Les Claypool has shown his fans that he can wear many hats--from teaming up with Phish leadsman Trey Anastasio (a project known as Oysterhead, which, in my opinion, rules) to writing the introduction for South Park and Robot Chicken. Recently he's partnered with Bryan Kehoe. If you perform a short Google inquiry, you'll see that Kehoe was the guitarist in Claypool's first attempt at a feature film called Electric Apricot, a spoof on the jam band scene. They have united as one under an old barn roof and a full Texas moon as "Duo De Twang." Four Foot Shack is an exploration of the southern-style. Claypool and Kehoe stay close to the classics. Comprised entirely of covers, except for the introductory, minute length titular song "Four Foot Shack" that sounds like overly-reverbed nonsense, they take from Claypool's lengthy repertoire and also folk singer-songwriter classics.
Perhaps to entice those die-hard fans of Primus, the album opens and closes with the popular "Wyona's Big Brown Beaver" and "Jerry Was A Race Car Driver." The remakes harness on one chord exchange each, adopting the southern rock plodding consistency, without any extended solos. Rhythms are tighter, driven, and at a notch down in tempo. Notable covers from Claypool's previous projects are "Red State Girl" that certainly ditches the exotic bongos for a more demonic, ominous bass riff, and "Rumble Of The Diesel" that's pure grit. The song opens with Claypool explaining his love for albacore season, who continues to mock the Seattle audience saying they have no clue what he's talking about and in response garners a staunch uproar.
The rest of the covers can be divided into two sections--admirations of older folk singer-songwriters and modern-day hits. The latter are "Stayin' Alive" by the Bee Gees and "Man In The Box" by Alice In Chains. Woah, boy! As much as I enjoyed hearing Les Claypool whip out a falsetto of "ah-ah-ah...stayin' alive," it came to be a little too much toward the end. Although entertaining, the key is too similar and makes the point quick enough. "Man In The Box" seems like a parody because of how much they stress the vocals. What saves the track is Kehoe's guitar accompaniments that verge on jazz. Claypool's inspiration for the Duo De Twang becomes apparent in tracks such as "The Bridge Came Tumblin' Down", "Amos Moses" and "Battle of New Orleans." The original songwriters, listed in order, Tom Connors (known for "The Hockey Song"), Jerry Reed, and Johnny Horton are known for their saga-like lyrics and country blues voices. In "The Bridge Came Tumblin' Down" Claypool highlights the subtle bass in the original song and transforms it into an essential part of the song's melody. "Amos Moses" lacks the bluesy-rock feel of Jerry Reed's but harnesses the jug-band stomp. "Battle of New Orleans" is the most redone. The original sounds like a musical--thank goodness for Claypool.
While the usage of old material and historical folk songs give Four Foot Shack a familiar feel, the lack of original songwriting (I'm talking lyrics-wise) besides the minuscule opening track is disappointing. Also, most of the songs were Claypool driven, and while that's expected, Kehoe's guitar felt like a mere baroque dribble only there for effect. As they say, expectation is the root of all heartache.
Grade: C
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