Primus – Suck On This (Blue Vinyl)

Suck On This, released in 1989, is the debut live album from Primus and the recording that first introduced their singular brand of funk-metal weirdness to a wider audience. Captured at Berkeley’s famed club The Berkeley Square, the record brims with the raw energy and eccentric humor that would soon become the band’s hallmark. Les Claypool’s elastic, virtuosic bass playing drives tracks like John the Fisherman and Tommy the Cat, while guitarist Larry LaLonde and drummer Tim “Herb” Alexander add off-kilter textures and rhythms that push the music into uncharted territory.

Though rough around the edges, the album’s unpolished quality adds to its charm, capturing Primus at their most unfiltered. The songs, many of which would later be re-recorded for studio releases, already showcase the band’s unique chemistry and refusal to fit into any one genre. Pressed here on blue vinyl, Suck On This stands as both a collectible artifact and the starting point for one of alternative rock’s strangest and most inventive bands.

Reviews

“Suck On This is a bizarre, funky, and wildly original debut that set Primus apart from everyone else.” – AllMusic

“Even in their earliest recordings, Primus were unlike anything in rock—part metal, part funk, part cartoon.” – Rolling Stone

“Raw and unpolished but brimming with ideas, Suck On This is Primus in their purest form.” – The Guardian

“A live debut as strange as it is thrilling, it marked the arrival of one of rock’s most eccentric bands.” – Spin