Liver Music (subtitled "For the bloody buddies: an odd assortment of liver stuff, 1972-1990") is a rarities collection by The Residents, released through the group's fan club UWEB in April of 1990.
Background[]
Compilation[]
One of the many benefits of a UWEB membership was the fan club's semi-regular tendency to release exclusive Residents CDs. Within the first year of the club's formation, they had already put out the Snakey Wake single, the Santa Dog 88 EP, and the Buckaroo Blues album. So, when it came time to put out UWEB's fourth CD, club ownerUncle Willie sought to put together a collection of live recordings hidden in The Residents' archive.
Upon learning this, The Residents sent Willie a selection of live tapes for him to curate. Many of the recordings were poor, and others were duplicates of well-documented shows, including 20 recordings of The 13th Anniversary Show (which already had had two albums dedicate to it). But what offended Willie the most was that much of the material was not live at all and was instead 'liver,' as he liked to call it, referring to tracks designed to sound 'live,' but are in actuality, studio recordings.
Willie selected tracks from these tapes ranging from from an early 1972 pre-Residents recording by Residents Uninc, to The Residents' New Years' 1990 show, held only four months earlier.
Willie had several stipulations including the more obviously 'liver' tracks, and in his March 1990 newsletter, spent considerable ink ranting about it to fan club members. He noted that 'Diskomo' and 'This Is A Man's World' were 'clearly' studio recordings and that 'Red Rider / Die In Terror' was in the vague 'live in the studio' space. But the 'The History of Digital Music' tape offended Willie the most; it was so obviously a studio recording that he went to Hardy Fox to complain, who explained that the tapes were of a midi program which The Residents had played live for a high school class in 1985.
Origins[]
The opening track, Diskomo, had been released as a single two years earlier, with notes claiming it was recorded at a one-off 13th Anniversary finale performance by the group with Snakefinger and Penn and Teller, made on January 10th, 1987.
The second track, 'Numb Erone / Satisfaction / Kick A Cat,' is a live recording from The Residents' first-ever show, although edited into concentrate form, with the backing tape in parts overdubbed over the live recording. The full live recording was released in 2010 through The Residents' digital store, and New Ralph Too included the backing tape on the 2018 Third Reich N Roll CD. The third track, 'This Is A Man's World,' is a studio recording made while The Residents were on tour in Australia in August of 1986. It was released as a single exclusively in Australia.
The Residents recorded 'Excerpt From The Snakey Wake' in 1987 at the musical wake for Snakefinger; a studio recording of The Resident's set had been released as UWEB's first CD in 1988.
'Red Rider / Die In Terror' (plus an uncredited intro to Eva's Warning) are studio rehearsals for The Eyeball Show made in 1985, and the two 'History of Digital Music' tracks are dated to a high school presentation on midi-technology given by The Residents around that same time. The track 'Lizard Lady / Semolina' was removed from The Eyeball Show LP but was later reinstated on the 1999 CD pressings.
'The Party of '72' is technically not a Residents recording, as it was made by a group known as 'Residents Uninc' with a slightly different anonymous line-up, featuring only some future Residents. The recording was made at a private party in Redwood, California, on February 12th of 1972, and features the group performing parts of 'Hallowed Be Thy Wean,' 'Eloise,' and 'Sandman.' When The Cryptic Corporation included the track on the 2012 compilation album ERA B474, it was retitled "Party of '71", leading to confusion about the actual recording date of this excerpt. The Cryptic Corporation continued to use the '71 date on the 'Greatest Hiss' album and its re-release as 'The Residents Present The Delta Nudes.'
Ultimately, the 1972 date was confirmed as definitive when the entire recording appeared on A Nickle If Your Dick's This Big demo album, with a 1972 date attached. The later album, Warning Uninc, additionally dated the performance as February 12th, 1972.
'Ober' is the introduction to The Baby King segment of Cube-E. It was recorded at the same show as Buckaroo/Black Barry but was left off the album due to the final half of that segment not being recorded.
'Happy Home / Star Spangled Banner' is from the one-off 'Uncle Sam's Mole Show' performance held on October 7th, 1983. 'Santa Dog '90' was recorded at midnight at The Residents' New Year's Eve show. It was recorded on tape by Joshua Raoul Brody, who also played with the band that night.
Track listing[]
All Songs Written by The Residents
- Diskomo (3:14)
- Numb Erone / Satisfaction / Kick A Cat (4:30)
- This Is A Man's World (4:54)
- Excerpt From The Snakey Wake (3:16)
- Red Rider / Die In Terror (5:39)
- The History of Digital Music (Pt. 1) (4:19)
- Lizard Lady / Semolina (6:08)
- Excerpt From The Party - '72 (2:57)
- Eloise
- Sandman
- Ober (7:41)
- The History of Digital Music (Pt. 2) (6:42)
- Happy Home / Star Spangled Banner (2:10)
- Santa Dog '90 (4:31)
Liner notes[]
| Tracks | Liner Notes | Year Recorded |
|---|---|---|
| Diskomo | From The 13th Anniversary Show. It was released as a flexi-disk in the April 1988 issue of Reflex. | 10th January 1987 |
| Numb Erone / Satisfaction / Kick A Cat | From the Oh Mummy Oh Daddy Can't You See That It's True? What the Beatles Did to Me, I Love Lucy Did to You performance. | 7th June 1976 |
| This Is A Man's World | From The 13th Anniversary Show. It was released in Australia as a single and also appears on Stranger Than Supper. | August 1986 |
| Excerpt | From The Snakey Wake. This was recorded at the acutual wake, while the UWEB CD is a studio version of the performance. | August 24th, 1987 |
| Red Rider / Die In Terror | From The 13th Anniversary Show. A rehearsal recording. | October 1985 |
| The History of Digital Music (Pt. 1) | (Music Box Punch Card System) The first part of a performance the band gave under an assumed identity to demonstrate the evolution of digital music to a junior high-school class. There were four parts to the show, of which the first two appear on this album. | September 1985 |
| Lizard Lady / Semolina | From The 13th Anniversary Show. | October 30, 1985 |
| Excerpt | From The Party, a performance done under another pseudonym for a private party | Spring 1972 |
| Ober | From Cube-E. | 24th September 1989 |
| The History of Digital Music (Pt. 2) | (The Macintosh Computer / pre-midi) The second part of the junior high performance. | September 1985 |
| Happy Home / Star Spangled Banner | From the New Music America Uncle Sam Mole Show. A special additional ending to The Mole Show. | 7th November 1983 |
| Santa Dog '90 | From Cube NYE. A New Year's treat performed at midnight, recorded by J. Raoul Brody and The Stupeds. This was the first ever live performance of Santa Dog. | 1st January 1990 |
Credits[]
- Santa Dog Luckily Recorded By: J. Raoul Brody & The Stupeds
- Photography + Design: Rex Ray
- Manufactured By: UWEB
See also[]
- UWEB
- Uncle Willie
- Stranger Than Supper
- Daydream B-Liver
- Land of Mystery
- Oh Mummy! Oh Daddy! (live performance)