Remix album - blah blah - no one buys them - yadda yadda - only useful for DJs - hamana hamana hamana. Now that that's out of the way, we can talk about this Puscifer release. For anyone not in the know, Puscifer is a solo-ish project by Maynard James Keenan of Tool and A Perfect Circle fame. To those perhaps less familiar with the nuances of his career, the gonzo-ish undefinable yet nutritious paste that was the debut album V is for Vagina was probably a big surprise. In all likelihood, anyone expecting the deeply textured metaphysical rock of Tool or the lush atmospheric drive of A Perfect Circle from Puscifer should move on. There's nothing to see here.
However, if you are aware of Keenan's involvement in shock rock hoaxers Green Jelly, it will make a lot more sense. While not quite a complete piss-take, Puscifer is certainly driven by humor and esoteric soundbites a lot more than his other more famous works. It's also distinctly unquantifiable, pulling in influences running from gospel all the way to country and passing them through an early-90s industrial filter.
So when coming to the much maligned world of the remix album, one would expect Puscifer to wheel out something varied and genre-breaking. Slightly disappointingly, this is much more of a bog standard collection. There is nothing particularly wrong with V is for Viagra, more that there is nothing spectacularly right. For the most part the reworkings are lukewarm and mid-pace rather than dancefloor fillers. Of the 'celebrity' remixes on display here, only Aaron Turner of Isis turns in something worth your time with a sweeping, epic and dense mix (no surprise there) of "Trekka." Elsewhere, Joey Jordison of Slipknot and Paul Barker (ex-Ministry) have donated lazy industrial reworkings that leave you with the distinct smell of b-side all over your ears.
There are highlights here, particularly towards the end of the album. The welcome relief of the sparkling pseudo-rave of a Michale Patterson mix of "Queen B" injects some energy into the proceedings, and the dark urban crunch of the Lustmord reworking of "DoZo" achieves the brooding intensity that the rest of the remix artists seem to have been aiming for.
The only tracks present as 'new' material are two mixes of "Country Boner," the twang-baiting tune left off the debut album but made semi-famous via frankly ridiculous live performances available on YouTube. If amusing mock-country diatribes of how Maynard James Keenan has performed various sexual activities with the likes of Johnny Cash,The Judds, and Willie Nelson are your thing then feel free to spend your petty cash on the CD. Otherwise, this really is a release only for the hardcore Puscifer loyalists.
See also
Pigface, Green Jelly, Sheep On Drugs
