the guy going is his love for music and his novel approach to song-making.

Overall, I give this album 2/5 stars and won’t recommend it to anybody except hardcore Butthole Surfers fans. Otherwise, be prepared for a full frontal assault on your delicate eardrums.

Track Listing:
1. I Save Cigarette Butts
2. Zing Splash
3. Michael Stipe
4. Oklahoma
5. Dancing Queen
6. Jon Glenn - (mega mix)
7. Mr. Officer
8. White Man Sings The Blues
9. Die Anne
10. Scrapings From Ring
11. Deal, The

P.S. According to the liner notes, P: “is a band, not a liquid or a fruit.” Yeah whatever.