"Eloise" is a song composed by the group who would later become known as The Residents. Most versions of the song feature vocals and saxophone from the group's mentor, The Mysterious N. Senada.
First heard on their 1971 demo tape B.S. and later filmed for inclusion in their abandoned film project Vileness Fats, The Residents have often returned to "Eloise" over the course of their long career, recording new versions of it in 1984 and 2001.
History[]
"Eloise" has its origins (alongside "Kamakazi Lady") in the early live performances of the group who would later become known The Residents. Its first known performance was in October 1971, where the group were accompanied by The Mysterious N. Senada on vocals and saxophone.
A version recorded live at the Party of '72 was first released in 1990 on the UWEB compilation album Liver Music, and was later included (under the erroneous title "Party of '71") on the compilation albums ERA B474 in 2012, The Delta Nudes' Greatest Hiss in 2013, and The Residents Present The Delta Nudes in 2015. The full recording (now titled "Chris' Party") was released in 2019 on the pREServed compilation A Nickle If Your Dick's This Big.
"Eloise" was featured on their long-unreleased demo tape B.S. in 1971, as part of the long sound collage piece "Hallowed Be Thy Wean". The song was also filmed for inclusion in the group's abandoned film project Vileness Fats in the early 1970s.
Since the abandonment of Vileness Fats, The Residents have twice recorded new studio versions of "Eloise", first in 1984 for Whatever Happened To Vileness Fats? and then in 2001 for Icky Flix.
Lyrics[]
The foul flavor of bourbon coated my nostrils like a seething hatred! The stench of bitch was more than a breathing body can understand But all bodies don't breathe, do they Eloise? No! Some play by the night, and bubble with scorn And plead on the knees of the never been born! God! How I hated that day of all days! At the end of the nights with the sultry pink tights Ahhhhh! It split me in two! From the bowl of a beam with the edge of a blade of another nightshade! And could I? Could I? Could I cry out from all that I've heard? Huh? Huh? No, no, no, never a word from this Mortimer Snerd!
Notes[]
80 Aching Orphans (2017)[]
Just as we all stood to leave a meeting concerning this compilation, a Resident – one of the really quiet ones – raised his hand and asked a very simple question we’d all been avoiding… Whatever Happened To Vileness Fats?
Indeed – whatever did happen to it? Vileness Fats was a film The Residents began making almost as soon as they became The Residents – maybe even before – and worked on throughout the mid-1970s until, eventually, they abandoned it. The lengthy narrative – the band insist to this day that there was one – really doesn’t deserve the indignity of being boiled down to a few sentences here, but it was a masterpiece of Dadaist concepts and visual ingenuity, staged and shot entirely in their then spacious studio and office space headquarters. Sadly, though, the film slowly spiralled out of control and out of mind as the band’s musical career established itself, and the medium on which it was filmed – half-inch, black and white video – became redundant.
Releases[]
- B.S. (1971, released 2019) [Version 1]
- Vileness Fats (filmed 1972-1976, unreleased)
- Mole Show/Whatever Happened To Vileness Fats? (1984) [Version 2]
- Whatever Happened To Vileness Fats? (1984) [Version 2]
- The 13th Anniversary Show - Live In Japan (1986) [Version 3]
- Live In The USA! 13th Anniversary Tour (1986) [Version 4]
- Video Voodoo (1987) [Version 2]
- Liver Music (1990) [Version 5]
- Twenty Twisted Questions (1992) [Version 2]
- Our Tired, Our Poor, Our Huddled Masses (1997) [Version 1]
- Roosevelt 2.0 (2001) [Version 1]
- Icky Flix DVD (2001) [Version 6]
- Icky Flix soundtrack album (2001) [Version 6]
- Kettles Of Fish On The Outskirts Of Town (2003) [Version 7]
- 1997: The Missing Year - Adobe Disfigured Night (2009) [Version 8]
- 13th Anniversary Show - Ritz NY - Jan 16, 1986 (2010) [Version 9]
- RZ VF (2011) [Version 10]
- ERA B474 (2012) [Version 5] [Version 1]
- The Delta Nudes' Greatest Hiss (2013) [Version 5] [Version 1]
- 13th Anniversary Show - Cleveland (2014) [Version 11]
- The Residents Present The Delta Nudes (2015) [Version 5] [Version 1]
- Please Do Not Steal It! (2016) [Version 12]
- Disfigured Night (2016) [Version 8]
- 80 Aching Orphans (2017) [Version 2]
- A Nickle If Your Dick's This Big (2019) [Version 1] [Version 5]
- Warning: Uninc. (2022) [Version 5]
Versions[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1971 Demo Version (1:20)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 1984 Version (1:16)
- ↑ 1985 Live Version (1:00)
- ↑ 1986 Live USA Version (1:15)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 1972 Live Version (1:54)
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 2000 Version (1:24)
- ↑ 1997 Live Version Edit (2:41)
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 1997 Live Version (3:03)
- ↑ 1986 'Ritz' Live Version (1:06)
- ↑ 2000 Instrumental Version (1:20)
- ↑ 1986 'Cleveland' Live Version (1:05)
- ↑ 1997 Live Version Edit (1:22)
See also[]
External links and references[]
- "The Boarding House Show" on Spotify
- "Party of '71" on Spotify
- "Chris' Party" on Spotify
- "Eloise" (1984 version) on Spotify
- "Eloise" (13th Anniversary Show version) on Spotify
- "VF The Nightclub 1 (Eloise)" on Spofify
- 80 Aching Orphans at Discogs
B.S. (recorded 1971, released 2019) Side A |