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"Song of the Wild" (alternatively "Call of the Wild") is an instrumental by The Residents, the tenth track on their album The Tunes of Two Cities (the second part of the group's epic Mole Trilogy), released by Ralph Records on March 6th 1982.
Presumably representative of the fictional Chub culture, the song was featured in the set list of The Residents' Mole Show live tour, in the second act of the show, between "The New Machine" and "Final Confrontation".
Various live and rehearsal recordings of the song are featured on the albums Mole Show, Assorted Secrets, Mole Show: Live in Holland and Mole Dance 82.
History[]
"Song Of The Wild" is the only track on The Tunes of Two Cities that isn't obviously in the big-band style of the Chubs nor the raw tribal style of the Moles. The tracks on this album seem to alternate between the two styles on every song, leading to speculation that this song was made by the Chubs.
The song itself is unusually somber and features the expected strange samples from The Residents' EM-U Emulator. When this album was released, this song's context in The Mole Trilogy was still unknown, but shortly after this album's release, The Residents toured this song as part of their Mole Show.
Relationship to the Mole Show[]
This song was chosen to be part of the Mole Show. It would be played between the construction of "The New Machine" and the epic battle of "Final Confrontation." What the song actually represents is left ambiguous as to showcase the show's falling apart. It is described in the Mole Show's script as "Moody, Quiet serious coming next."
As with all the other instrumentals featured in the show, this song was accompanied by an interpretive dance. Notably, each dancer would hold a set of blue circles while dancing to the songs melody.
Live footage can be found on the Mole Show DVD as well as the live performance on La Edad de Oro.
Legacy[]
Since the conclusion of the Mole Show tour, The Residents have not revisited "Song of the Wild" in any notable way. Several versions of the song do exist, but all of them are associated with the Mole Show. This includes a rehearsal demo featured on Assorted Secrets as well as Mole Dance 82. As previously mentioned, this song has also been released on all versions of the Mole Show, inducing the infamous Uncle Sam Mole Show.
Italian musician Alieno de Bootes covered the song for his tribute album Unconventional Residents II, released in February 2023.
List of releases[]
- The Tunes Of Two Cities (1982) [Version 1]
- Mole Show (1983) [Version 2]
- Assorted Secrets (1984) [Version 3]
- Mole Show: Live In Holland (1989) [Version 4]
- Assorted Secrets CD reissue (2000) [Version 3]
- The Tunes of Two Cities / The Big Bubble CD reissue (2005) [Version 1]
- Mole Box (2019) [Version 1] [Version 2] [Version 5] [Version 6]
- Mole Dance 82 (2021) [Version 5]
List of versions[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Grove Street studio recording, October 1980 - January 1982 (3:17)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Mole Show live recording, Roxy Theater, Los Angeles, California, October 20th 1982 (3:16)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Grove Street studio rehearsal, January - March 1982 (3:32)
- ↑ Mole Show live recording, Muziekcentrum, Utrecht, Holland, June 4th 1983 (3:20)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Grove Street "Mole Dance 82" studio rehearsal, March - April 1982 (3:32)
- ↑ Uncle Sam Mole Show live recording, New Music America Festival, National Building Museum, Washington, D.C., October 7th 1983 (3:23)
External links and references[]
- The Tunes of Two Cities at RZWeb
- The Tunes of Two Cities at Discogs
- The Tunes of Two Cities at The Residents Historical
- Ima Buddy's Totally Impartial Companion to Uncle Willie's Highly Opinionated BIG MAMAS
