Customer Reviews

Chewing Hides Sound

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Snakefinger, the eccentric British guitarist who often collaborated with even more eccentric American friends the Residents, had his own unique vision of music, and this album lays out the components of that vision beautifully. It opens with "The Model", a Kraftwerk cover, which only hints at what is to come. Excellent riffage and interesting production. It is followed by "Kill the Great Raven", which introduecs Snakefinger's bizarre sense of humor. "Jesus was a Leprechaun" is even more bizarre and funny, a sacreligious in-joke, and possessive of yet more fine riffage. "Here Come the Bums" seems to expose the songwriter's fear of vagrants ("They're gonna get me, gonna get me..."). The next three songs comprise what I think is the high point of the album: "The Vivian Girls", a Beefheart-esque descent into revisionist sci-fi; "Magic and Ecstasy", a breathless, breakneck Ennio Morricone cover; and "Who is the Culprit and Who is the Victim?" is utterly unique in the annals of rock, a song that could very well have come straight from the head of Travis Bickle (main character in TAXI DRIVER). That isn't to say that the rest of this album is anticlimactic: "What Wilbur?" is another weird atonal rock number. "Picnic in the Jungle" is an apocalyptic rocker. "Frendly Warning" is incredible, with some of the best riffs I've heard in a rock song. "I Love Mary", another cover, is light and eccentric, probably a lesser number on the album. And then we have "Vultures of Bombay", and a more beautiful way to end a pop album would be hard to conceive.
If you love rock music but are looking for something different, I highly recommend Snakefinger's CHEWING HIDES THE SOUND and its followup GREENER POSTURES, which continues his move toward more large-scale conceptual works without losing the song craftsmanship of this album. Snakefinger has a strange relationship with the electric guitar, but a beautiful one, and his soloing is often mind-boggling... "How the hell did he do that?" Though the Residents co-wrote all the originals and produced, you don't have to be a fan of theirs to appreciate Snakefinger. In the context of avant-rock, underground, new wave, or whatever you want to call it, Snakefinger's CHEWING HIDES THE SOUND is a lost classic, and should transcend all eras, styles, and trends to the serious rock fan. Hope you enjoy it.

One of the best experimental albums of its time. This masterpiece will grab you, shake you,scare you and then make you laugh. A little bit of insanity goes a long way here. The main idea is to sit back and let Snakefinger take you on a trip to his world,enjoy it and then come home. If you have a sense of musical adventure and enjoy the likes of The Residents you will be floored by all of Snakefinger's stuff. Get it now because it is increasingly harder to find.

The Snakefinger was under-known when I burnt through the Vinyl of "Chewing Hides The Sound" - while time has marched on this LP and "Greener Pastures" have well stood the test of time imerging as ultra-classics of the pre-ska, pre-punk raw music that only the finger could snake out. Melded occassionally with his Resident's buddies, his entire works are five-star material. Enjoy, Enjoy, Enjoy.....

Phillip "Snakefinger" Lithman was at his best when he came out of The Residents' collective shadow, and this album doesn't quite cut it. Not that this album isn't great, but it does suffer from the involvement of the eyeballs.

The problem is that both Snakefinger and The Residents were great, but each in their own ways. The Residents are conceptual artists who use music as a medium. Snakefinger, on the other hand, was a musician through and through. Listening to the album, which has a very clearly "Residents-ish" flavor, I have to wonder how much better this album would have been if he had done it entirely on his own.

The squaking, angular keyboards that appear on far too many tracks take away from Snakefinger's main talent, which was guitar improvisation. He was not allowed to be as expressive as he would later be with Snakefinger's Vestal Virgins. But The Residents did inspire some terrific things. One of my favorite Snakefinger tricks inspired by The Residents was playing an electric guitar that is not plugged into any amplification, and recording it by "close mics", or putting a vocal microphones about an inch away from the guitar. The result is a hollow, plinky sound that is rather creepy.

If I seem so critical, why did I give this album three stars? Well, simply because it is Snakefinger. On that basis alone, I was considering a four-star rating. Even when he was overshadowed by the Residents, he still let some of his own personality sneak through. The complex and occasionally a-tonal noodling (reminiscent of Zappa) and the clever nod to several styles (blues, jazz, reggae, and bombastic prog-rock) gave this album substantial weight.

In the end, the main problem with this album seems to be one of tone. The Residents are known for being funny and weird at the same time. But Sankefinger really wasn't an experimentalist at heart. He loved the blues and jazz, and that's where he could really shine. But for this album, he toned those influences down in order to fit with the style of Ralph Records and The Residents. And it's a shame, because the album suffered for it.

Despite those criticisms, it was a great work by a man who deserved (and still deserves, long after his death) much more recognition than he has received.

I learned about Snakefinger in the late seventies through his association with the Residents, who are also quite interesting, humorous and avant-garde, but more well-known today than he. Philip Charles Lithman (1949-1987) the British composer and guitar artist who performed under the stage name, Snakefinger, should be more widely known, because he is eminently more listenable than some of the Residents' material. (For those interested, check out Snakefinger's bio and discography on Wikipedia.) I had "Chewing Hides the Sound" on vinyl years ago but found the CD scarce and rare to obtain. Another worth getting is "Greener Postures."

Lithman was of the same generation as Frank Zappa, and although I would admit that Zappa was a more brilliant composer than Lithman, there are distinct similarities (as well as complete originalities) when comparing the two. There is a bit of genius in this man as well. Those interested in brilliant original alternatives to pop music (like Zappa and his crony Captain Beefheart) should check Snakefinger out. It is also tragic that he died so young (6 years ahead of Zappa).