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Chewing Hides The Sound

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Chewing Hides The Sound is the debut solo album by Snakefinger, released in September 1979 on Ralph Records.

The album was co-produced and co-composed by The Residents, and is known to feature uncredited musical performances from the group.

History[]

Background[]

Following his work with Residents Uninc on B.S in 1971, Philip "Snakefinger" Lithman attempted to carve out a space in the music industry for himself. He had toured the UK with a band known as Chilli Willi and the Red Hot Peppers and wrote two critically successful (but commercially ignored) albums for them. But the group disbanded in January of 1975, so he returned to California to make a living there.

Between this period and the album's release, Lithman was struggling to think of what to do with his career. He had recorded several demo tapes for major labels like Warner Brothers and performed live with several folk-rock bands, but nothing was coming of it. At the same time, he worked with his good friends, The Residents, which led him to a revelation. While Lithman believed that The Residents' sound was the future of music, he noted that it didn't have the roots for less adventurous people to hold on to. So, during breaks from Buster & Glen and Eskimo, he and The Residents began to work on a set of material that would hopefully be a sufficent stepping stone between mainstream music and the sounds of those albums. The album took influence from The Residents, Chilli Willi, Kraftwerk and Ennio Morricone, the later two of which are covered on this album.

On the album Snakefinger uses a guitar recording technique he dubbed The Guitar Orchestra, wherein he recorded himself playing each string of a chord individually and overdubbed those recordings together create a unique sounding chord.

The album, Chewing Hides The Sound, was released in September of 1979, and a short series of live performances to promote it followed. One of which, featured A Resident performing lead vocals on 'Picnic In The Jungle.'

Track listing[]

All tracks composed by Snakefinger and The Residents unless noted.

Original release (1979)[]

Side A (16:33)[]

  1. The Model (Hutter/Bartos/Schult) (3:39)
  2. Kill The Great Raven (3:05)
  3. Jesus Was A Leprechaun (2:00)
  4. Here Come The Bums (Ft. Phil Culp) (2:51)
  5. The Vivian Girls (2:07) [Note 1]
  6. Magic and Ecstacy (Ft. Don Jackovich) (Morricone) (2:51)

Side B (17:52)[]

  1. Who Is The Culprit And Who Is The Victim? (2:59)
  2. What Wilbur? (2:35)
  3. Picnic In The Jungle (4:00)
  4. Friendly Warning (2:39)
  5. I Love Mary (2:33)
  6. The Vultures Of Bombay (3:06)

Klanggalerie CD reissue (2016)[]

  1. The Model (Hutter/Bartos/Schult) (3:41)
  2. Kill The Great Raven (3:05)
  3. Jesus Was A Leprechaun (2:01)
  4. Here Comes The Bums (Ft. Phil Culp) (2:50)
  5. The Vivian Girls (2:08)
  6. Magic And Ecstasy (Ft. Don Jackovich) (Morricone) (2:50)
  7. Who Is The Culprit And Who Is The Victim? (2:59)
  8. What Wilbur? (2:35)
  9. Picnic In The Jungle (3:57)
  10. Friendly Warning (2:42)
  11. I Love Mary (2:31)
  12. The Vultures Of Bombay (Ft. Steven Brown) (3:03)
  13. The Spot (2:59)
  14. Smelly Tongues (Residents) (2:29)
  15. Talkin' In The Town (2:37)

Credits[]

Release history[]

Year Label Format Region Length Notes
1979 Ralph Records LP US 35:17
Virgin UK 34:25 Correctly timed
Celluloid FRA
1981 35:17
Missing Link LP AU
Cassette
RTC LP NZ
1987 Torso NL
Virgin GR
1999 East Side Digital CD US 34:18
Bomba Records JPN
2016 Klanggalerie AT 34:22 With three additional bonus tracks

See also[]

Notes[]

  1. ↑ Most LP pressings of Chewing Hides The Sound mistime "The Vivian Girls" as 2:59.

External links and references[]

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