Eskimo (album)

Infobox Album | Name = Eskimo
Type = Album
Artist = The Residents


Released = 1979
Recorded = April 1976-May 1979
Genre = Avant-garde
Length = 39:21
Label = Ralph Records
Producer = The Residents
Reviews =
*Allmusic Rating|4.5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:ogy67ui0h0jd~T1 link] | Last album = "The Residents Radio Special" (1979)
This album = "Eskimo" (1979)

Next album = "Babyfingers"
(1979)

"Eskimo" is an album by The Residents that was originally supposed to follow 1976's "Fingerprince". However, due to many delays and arguments with management, it was not released until 1979. Upon release it was hailed as the group's best record to date.

Rather than actual songs, the pieces are generally made up of sound effects, occasional playing on home-made instruments and gibberish standing in for actual Inuit. The stories were all created by the group and, despite their claims otherwise, is not meant to be a true historical document of life in the Arctic. Rather it culminates in a criticism of how Western culture dealt a deathblow to the religions and tribal customs of Native Americans.

A companion piece, "Diskomo", was released in 1980 as a 12-inch single, featuring a remix of the songs backed by a disco beat. A follow-up EP "Diskomo 2000", featuring the original remix, its b-side ("Goosebump", a collection of children's songs played on toy musical instruments) and several other versions was released in 2000.

Track listing

#"The Walrus Hunt" – 4:01
#"Birth" – 4:33
#"Arctic Hysteria" – 5:57
#"The Angry Angakok" – 5:20
#"A Spirit Steals a Child" – 8:44
#"The Festival of Death" – 10:26

*Bonus Tracks (1987 CD release only)
#

I Left My Heart in San Francisco
# Dumbo the Clown (Who Loved Christmas)
# Is He Really Bringing Roses? (The Replacement)
# Time's Up

Musicians

* The Residents - vocals, instruments, effects
* Snakefinger - guitar
* Chris Cutler - drums
* Don Preston - synthesizers

Trivia

* The "Inuit" chants on "The Festival of Death" are actually advertising slogans for various products (Coca-Cola, Charmin bathroom tissue, etc).

*The vocals were all done whine inhaling to produce an unusual sound.
* The Residents' announcements concerning Eskimo were a bit sarcastic at first. After learning about Duck Stab/Buster & Glen's popularity, they announced that their next release would be "an album of wind noises and grunting."

* This was the first album to feature what would later become their signature look.

References

[http://residents.com/files/c81ce3e759ee890d4276289ac3bc2fe1-31.html Concerning the sarcastic "press release"]