Buckethead Pike Reviews
A Review of Pike 45 'The Coats of Claude' by Buckethead released January 17th 2014
Good evening everybody, today in our never ending deep dive into guitar hero Buckethead's glorious pike album series, we're visiting Pike 45, 'The Coats of Claude'. So, let's begin. Woo!!
Released January 17th 2014, the album title 'Coats of Claude' is a play on the name of famous Disney animator and Disneyland set designer, Claude Coats.
The album opens up with its title track, and well, what a ridiculous start to the album. 13.5 minutes of guitar solo mastery that doesn't get old or boring for one solitary second. Track 1 'The Coats of Claude' is Buckethead at his guitar shredding finest. 5 stars, top notch.
Track 2 'Ghost in the Rocking Chair' comes in with some heavy metal riffage. It's short and thunderous and the same goes for track 3 'Animatronic Party Goers'.
Track 4 'Dancing Backwards' carries on in the same vein as the previous 2 tracks, having a much better flow to the song and is probably my favourite of the tracks on the album that isn't named 'The Coats of Claude'.
Track 5 'Forked Beak' comes next. Again the heavy riffage continues and the song really does lock on to some great foot stomping beats, but then ends somewhat abruptly, leaving you wishing the song kept rocking for another few minutes.
Next up is the gloriously titled 'Dimly Backlit Eyeballs'. 2.5 minutes of power chords that any top flight metal band would beg for.
And the same goes for the final track 'Headless Reflection', which strangely enough is the same title he'd use for a track on Pike 255 many years later.
So, In one way it's great that an album started off with a 5 star classic like Coats of Claude, in another it also meant that the rest of the album was somewhat doomed because the opening track is impossible to top and maybe should've closed out the album instead of opening it.
That being said, there isn't a bad track on the album, and even though other than track 1 they might not be particularly memorable, they're solid and consistent.
After adding up the rating I gave for each track, It came to 66%, which I'd categorize as good. And feels about right.
So, what's your rating for Pike 45?
To work out what percentage you'd give the album, rate each song out of 5 stars, add up your total and divide it by the total score possible, which for Pike 45 is 35. Then times it by 100.
Buckethead's Coats of Claude for Claude Coats? Good stuff.
Pike 45 'The Coats of Claude' RATINGS (out of 5)
1. The Coats of Claude ***** (5)
2. Ghost in the Rocking Chair *** (3)
3. Animatronic Party Goers **¾ (2.75)
4. Dancing Backwards *** ¼ (3.25)
5. Forked Beak *** (3)
6. Dimly Backlit Eyeballs *** (3)
7. Headless Reflection *** (3)
Album length: 30:01
Total = 23 out of 35 (Album = 66%, Good)
1-20 % = Poor
1- 40 % = Below Average
40-60 % = Average
60-80 % = Good
80-100 % = Awesome!
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Buy the album HERE