The Residents — God In Three Persons
Theme wise the album is very much of a strange rock opera/ concept variety, but it was not like their past forays into this genre( such as Not Available or The Mole Trilogy), as it mostly sits in a fairly believable & at time disturbing reality. The albums 14 tracks, and just over hour running time tells the story of Mr. X( a Colonel Tom Parker like character), who meets & befriends a pair of Siamese twins who have both healing powers & the ability to shift from male to female. Mr X convinces the pair to let him manage them, and the album tells the story of their strange & at times troubling relationship.
As well the theme been fairly different from what the band had done before, sonically it was also a departure too- as the tracks featured mainly male spoken word vocals( with that distinctive southern feel) telling the story in a semi rhythmic manner which felt almost blues like at times, added to this you get a female Greek chorus that pops up ever so often to emphasize certain elements of the story. Musically the songs backing was a lot more sophisticated, cinematic, and polished, than the projects early often more angular, lo-fi & odd musical leanings. We get grand & dramatic blends of synth horn/ organ work, through to mixes stabbing piano darting electro jazz elements & organ work, onto more tuneful blends of synth melodies & mellow yet electro jazziness, through to moody & unhinged blends of dramatic synth/ electronics.
On top of all the above it’s a great, captivating, cleverly written & at times quite moving to disturbing story. And added to this there’s some great melodies too, which move from buoyant & up-beat, to more trouble & moody, onto quite nightmarish. The album still stands as one of my favorite Residents albums, and has stayed squarely there since I first heard it in the late 90’s.
Reissue wise this is rather a barebones affair with the CD come in a jewel case which features a folded inlay that just takes in artwork from the original release. It’s a really pity that there couldn’t have been full lyrics include( as this is one of the Residents more wordy releases). Also it would have been great if there had been some sort of write-up discussing the relevance of the album with-in the projects back catalogue. Really this album deservers a stone cold 5/5, but I’ve downgraded this to a four purely because of the rather disappointing bare bones reissue- it would have been great if this album could have got similar treatment to Mute's early 2000’s reissues that presented classic Residents album in a mini hardback booklet form featuring extra linear notes, pictures, full lyrics, because really this album is crying out for. Anyway this is a great album, and well worth picking-up( if you don't already have it).