Stars & Hank Forever! The American Composers Series - Volume II is the fourteenth studio album by The Residents, as well as the second and (to date) final instalment in their American Composers Series, following 1984's George & James.
Stars & Hank Forever! pays homage to the work of Hank Williams, Sr. (1923-1953) and John Philip Sousa (1854-1932), and was the last studio album by the group to feature their long-time collaborator Snakefinger.
History[]
The first side of the album features five interpretations of songs written by Hank Williams, opening with "Hey Good Lookin'", which features Snakefinger on slide guitar. "Six More Miles (To The Graveyard)" would also be featured in The Snakey Wake, following Snakefinger's death the following year.
"Kaw-Liga" samples the rhythm to Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean". This is more than likely a reference to Williams' wife, who was also named Billie Jean. It was released as a single in support of the album, and was briefly popular in Europe - as close as The Residents ever came to a bona fide commercial hit. An album featuring various remixes of the track, Poor Kaw-Liga's Pain, was also released in 1994.
The Residents recorded three further Williams songs which were not included on the final album. These tracks were released in 1990 as "The Hank Williams Death And Despair Trilogy In Waltz Time" on the UWEB compilation Daydream B-Liver.
The second half (or "Sousaside") of the album is a medley of marches by John Philip Sousa. It features sound effects recorded by Philip Perkins to create the effect of a marching band on a happy occasion. One band approaches, fading in, then fades out as the next fades in. The music is surrounded by crowd noises, airplanes flying over, and the like.
The album ends with an anticlimactic fade-out as the last band marches off, just like a real parade. "The Stars and Stripes Forever" was released in a mix (without the effects) as the B-side to the "Kaw-Liga" 7" single.
Despite The American Composers Series being planned for a total of ten albums (covering twenty artists) and to continue through the 1990s into the new millennium, Stars & Hank Forever! was the final instalment in the series.
The third album was to be called The Trouble With Harrys, featuring the music of Harry Partch and Harry Nilsson, but The Residents abandoned the project in 1986. The new CD technology was starting to catch on and with everyone buying up CD rights to music, The Residents could no longer afford to play in this seller's market, especially with Ralph Records' ongoing financial troubles. Furthermore, the group felt that CDs were unsuited to the whole project, since one of the composers would have to come before the other on the disc, giving a false impression of priority.
Tracks recorded for another abandoned American Composers Series album featuring the work of Sun Ra and Barry White were compiled into the medley "Daydream In Space" on Daydream B-Liver in 1990.
The themes covered in The American Composers Series culminated in the elaborate theatrical live show Cube-E: The History Of American Music In 3 E-Z Pieces, which toured from 1989 to 1990.
Recording[]
Recording for the album likely began immediately following the release of The Big Bubble in September of 1985 at the group's Clementina Street studio, however, they were likely interrupted by their tour of Japan starting October 28th.
Sessions probably resumed throughout November and December, but were once again interrupted by a tour across the USA starting January 9th 1986. Sessions likely resumed smoothly throughout late February up until August 4th, when the group began their Australian tour.
The album was likely completed in September, following the conclusion of the Australian tour.
Tour[]
Following the release of the album, the group's 13th Anniversary Show tour, which had initially been intended to support The Big Bubble, was altered to feature songs from Stars & Hank Forever!. Initially only "Kaw-Liga" was added as an encore, but by the time of the final show "Jambalaya" was also included as the introductory segment, thus pushing the Duck Stab medley further into the set.
The tour lasted from October 3rd 1986 to January 10th 1987. It is documented on the album The 13th Anniversary Show Live In Holland and the single "Diskomo Live in San Francisco". This tour would be The Residents and Snakefinger's final collaboration prior to Snakefinger's untimely death on July 1st 1987.
Track listing[]
Original release (1986)[]
Side A: Hank (19:54)[]
- Hey Good Lookin' (2:45) (Williams)
- Six More Miles (To The Graveyard) (4:16) (Williams)
- Kaw-Liga (4:53) (Williams/Rose)
- Ramblin' Man (3:14) (Williams)
- Jambalaya (4:46) (Williams)
Side B: Stars (23:16)[]
- Sousaside (23:16) (Sousa)
- Nobles of the Mystic Shrine
- The Stars and Stripes Forever
- The Thunderer
- The Liberty Bell
- Semper Fidelis
- The Washington Post
Torso CD edition (1986)[]
- Hey Good Lookin' (2:45) (Williams)
- Six More Miles (To The Graveyard) (4:16) (Williams)
- Kaw-Liga (4:53) (Williams/Rose)
- Ramblin' Man (3:14) (Williams)
- Jambalaya (4:46) (Williams)
- Sousapart (23:16) (Sousa)
- Kaw-Liga-Prairiemix (9:28) (Williams/Rose)
Bomba CD reissue (1999)[]
- Hey Good Lookin' (2:48) (Williams)
- Six More Miles (To The Graveyard) (4:16) (Williams)
- Kaw-liga (4:53) (Rose/Williams)
- Ramblin' Man (3:14) (Williams)
- Jambalaya (4:44) (Williams)
- Nobles Of The Mystic Shrine (4:40) (Sousa)
- The Stars And Stripes Forever (3:10) (Sousa)
- The Thunderer (3:30) (Sousa)
- The Liberty Bell (4:10) (Sousa)
- Semper Fidelis (3:10) (Sousa)
- The Washington Post (4:30) (Sousa)
Liner notes[]
The Residents[]
The Residents is a musical group with a profound respect for music as content as well as form. If that is a difficult concept, think of a film director making a film about making a film. Happens all the time. Making music about music is nothing new either, but at least every stupid band in the civilized world isn't doing it, which gives The Residents some dubious claim to fame. If this record satisfies some inner need, please indulge in Volume I, George & James, the music of George Gershwin and James Brown.
The American Composer Series[]
America, in its relatively short history, has produced an astounding number of talented individuals in the field of music. The Residents are deeply indebted to the American composer for the spunk it has given the melting pot.
This series is to be recorded during the final 16 years of the 20th century (1984-2000). While each record will be released upon completion, the work, as a whole, will not be available until 2001 and will contain the works of not less than twenty composers.
Hank Williams (1923-1953)[]
Hank Williams, at the age of twelve, met and became influenced by Flute "Tee-tot" Payne, a black musician, who taught him the rudiments of public performance. Mr. Williams formed his first working honky-tonk band at the age of fourteen. At the age of 26 he had his first number one C&W smash, "Lovesick Blues", bringing the house down when he capped his debut at the Grand Ole Opry with six encores. Unfortunately, Hank did not handle stardom well. Over the following three years, with the help of booze and pills, he managed to undo just about everything he had done. Mr. Williams died of unknown causes in the back of his powder blue Cadillac convertible on New Years Eve at the age of 29.
John Philip Sousa (1854-1932)[]
Mr. Sousa was born in Washington, D.C. shortly after the end of the Civil War. No doubt as a child he was thrilled by the sight of marching soldiers and military bands. At the age of fourteen he joined the United States Marines Band and became its conductor at the age of 26. He also wrote a few novels, operettas, and a world anthology of national songs, but it was his marches, over a hundred of them, that made Sousa one of the most famous men of his day and earned him the still undisputed title of "The March King". The "King" died of old age at 78, virtuously rich, impeccably Republican, internationally famous, and still writing marches.
Credits[]
- "Hey Good Lookin" Featuring Snakefinger on Slide Guitar
- All Songs written by Hank WillIams
- Except
- Kaw-Liga by Williams/Rose
- SousaSide by: J.P Sousa
- Produced By: The Cryptic Corporation
- Location Engineering By: Philip Perkins
- Cover Art By: Pore No Graphic
Release history[]
Stars & Hank Forever! was one of only a few Residents albums to have been distributed worldwide in its original release, with copies sold in America, the Netherlands, Germany, Greece, Japan, Australia and Spain. The original CD edition (released by Torso) features one bonus track, a remix of "Kaw-Liga".
In 1999 Bomba Records reissued the album on CD in Japan. This version was the first to feature the "Sousapart" suite divided into five tracks, unlike earlier pressings which sequenced the suite as a single track. An American release of this edition was issued by East Side Digital in 2000.
Seventeen years later, the album was reissued digitally by Cherry Red Records, albeit with an error on the final two tracks, which should read "SousaPart", and "Kaw-Liga-Prariemix", but instead are titled "Nobles of Mystics Shine" and "The Stars & Stripes Forever".
| Year | Label | Format | Region | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Ralph Records | LP/Cass | US | |
| Torso | LP/CD | NL | CD edition contains bonus track | |
| Line Records | LP | DE | ||
| Virgin | GR | |||
| Wave | JP | |||
| AIM | LP/Cass | AU | ||
| 1987 | Ginger Music | LP | SP | |
| 1994 | Euro Ralph | EU | As part of In Memoriam Torso box set | |
| 1999 | Bomba Records | CD | JP | 1999 remastered version |
| 2000 | East Side Digital | US | ||
| 2017 | Cherry Red Records | Digital | UK | Track listing error, contains bonus track. |
Buy Or Die![]
See also[]
External links and references[]
- ↑ The Cryptic Guide to The Residents Pg. 51
