Label: East Side Digital
Category: Music
Average customer rating:
Format: Original recording reissued
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1
UPC: 021561814929
EAN: 0021561814929
ASIN: B00004R96J
Release Date: 2000-03-14
Stars & Hank Forever: The American Composers Series, Vol. II
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Artist: The Residents
Label: East Side Digital Category: Music Average customer rating:
Format: Original recording reissued Media: Audio CD Number Of Discs: 1 UPC: 021561814929 EAN: 0021561814929 ASIN: B00004R96J Release Date: 2000-03-14 |
Stars & Hank Forever: The American Composers Series, Vol. II
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Customer Reviews:
Country and Marching Music reinterpreted.......2007-03-25
50% twisted covers, 50% soundscaping, 100% Residents.......2002-11-09
The album opens with a bombastic "Hey Good Lookin'" featuring the chaotic guitar of Snakefinger. "Six More Miles (to the Graveyard)" and "Jambalaya" are very dark but beautiful pieces. But my favorite song on the album, and possibly from The Residents in general, is the very catchy "Kaw-liga". This song also spawned a number of remixes, but the original here is still my favorite.
The second side consists of John Philip Sousa compositions, done with The Residents' own electronic instruments. On top of all that, the whole side is meant to sound like you're watching a parade! The songs fade in and out, reverbing in such a way that it sounds like a marching band passing by on the street as each song begins and ends. Before and after each song you can hear what you'd normally hear as an observer in the crowd: applause after each song, some talking, an airplane overhead, etc.
Aside from compilations, I think this particular album best represents a good mix of what the band can do and is musically known for: crazy versions of tunes written by other artists, eerie yet disturbingly catchy songs you can sing along to, and vast-sounding instrumental collections that string together conceptually.
I only started listening to The Residents two years ago, and they've become my favorite band since then. I have just about all of their albums and other odd releases, but "Stars and Hank Forever!" certainly gets some of the most spins on my CD player. The songs are simply done really well, and are a pleasure to listen to.
Twisted,Mister!.......2002-02-09
Many people question if this is a joke or an homage. It's both actually. The Hank Williams side,does some twisted things,but the attention to details,means they are obviously fans of Hank. I particularly enjoyed "Six More Miles ( To The Graveyard)",as concieved by a Chinese orchestra,complete with violins,kyoto,and gong,and "Kaw-liga" gets turned into a techno-beat parody of "Billie Jean".
The flip side is even funnier,but you probably won't play it as often,since it's all tied together as one long concept piece. An easy description would be: Devo Thanksgiving Day Parade. A better decription would be to imagine a parade of tone deaf windup monkeys playing Souza marches. If you were ever in marching band in school,or ever had to sit through parade after parade of Souza marches,you'll laugh like mad,as The Residents march the parade route,complete with annoying airplanes,dogs,talkative parade goers,and fire engines!
This one is for fun,I recommend it to the adventurous among you.
poor old Sousa.......2001-11-23
Stars and Hank Forever! is basically everything you could expect from a collection of Hank Williams and John Phillips Sousa covers by the Residents. Are they being respectful or are they making a joke? Usually it's hard to tell, but with this record it's pretty safe to say that they really are paying homage to the greats.
The Hank Williams side is alright, but I don't think it holds up under repeated listenings to well. It sounds just like what you'd expect from this era of the Residents. They get extensive use out of guitar and synths. The arrangements are slightly off and the singing Resident growls through every song. One of the more unfamilar Williams tune sounds immediately familiar because of a perfectly placed sample of the bassline from Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean." It transforms this old cowboy song into some kind of vampire disco song in a New York City club. The story of the wooden Indian is given an especially eerie quality as well.
While most people seemed to like the Williams side better, I find the second side of Sousa marches absolutely superior. It's produced as if you're at a parade. You can hear the crowd, and as each track starts, the band comes in from the left and plays their song until leaving to the right, making way for the next marching band. Not only are the arrangements strange, but it sounds the Residents aren't even reading their sheet music right. Every note seems to be a little off, making most of the songs into dark and hectic carnival music. The evil bearded face of John Phil swings in front of you. Nevertheless, the music still holds up, although the cover of "Stars and Stripes Forever" now seems completely unpatriotic. For now, I can't rid myself of the images of the Cuban Missle Crisis-turned shooting gallery from the video of it from the Residents DVD. As for the rest of the disc, expect much more of Sousa's crazily morphed compositions. It's probably enough to give a kid nightmares.
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