With the release of a new LP today and their latest tour beginning tomorrow, Les Claypool and Primus have decided to let their fans have a lot of nostalgic fun. The new album, “Primus and the Chocolate Factory with the Fungi Ensemble,” is a cover of the soundtrack to the beloved 1971 film, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, which they also covered at a show in Oakland on New Year’s Eve last year (video below). With drummer Tim Alexander back, Primus hit the studio to record this tribute because Claypool told Rolling Stone that he was “obsessed” with the film as a child and he and the band needed “to make sure that kids in the future watch the original Willy Wonka and not the horrendous, horrible remake that came along and left the taste of feces in our mouths.”
That might sound harsh, but know that Claypool is well aware of the criticism that this new album might draw from other people who, like him, have always been “completely enamored” by the film.
“There’s a good possibility there’s gonna be some folks insulted by this, as well,” Claypool says. “You know, I think that’s the folly of taking on a sacred cow, you know. You’re gonna please some folks and you’re gonna piss off some folks. But I hope I don’t piss off Gene Wilder, because he’s definitely — for his ’70s hairdo alone, he is a champion.” (Via NPR)
To really drive home that Willy Wonka love, though, the band decided to take its album release to the next level. Not only were the vinyl records of “Primus and the Chocolate Factory” manufactured to look like giant chocolate discs (don’t try eating them, please), but five gold records were also produced and hidden among them. If a fan should happen to find one of the golden records, he or she gets free Primus concert tickets for life. See U2? This is how you properly market a new album.
