Last week, bassist extraordinaire Les Claypool released a new album titled Four Foot Shack with a new band he’s calling Les Claypool’s Duo De Twang. I was intrigued when I saw that the album features some interesting covers, including some from Claypool’s own past albums as well as the Bee Gees’ “Stayin’ Alive,” Alice in Chain’s “Man in the Box,” and Jerry Reed’s “Amos Moses.”
An interesting choice of covers for sure, but even more interesting is the fact that Duo De Twang is truly a duo of Claypool and guitarist Bryan Kehoe, with occasional accompaniment from Claypool’s son on banjo. Like all of his albums, Claypool’s quirkiness is front and center on this album, and I wondered how that would work in a stripped down setup like this. However, I find the album has many high points, although it can get repetitive in some places.
There’s no denying Claypool’s talent on the bass. His quirkiness can turn some people off, but if you’ve enjoyed anything he’s done in the past, I think you will enjoy this new project. I happen to dig it.
Check out some fan footage of Les Claypool’s Duo De Twang performing “Stayin’ Alive”: