Oysterhead: The Grand Pecking Order : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

The notion of the supergroup flared up in the late Sixties, before punk rock dethroned professionalism. Three or more friendly rockers would band together to create albums on the exclusive basis of their own hotshot status; these usually temporary mergers intrigued fans and often annoyed everyone else. More than thirty years later, Oysterhead - Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio, Primus bassist Les Claypool, former Police drummer Stewart Copeland - may have finally figured out this supergroup thing. From complex workouts ("Little Faces") and creative manifestoes ("Mr. Oysterhead") to bluesy backgrounds ("Polka Dot Rose") and hummable pop tunes ("Owner of the World"), Anastasio's jam-band finesse, Claypool's energy and Copeland's superb old-world skills meld convincingly. With a ton of chops and a slight neo-hippie drift, Oysterhead have the all-star trip down - the intricate jokiness, the vaunting ambition, the virtuosity, the whole wraparound hairy hauteur.

JAMES HUNTER
(RS 880 - October 25, 2001)