The River of Crime: Episodes 1-5
by: The Residents
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Sales Rank: 165205
Sales Rank: 165205
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Music : The River of Crime: Episodes 1-5 |
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Rating:  - * The Rz redundantly out of their element ... I am a big enough fan of the Guys With Eyes to not just drool like a puppy with its bell rung when there is a new recording to devour, but to listen and look critically, to see from where they have come and where they are going, to see if their output furthers their art, or if it falls complacently back on previous endeavor. Unfortunately, I find this recording to be very much of the last sentiment. The Residents have a long-established discography of pure brilliance, so it is not surprising to find the occasional dull attempt, but this one in particular bothers me in several different directions. For one, this is a second recent attempt at narrative, the other being Tweedles!, but both seem to very much spring from the poor effort that was God in Three Persons. However, in retrospect, God was not all that bad a work, especially when compared to this one. The Rz have always had a nice dynamic going in their work, a kind of dissonance. On the surface, their use of electronics may seem almost cartoonish, a little silly. But the subject matter is often much more dark than the music may initially imply. Whether their subject matter involved freak shows, or abusive relationships, or the realms of psychosis, The Rz have continually produced music that is a little scary and thrilling. But when it works best is when the music AND subject matter work together (or against each other) and stand quite brilliantly apart. Even in purely musical works, the subject matter itself rises through the music, such as in their soundtrack work for Hunters. The narrative that presents itself here and in similar works are often quite tedious to get through. Tweedles! has some moments of interest, and God as well, but what held those efforts a little higher than this one was that the music was a lot more interesting. Possibly because of the focus here to do 'radio drama,' The Rz seemed to put a lot less into the music itself and instead focused on the voice, which is just another Homer-Flynn-reflection with all the pitfalls of weak writing--obvious segue, faux storytelling mode, everthing you might see in a bad high school creative writing class. In all, this feels like a redundant recap of a form that has never really worked for The Rz. On their own Ralph America website they have been releasing collections of purely instrumental work--that would be a much more wise investment of your interest in the Residents than this release. Rating:  - * Something different ... I'm really fond of this album, but mostly for the instrumental version. I find the stories to be okay.....the music does more for me. This is not a real 'Album' per say. I think the Residents and the Cryptic Corporation would agree with me. Its more or less a fun experiment. I love the Residents for their willingness to try out any idea, fly or flop. Though the results are usually at least creatively intertaining....I would say if you are new to them, try their newest "real" album "Tweedles!" It will perplex you till the cows come home, if you're into that sort of thing... Rating: - * The Residents do Radio Plays ... Never afraid to try something different, the Residents go back to the golden days of radio drama and serve up a collection of short (20 min) audio plays narrated by the "Singing Resident" in his native LA drawl. The music is Residentially creepy with the secondary vocalists providing a Greek Chorus-like comment on the narrative. While well done, I found the stories themselves to be mostly uninteresting, good for only one or two listenings, hence my low rating. On the other hand, a friend of mine finds them fascinating and worth repeated listening. YMMV. |
