The Desaturating Seven

The Desaturating Seven is the ninth studio album by American rock group Primus, released on September 29, 2017. It is the band's first album of original material since 2011's Green Naugahyde, and is the first LP featuring original material written with drummer Tim Alexander since 1995's Tales from the Punchbowl.

The Desaturating Seven
Studio album by
Primus
ReleasedSeptember 29, 2017
RecordedRancho Relaxo, CA
GenreProgressive rock
Length34:38
LabelATO Records, Prawn Song Records
ProducerLes Claypool
Primus chronology
Primus & the Chocolate Factory with the Fungi Ensemble
(2014)		 The Desaturating Seven
(2017)		 Conspiranoid
(2022)

Background and composition

The Desaturating Seven is a concept album based on the 1978 children's book The Rainbow Goblins, written by Italian author of children's books, Ul de Rico. Band leader Les Claypool used to read the book to his children when they were younger, and was fascinated and inspired by the book's vibrant artwork and use of colors. Claypool always felt the book's story would make a fascinating musical project, and eventually approached his fellow band members about recording original music based on the story of the book. This is the second Primus album based on a movie or book, the first being the 2014 album, Primus & the Chocolate Factory with the Fungi Ensemble, and is their shortest full-length album to date.[1]

The album has been noted as a stylistic change for Primus, exploring more traditional aspects of progressive rock than their previous releases.[2] The influence of King Crimson, especially the album Discipline (1981), is evident.[3][4]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic68/100[5]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
The A.V. ClubB[6]
Consequence of SoundC+[3]
Exclaim!7/10[4]
PopMatters8/10[7]

The Desaturating Seven garnered generally positive reviews. The album received an average score of 68/100 from 9 reviews on Metacritic, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[5] AllMusic's Neil Z. Yeung said that the album is "typically eccentric, it's an interesting exercise, although nonessential outside the sphere of Primus/Claypool devotees."[2] Nina Corcoran of The A.V. Club had a positive impression, noting the album's digestibility and admirable message.[6] Consequence of Sound's Brice Ezell criticizes the album's length, saying that it "errs a bit too much on the side of brevity, resulting in a record that feels like an EP that has overstayed its welcome."[3] Alan Ranta of Exclaim! said that The Desaturating Seven "demonstrate[s] songcraft beyond the great majority of [Primus'] catalogue."[4] PopMatters' Chris Conaton also lamented the album's shortness, but he praised its music, calling it "the tightest, most focused album of Primus' career."[7]

Track listing

All tracks written by Les Claypool.[8]

No.TitleLength
1."The Valley"4:43
2."The Seven"3:08
3."The Trek"7:50
4."The Scheme"2:50
5."The Dream"6:36
6."The Storm"7:47
7."The Ends?"1:44
Total length:34:48

Personnel

Charts
Chart (2017) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[9] 97
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[10] 105
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[11] 136
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[12] 59
Scottish Albums (OCC)[13] 65
US Billboard 200[14] 26
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[15] 2
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[16] 3

References
  1. "Primus' Les Claypool on Mining Trippy Children's Book for New LP product page". RollingStone. Retrieved August 1, 2017.
  2. Yeung, Neil. "Primus, The Desaturating Seven". AllMusic.com. AllMusic. Retrieved November 24, 2017.
  3. Ezell, Brice. "Primus – The Desaturating Seven". consequence.net. Consequence of Sound. Retrieved November 24, 2017.
  4. Ranta, Alan. "Primus, The Desaturating Seven". exclaim.ca. Exclaim!. Retrieved November 24, 2017.
  5. "Metacritic entry". Metacritic.com. Metacritic. Retrieved November 24, 2017.
  6. Corcoran, Nina. "Primus' new album about rainbow goblins is somehow its most digestible". avclub.com. The A.V. Club. Retrieved November 24, 2017.
  7. Conaton, Chris. "Primus: The Desaturating Seven". popmatters.com. PopMatters. Retrieved November 24, 2017.
  8. "Primus - The Desaturating Seven". AllMusic. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
  9. "ARIA Chart Watch #441". auspOp. October 7, 2017. Retrieved October 7, 2017.
  10. "Ultratop.be – Primus – The Desaturating Seven" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 7, 2017.
  11. "Ultratop.be – Primus – The Desaturating Seven" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 7, 2017.
  12. "Primus Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
  13. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 7, 2017.
  14. "Primus Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
  15. "Primus Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 7, 2017.
  16. "Primus Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 7, 2017.
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