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Transmutation
(Mutatis Mutandis) review by Terry Wickham
Add Praxis to the short list of super groups. I don't just mean a great band, but rather a group made up of an all-star line-up of players who come from different assorted bands to form a super group. Conceived and constructed by underground visionary Bill Laswell, this group is made up of experimental guitarist Buckethead, Funkadelic's Bootsy Collins on bass/vocals, Bernie Worrell also from Funkadelic on keyboard/organ, Brain from Primus on drums and AF Next Man Flip on Turntable/Mixer. This is the band's 1992 debut album and they come out smoking with "Blast/War Machine Dub." Bootsy sets a funky beat, Brain punctuating the beat right behind him with Buckethead and Worrell topping the song with guitar & keyboard wizardry. "Interface/Stimulation Loop" rocks with funk! Brain is awesome kicking out the beat, with Buckethead flying off the handle. "Crash Victim/Black Science Navigator" is a hard rocking tune where Brain and Bootsy establish a groove that will seep right into your soul. Worrell gets crazy and lights up his keyboard. The fourth track "Animal Behavior," about half way through (Four and a half minutes) Buckethead goes into this moody soft rhythm that is just a pleasure to listen to. It's one of my favorite Buckethead songs because he starts out slow and lets it build up to a real climax. It actually leads into the next song "Dead Man Walking" where Bucket just simply takes over. "The Seven Laws of Woo" is the band creating one musical voice that is jamming. "The Interworld and the New Innocence" is almost pure atmosphere, as Bucket plays this pretty soft toned rhythm while Bootsy garbles cool bass lines, which you'll love. "Giant Robot/Machines in the Modern City/Godzilla" has Bucket leading the band back to his roots. His childhood favorites Giant Robot and Godzilla are mixed into the band's sound. Brain really creates rocking beats that dominate the song. The album ends with a sixteen-minute track called "After Shock (Chaos Never Died)." The band takes turns taking the lead moving from funk, to church -funeral like organ to the experimental use of incorporating electronic toys. Buckethead takes the toys and places them against his guitar strings to produce strange other worldly sounds. Axiom the record company that put this CD out has been out of business a while now. The place you can definitely find this, along with a bunch of other rarities is Norman's Sound and Vision, 67 Cooper Square, New York, NY 10003 (212) 473-6599 www.normansound.com
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