Duck Stab! is a 7" EP by The Residents, released on Ralph Records on February 1st 1978. It features a selection of "shorter, more fun tunes"[1] recorded by the group during breaks in production of their ambitious Eskimo project.
The group's most successful release up to that point, the seven songs on Duck Stab! were later remixed and re-released (in a different running order) as the first half of the album Duck Stab!/Buster & Glen, which was released the following November. It has become one of the group's most popular albums.[2]
History[]
Recording[]
In April 1976, The Residents began working on their ambitious genre-bending "musical documentary," Eskimo. As promising as it seemed, the album soon caused problems for the group; over a year into production, it was apparent it would not meet its scheduled release.[3]
Since the group had been so devoted to perfecting Eskimo, there was a lack of new material for Ralph Records to release,[4] and Homer Flynn of The Cryptic Corporation suggested that the group take a break from the Eskimo sessions and record something to fill the void. He knew The Residents had been recording instrumental sketches on the side, and suggested they spend some time developing that.[2]
The group began developing the musical sketches in October 1977,[5] adding lyrics to the instrumentals from a box of ideas kept by the group.[6] Philip "Snakefinger" Lithman was also involved in the sessions, and performed violin on "Laughing Song", backing vocals on "Constantinople", and guitar on "Blue Rosebuds".[7] He also co-wrote the song "Sinister Exaggerator", in a rare co-writing credit for The Residents.
"Constantinople", "Laughing Song" and "Blue Rosebuds" were all completed in October, and the project was finished in November. It was compiled into an EP, intended to be the first half of a pair released in 1978.[3]
Artwork[]
The original 1972 photo by Graeme Whifler which inspired the EP's cover and title
The iconic cover of the EP features a black, white, and red silkscreen print by Homer Flynn of Pore No Graphics, derived from a 1972 photo by photographer (and later film director) Graeme Whifler.
The photo originated from Residents, Uninc.'s second official photo session,[8] shot at their Sycamore Street studio with "a bunch of weird costumes and stuff around".[9] The Residents conducted the session like "a band jamming",[9] resulting in thirty-four photos.[8]
Flynn selected one of these photos, featuring a group member holding a knife to a prop duck as the new EP's cover art. The response of one Resident upon seeing the finished illustration - "yeah, Duck Stab!" - gave the EP its title.[10]
Release[]
Poster for the EP
Duck Stab! was released on February 1st 1978,[11] and Ralph Records' press releases promoted the EP as the "most accessible Residents record, period." However, Ralph soon became disillusioned with the EP due to its sound quality.[4] The initial pressings, in particular, featured noticeably bad sound,[12] and were replaced by a second pressing within a month.[13] The second pressing was also of "mediocre" sound quality, as The Residents had recorded too much material to fit onto a 7" disc.[4]
Duck Stab!/Buster & Glen, an album pairing the Duck Stab! EP on one side and its planned follow-up, Buster & Glen, on the other, was released by Ralph on November 30th 1978. For the album, the running order of the tracks as they appeared on the original EP was re-arranged. Since the release of the album, the Duck Stab! EP has never been reissued in its original configuration.
Duck Stab! was later issued semi-separately from Buster & Glen on CD by Euro Ralph in 1995, in a two-disc package featuring each side of the LP on separate 3" mini CDs, and again by Psychofon Records in 2023 as part of the label's limited edition vinyl Classic Series, featuring each side of the album on separate single-sided 12" EPs, with etched graphics on the blank sides of the discs.
Reception[]
Contemporary[]
According to The Cryptic Guide to The Residents (published in 1986), the Duck Stab! EP did not sell well and was challenging to market for the label,[4] although later press releases refer to Duck Stab! as an "instant smash".[1]
Track listing[]
All tracks composed by The Residents unless otherwise noted.
Side A (7:48)[]
- Laughing Song (2:14)
- Blue Rosebuds (3:11)
- Constantinople (2:23)
Side B (8:18)[]
- The Booker Tease (1:09)
- Sinister Exaggerator (Residents/Snakefinger) (3:27)
- Bach Is Dead (1:12)
- Elvis And His Boss (2:30)
Credits[]
- All songs Pale Pachyderm Publishing (BMI)
- All songs Copyright 1977, The Cryptic Corp.
- Cover art Pore No Graphics
- Cover photo G. Whifler
- Produced by The Residents
- Thanks to Snakefinger for his shiney whiz!
- Ralph Records, 444 Grove Street, San Francisco, Ca. 94102
See also[]
External links and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Duck Stab set for April 28 release", Big Brother, The Residents' Official News Blog, February 19th 2008
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Homer Flynn, Cacophony Podcast - Obscure Music for Obscure People, Episode 1 - "Homer Flynn on The Residents and Duck Stab!", January 13th 2022
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Buy Or Die Catalogue (February 1979)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Dave Warden, The Cryptic Guide to The Residents, Bach's Decay, 1986
- ↑ The W.E.I.R.D. Complete Discography & Recording History
- ↑ "I think most of it already existed, at least in terms of backing tracks... once again, they worked on Eskimo for a long time, but Eskimo was very challenging and very demanding. So they would take a break from it and just do something else that seemed more like fun. But once again, these were just kind of instrumental backing tracks. And so when Ralph Records approached them to create this, well, they already had the backing tracks, all they had to do was write some lyrics, and once again, a lot of the time they had lyrics around. You know, somebody would be inspired and write some stuff down, and they had a box they would throw lyrics into. So ultimately, they had to write lyrics or match lyrics up, and then they had to do some solos, and get Snakefinger in to do solos... So once they decided to do it, it came together quite quickly." - Homer Flynn, Cacophony Podcast - Obscure Music for Obscure People, Episode 1 - "Homer Flynn on The Residents and Duck Stab!", January 13th 2022
- ↑ Nibbles liner notes
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Portfolio Info", Evidence of Residents Volume 1, 2004
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 "The photo session that Graeme did was one of the earliest - maybe the earliest photo session The Residents ever did. They were in their studio, they had a bunch of weird costumes and stuff around, so Graeme came in, they just started, almost like a band jamming or something... that was one of the pictures that came out of it." - Homer Flynn, Cacophony Podcast - Obscure Music for Obscure People, Episode 1 - "Homer Flynn on The Residents and Duck Stab!", January 13th 2022
- ↑ Homer Flynn, Cacophony Podcast - Obscure Music for Obscure People, Episode 1 - "Homer Flynn on The Residents and Duck Stab!", January 13th 2022
- ↑ https://www.discogs.com/release/2910195-The-Residents-Duck-Stab
- ↑ The W.E.I.R.D. Complete Discography & Recording History
- ↑ https://www.discogs.com/release/293628-The-Residents-Duck-Stab
|
Duck Stab! EP (1978) Side A: |
|
Duck Stab!/Buster & Glen (1978) Side A: Duck Stab! |