Duck Stab

gran album muy bizarro y vanguardista

111%

Even though this CD only has the title "Duck Stab" it includes all the tracks from two previously released EPs called "Duck Stab", and "Buster and Glen", which were also compiled onto a single LP back in 1978. This was the first album I ever heard of the Residents, and for me it's still my favourite. This is probably because of it's impact on me at the time as well as its magnificent variety, combined with the eerie and humorous originality of each relatively compact, edgy and surreal song.The British guitarist/violinist named Snakefinger also appears on many of these tracks.

So different, so great! Sounds amazing on Vinyl

The full title of this album is technically "Duck Stab/Buster & Glen". Yes, I know that both the Amazon page and the spine of the CD itself only say Duck Stab, but this is in fact both of the titular EPs on one disc. Think of it as getting two EPs for the price of one CD.Even though the two were originally unrelated to each other, they still fit very well in tone and style due to being from the same general period in The Residents' history. This album contains a mix of bizarre, disturbing nursery rhymes and deconstructions of pop music.The first track, "Constantinople", features the inimitable Snakefinger on guitar and vocals. "The Booker Tease" is either a parody or a deconstruction of the instrumental track "Green Onions" by Booker T. & the M.G.'s, a song which is itself beloved in small circles. The other songs which make up Duck Stab (the first seven) are more or less tonally consistent with one another, so it would take an astute listener to notice the transition to Buster & Glen."Weight-Lifting Lulu" appears to be a kind of parody of The Ventures, with its almost inaudible bass (or maybe baritone) guitar and a synthesizer that sounds like it's being played through an abandoned steam tunnel. "Krafty Cheese" is The Residents' own take on the music of Kraftwerk, and only a die-hard electronic music fan would be able to spot the difference. Finally, the closing track "The Electrocutioner" starts off with the usual Residential manic energy, and then slows down to a very slow finish.It's really a testament to the group's talents as composers and writers that certain songs on this album, particularly "Weight-Lifting Lulu" and "The Electrocutioner" affected me on an emotional level. But the album is consistent throughout in that it experiments with time signatures, distortion, and dissonance, making it a kind of exotic feast for the ears - albeit not one that every diner will find to their taste.