Let's get the factual stuff out of the way right away: Prairie Dog Flesh is a Bardo Pond side project -- or, if you'd prefer, a short-staffed version of Bardo Pond. Previously limited to live appearances, PDF makes its recorded debut here. Culled from an eight year backlog of recordings, Take the Green Over the Red is the band's finest hour, making them perhaps the only act in history to debut with what is, essentially, a "Greatest Hits" record.

The most notable difference between Bardo Pond and Prairie Dog Flesh is the absence of Bardo vocalist/eye candy Isobel Sollenberger. Clint Takeda fills this opening, and doubles on bass duties, while brothers Michael and John Gibbons share guitar chores. The results, while lacking even the rudimentary structure of recent Bardo efforts, are surprisingly listenable; "Galactus' Helmet" provides a particularly strong opening, channeling the incendiary spirit of the Velvet Underground, while "Vampire Squid" holds a little bit of Led Zep close to its bluesy heart. Momentary flashes of Neil Young and Black Sabbath abound; "Gila", led by a guitar so overdriven that it sounds like a combination lawnmower/didgeridoo, constantly threatens to turn into "Iron Man". I won't even mention the Jethro Tull leanings of "Donovan Out".

Compared to the last couple of Bardo Pond records, Take the Green Over the Red benefits from its fairly spartan approach. Bereft of potentially muddy multitracking, these comparatively simple songs more readily reveal the solid musicianship at their core. The tunes may have grown out of structured improvisations and textural experiments, but most of them reveal some sort of game plan beyond "Let's play for eight minutes!" The needs of the audience are acknowledged and met, suggesting that Takeda, the Gibbons brothers and their associates are more than just a bunch of guys locked in a tiny studio with a bunch of instruments and a healthy supply of marijuana.

Naturally, Take the Green Over the Red will be most appreciated by Bardo Pond fans. If you haven't tried Bardo, start with their Dilate rather than beginning your collection with Prairie Dog Flesh, which should be considered an "intermediate" or "advanced" entry in the genre. And if you're the sort of listener who gets upset when three minute pop songs stray past the four minute mark, do yourself a favor and leave this album on the store shelf; it's intended for people for whom time passes at variable speeds.