Primus, Over the Electric Grapevine: Insight into Primus and the World of Les Claypool Hardcover – Illustrated, September 16, 2014

the story of the most unique band, and artist, of the last 30 years. nobody is like les - or primus, for that matter - and you get the oral history of this man and this band that is not only an inspiration but a roadmap for the justification of practice and passion. it’s just the best validation of proving the value of what drives you as a real, worthwhile endeavor. you don’t have to do what everyone loves, but les proves you can be a good guy with good friends, a great family and a fulfilling life being successful for doing, and being really effing good at, what YOU love.

This book just arrived and I can't put it down. The definitive story of Primus told by the people who lived it. Essential reading for any fan of this amazing band."Over the Electric Grapevine" is written in the "oral history" format that is all the rage these days, and it is organized well so the story flows chronologically. Starting with Les in high school (with Kirk Hammett), the book takes us (almost) all the way to the present.Great stories about the making of the albums, the ideas behind some of the songs, and the hi-jinks of touring. Sprinkled in are the observations of some of their peers and tour-/festival-mates, most of them fawning in admiration at the talent and influence of Messrs. Claypool, LaLonde, and Herb/Brain.It includes a small section of pictures, a lot of which I had never seen before. This is an outstanding book that was put together with a lot of care.

This book is an "oral history" so it is both out of order and inaccurate. Everyone is overly nice in their opinions and no one wants to tell stories that get other people into trouble, that just leaves the music right? Well, this book doesn't get into technical things about playing either. There are explanations for things like who is Bob Cock and a not very clear account of why the drummers keep leaving. What starts off as a good read slowly devolves into lots of people talking for pages about how wonderful Les is as a musician and a person. Literally the last 30 pages. It also ends with Herb being out of the band and a project in the works, this could presumably be the Chocolate Factory (lots of song rights to get ok'ed) but Herb was definitely out of the band and in a better place in his life and magically he's back in the band doing the Chocolate Factory! I wasn't looking for finality in a book about a band that is still active but this type of thing happens all throughout the book with little or no explanation so I shouldn't be too surprised. This book did keep my attention and send me running to youtube quite a few times, which makes me think it could have been better handled as a filmed documentary with clips of the show and bands that are being discussed.

I have been a Les Claypool fan since I heard pork soda for the first time. I have followed his career and attended concerts since then over the past few decades. If you are a Primus fan this is a must read. It is awesome reading what all these prominent musicians have to say all while telling the Primus story. It has explanations to album choices and what was happening behind the scenes at any given point in their timeline. Easy quick read with some awesome photos to go along with the stories. Primus Sucks!

Looks awesome. I just skimmed it because its a Christmas gift for my daughter and I will wait to read it after she has completed it. Its only fair.😉✌🤙🤙

I purchased this book for my boyfriend and he had nothing but great things to say. He actually read It start to finish in about 9 hours. As a huge Les Claypool fan that he is, I think this was a perfect choice. A lot of questions he had were answered (except one which he gets to ask him himself at the end of the month) :) Thanks for helping me make my man have a special birthday and I am sure he would recommend this book to any Primus fan.

Pretty good read. That being said, I wish bands would wait to do books, box sets and the like until the band is done. The book pretty much ends with everyone gargling Jay Lane's bag, saying he is the best thing that ever happened to Primus. Well, then there is a little thing simply stating that Jay Lane has left and the mighty Tim Alexander has returned. This is great news because, as far as I'm concerned, it isn't Primus without Tim Alexander. With anyone else, I call it "Primus". Anyhoo, good read, good story so far, but the story isn't finished.

Love it all

What a cracking little book! The "writer" has wisely let the interviewees speak for themselves, and you get a real sense not only of the history of Primus's development as a band, but also that Claypool could just be the most cool and lovely bloke in rock. I mean, we're talking a Dave Grohl level of niceness.Heartwarming, and at times inspiring - it's the story of a man who would be having fun making music even if he wasn't making money out of it. Which makes a change.

A very interesting booked, felt I learnt a lot of things about primus I there early days. I did start to get a little board by the chapter where it was just different people just discussing what they like about les claypool and his playing, although he is extremely talented and the music les created is very original I just found it was reading the same thing over and over again. If you are a primus fan you will like this book as its packed full of info about them.

As a long time Primus fan I loved this book. It features many contemporaries of the band telling tales to form the history of one of the most unique bunch of people ever to form a band. I don't need to write any of this, because if you love Primus, you'll have just bought the book anyway. PS.

Bought as gift for Les Claypool fanatic Son who loved it. Good delivery, well packaged thanks

Loved it. I didn't think the format would work (it's all written as short snippets of interviews with the many interviewees) but it reads very well like a talking-heads type documentary, and there's lots of interest.