Duck Stab/Buster & Glen

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Duck Stab/Buster & Glen
Studio album by
ReleasedNovember 30, 1978
RecordedOctober 1977–August 1978
Length34:30
LabelRalph
East Side Digital
ProducerThe Residents
The Residents chronology
Not Available
(1978)
Duck Stab/Buster & Glen
(1978)
Eskimo
(1979)
Buster & Glen cover

Duck Stab!/Buster & Glen, later renamed as just Duck Stab, is the fifth studio album by American art rock group the Residents, released in November 1978. It is named after the first side of the album, Duck Stab!, a seven-song EP released earlier in 1978 featuring shorter songs similar to the first side of Fingerprince. Buster and Glen, the B-side of the album, was intended to follow Duck Stab! presumably in early 1979.

After the first pressing of Duck Stab! quickly sold out—which was an oddity for the band—they decided to re-release it as an album, merged with the unreleased Buster and Glen. This was also in part due to the audio quality of the original EP, which the Residents stated was poor.[1]

The shorter length of the songs made the album more accessible for fans who had recently heard "Satisfaction", and songs like "Constantinople" and "Hello Skinny" helped cement the band's cult following. Some noted that the Residents were approaching commercial elements with this EP, but they were purposefully avoiding others, such as a traditional chorus/verse structure.[2] This album features guitar by Philip "Snakefinger" Lithman.

Critical reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Christgau's Record GuideA−[4]
The Independent[5]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[6]

The album was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[7] In 2018, The Independent wrote that, "as nursery rhymes, they blend the sinister with the simple; and as cartoons, they’re the musical equivalent of Tex Avery, constantly playing with their medium and breaking the frame."[5]

Track listing[edit]

All tracks written and composed by The Residents, except "Sinister Exaggerator", composed by The Residents and Snakefinger.

Side one: Duck Stab
No.TitleLength
1."Constantinople"2:23
2."Sinister Exaggerator"3:28
3."The Booker Tease"1:04
4."Blue Rosebuds"3:08
5."Laughing Song"2:12
6."Bach is Dead"1:12
7."Elvis and His Boss"2:29
Total length:17:05
Side two: Buster & Glen
No.TitleLength
8."Lizard Lady"1:54
9."Semolina"2:48
10."Birthday Boy"2:41
11."Weight-Lifting Lulu"3:11
12."Krafty Cheese"1:59
13."Hello Skinny"2:41
14."The Electrocutioner"3:20
Total length:19:35

1987 CD bonus tracks[edit]

Tracks 15-18 taken from the 1980 EP Diskomo/Goosebump.

No.TitleLength
15."Disaster"3:48
16."Plants"3:14
17."Farmers"5:27
18."Twinkle"1:58
Total length:49:04

2018 pREServed edition[edit]

Disc One
No.TitleLength
15."Guylum Bardot '78"1:07
16."Soulful Sax"2:20
17."Ow Boutthat"0:50
18."When Johnny Comes Marching"1:37
19."Unlisted"2:00
20."Santa Dog '78"1:52
Total length:44:16
Disc Two
No.TitleLength
1."Bach is Dead (1982 rehearsal)"1:21
2."Birthday Boy (1982 rehearsal)"3:42
3."Constantinople (1982 rehearsal)"2:11
4."DS / BaG suite (Tromsø, inconvenienced, 1986)"13:22
5."Semolina (live 1986)"3:56
6."Hello Skinny (Icky Flix version)"3:06
7."Constantinople (Icky Flix version)"2:28
8."Lizard Lady / Hello Skinny (live 2005)"5:10
9."Semolina (live 2011)"3:47
10."Lizard Lady (live 2011)"3:42
11."Blue Rosebuds (live 2014)"3:08
12."Weight-Lifting Lulu (live 2014)"3:30
13."Blue Rosebuds RMX"3:24
14."The Booker Tease (re-imagined)"2:24
15."Weight-Lifting Lulu (re-imagined)"3:17
16."Constantinople (Adobe)"1:55
17."Bach is Dead (re-imagined)"2:26
18."Laughing Song (re-imagined)"2:23
19."The Electrocutioner (re-imagined)"2:39
20."Hello Skinny (re-imagined)"4:04
Total length:1:11:51

Personnel[edit]

Guests
  • Snakefinger – vocals, guitar
  • Ruby – vocals on "The Electrocutioner"
  • G. Whifler – photography
  • Pore No Graphics - cover art

Covers[edit]

  • "Blue Rosebuds" was covered by Shock Headed Peters on the compilation album Devastate to Liberate in December 1985.
  • Primus released a medley of the songs "Hello Skinny" and "Constantinople" on the Caroline Records compilation promotional CD On the Nineties Tip... in 1990, and included it as a bonus track on the 2002 reissue of Frizzle Fry. Shortly afterward, they covered "Sinister Exaggerator" on their 1992 EP Miscellaneous Debris. In the UK, it was on the CD single "Making Plans for Nigel (Cheesy EP 2)."
  • "Bach is Dead" is covered by Idiot Flesh on their 1997 album Fancy.
  • "Hello Skinny" and "The Electrocutioner" are covered by Flat Earth Society on their 2000 album Bonk.
  • Friendly Rich and the Lollipop People covered "Blue Rosebuds" on their 2010 album The Sacred Prune of Remembrance.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Historical - The Residents: Duck Stab". Retrieved 2018-05-14.
  2. ^ gio80. "The Seeds That Turn Into Tomorrow (Duck Stab!) | Grandpa Gio and The Residents". Retrieved 2019-06-07.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ McCarthy, Kieran. Duck Stab/Buster & Glen at AllMusic
  4. ^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: R". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 10, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  5. ^ a b Gill, Andy (Mar 15, 2018). "The Residents, Duck Stab/Buster & Glen". Reviews. The Independent.
  6. ^ The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. pp. 587, 588.
  7. ^ Blacklock, Mark (2006). "The Residents: Duck Stab/Buster & Glen". In Dimery, Robert (ed.). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Universe Publishing. p. 405. ISBN 978-0-7893-1371-3.