Coochie Brake is the only album by Sonidos de la Noche, a group featuring three quarters of The Residents, here credited as their Talking Light personae, Chuck, Bob and Carlos.
The album is notable in that it doesn't feature The Singing Resident, Randy Rose, who was pre-occupied with his solo residency at The Cabaret at The Marsh, Berkeley, California; lead vocals on this project were instead provided by Carlos, with lyrics in (sometimes erroneously translated) Spanish.
History[]
Recording[]
In January 2010, The Residents unveiled their new live show, Talking Light, with the debut of four new personae: singer Randy Rose, keyboardist Charles "Chuck" Bobuck, and guitarist Lionel Bob, with a fourth member, drummer Carlos, having recently retired from the group.
These personae allowed the individual members of The Residents to consider projects outside of the traditional singular identity of the group for the first time. In the summer of 2010, Charles and Bob began developing new material with long-time Residents collaborator Nolan Cook and Marco Villalobos; during these sessions, the group completed two other projects, Lonely Teenager and Chuck's Ghost Music.
When Randy Rose began developing a solo cabaret show, Sam's Enchanted Evening (scheduled to premiere at The Marsh in Berkeley, California in October 2011), it became obvious to Bob and Charles that he would not be able to to contribute to the album, and so the retired Carlos was brought in to contribute drums and, for the first time, lead vocals.[1] This trio formed the basis of a one-off collaboration, separate to The Residents, named Sonidos de la Noche.
The trio's album, Coochie Brake, was completed in the summer of 2011. The album is named after a real-life cypress swamp in The Residents' home state of Louisiana; once used as a Spanish fort, the area is rich in history and folklore, some of which is detailed in the album's liner notes. The album's lyrics are performed in Spanish, which appears to have been somewhat erroneously translated from English, presumably with the use of Google Translate (or a similar free online application).
Release[]
Two-disc special edition[]
On August 27th 2011, The Residents announced the release of the standard edition of Coochie Brake in early 2012, to be preceded by a two disc special edition of the album, featuring an additional suite of music titled Lying Horse Rock, released through The Cryptic Corporation's official eBay store in October 2011.[2] In early promotional material, the album was described as "the second release under The Ughs concept."[3]
On September 22nd, it was confirmed that the two disc edition would be limited to 444 copies, and that it was possible that Lying Horse Rock would be released through RSD in 2012.[4] On October 15th, during a virtual listening party held to celebrate the release of Hades, the two disc edition of Coochie Brake was made available for sale.[5]
The initial release of the album is predominantly credited to The Residents, with the spine and discs crediting them exclusively; it is only on the back cover that Sonidos de la Noche are credited.
Standard edition[]
On February 7th 2012, the standard, single-disc edition of Coochie Brake was released on CD and vinyl by MVD Audio. Initial copies sold out after only three days,[6] being restocked shortly thereafter.
The 2012 release credits both The Residents and Sonidos de la Noche on the cover, spine, back and booklet, while the disc art credits The Residents exclusively.
Wonder of Weird tour edition[]
The Cryptic Corporation reissued the standard single disc edition of Coochie Brake, which was sold exclusively through the merchandise stand at shows on their Wonder of Weird tour beginning in January 2013.
This edition features a three-panel cardboard sleeve, with unique disc, back cover and inner sleeve artwork, with the inner sleeve also featuring the Wonder of Weird logo.
Legacy[]
On July 27th 2012, The Cryptic Corporation released a "somewhat different" separate edition of Lying Horse Rock as a limited edition CD-R credited to Charles Bobuck, featuring fourteen additional minutes of content.
In late 2012, The Residents considered including "Crocodile Tears" on the set list of their upcoming Wonder of Weird live tour, and recorded two demos of possible live arrangements of the song, however it was ultimately never performed. In April 2013, Bobuck released CB Suite, a thirty-six minute suite of Coochie Brake remixes, via Robot Selling Device.
In 2016, the song "Gotta Believe" was featured on the Bobuck compilation album THIS. In 2021, the Wonder of Weird demos of "Crocodile Tears" were released on the compilation albums WOW Demos 1 and WOW Demos 2.
Track listing[]
Coochie Brake by Sonidos de la Noche
- Theater of Shadows (5:25)
- The Noche Called My Nombre (3:19)
- Gotta Believe (3:03)
- Rot of Ages (3:59)
- Outside The Fence (3:49)
- Tied To A Cactus (4:00)
- Crocodile Tears (3:03)
- Dead Man on the Floor (3:00)
- Runaway (3:07)
- Bitter Biter (4:19)
- Please Don't Go (6:41)
Lying Horse Rock by The Residents (2011 limited edition only)
- Lying Horse Rock (7:09)
- West & Kembrell (19:36)
Credits[]
- Coochie Brake Written and performed by The Residents AKA Sonidos de la Noche
- Chuck - Keyboards
- Bob - Guitar
- Carlos - Vocals/Drums
- With Guests: N. Cook, M. Villalobos
- Lying Horse Rock written and performed by The Residents[7]
- Package / Design - Sammi Selmo
- Additional Recording: K. Ink
- Spokesmodel: Miles Taber
- Produced by The Cryptic Corporation
- A Charles Bobuck contraption[8]
See also[]
External links and references[]
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20120924025917/http://www.residents.com:80/historical4/cb/
- ↑ Home | Residents.com (Archived October 20th, 2011)
- ↑ The Residents - "The next album by The Residents is not scheduled for release until early 2012,"
- ↑ Home | Residents.com (October 10th, 2011)
- ↑ The Residetns - | The big Coochie Brake Listening and Release Party starts Saturday October 15...
- ↑ The Residents - "Good news. bad news. good news. Coochie Brake CD and LP was released Tuesday by MVD..."
- ↑ Credit only features on 2011 pressing
- ↑ Only on 2013 edition