Customer Reviews

Demons Dance Alone

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

To say that Demons Dance Alone is the Residents' most "accessbile" or "mainstream" recording to date would be both true and misleading. Let me attempt to tell you why....

The Residents have spent the last 30 years "amusing the muses and confusing the masses" with music that ranges from absurd hallucination to the essence of poignancy. They have written music for Pee Wee's Playhouse and the Discovery Channel, as well as created two award winning games (Freak Show and Bad Day on the Midway). All this and more, while the actual members of the band have remained anonymous. Even guest artists have sometimes recorded their contributions separately from the band itself. And speaking of guest artists, The Residents have been joined by guitar wizards Fred Frith and Snakefinger, performers Penn and Teller, and many other very talented folks over the years.

But still, for many people, The Residents' music has been a lesson in ongoing obscurity and has not been viewed as "radio friendly". Demons Dance Alone (DDA) might just be the first recording from the band to offer a marginally mainstream audience a way to approach and appreciate The Residents, while long-time fans of The Residents should still not be disappointed.

DDA is broken into three sections: "Loss", "Denial" and "Three Metaphors". With all the material having been written post-9/11/01, DDA's overall feel is one of sadness, and yet the songs do not wallow in despair so much as they explore the ways neediness and despair manifests without judging it. The result is a recording that feels more personal than anything else I've ever heard from The Residents.

Some of the songs - "The Weatherman", "Mickey Macaroni" and "Make Me Moo", for example - I could easily imagine hearing on Garrison Keillor's Prairie Home Companion, while tracks like "Wolverines" and "Honey Bear" have a slightly more traditional 'Residents' sound. All of the tracks, with the exception of "Make Me Moo" and the instrumental tracks, offer subtle twists of plot and denouement, with the ultimate outcome of DDA speaking perhaps to the danger of paying too much attention to the 'demonic' side of life at the expense of keeping one's heart open.

If there is any weak point to DDA, it would have to be in the instrumental pieces, which don't seem to have much oomph to them. However, I can see where these tracks, in a live situation, could be much better, and might provide time for costume/set changes - as The Residents live are very much about theater.

Overall, DDA is a great recording, and is probably the best introductory work for those new to The Residents' work, who might otherwise be daunted by their odd and massive oeuvre.

This is the first disc that I ever heard from the Residents, and its power & poignancy hooked me. Since then I've developed an obsession with the formally dressed Eyes and their crazily eclectic & adventurous work.

If you're reading this, you are probably already a Residents listener. Obviously, in that case you have your own opinions. If you are new to the Residents, then I suggest you approach them by getting DDA, Petting Zoo (a budget sampler like Frank Zappa's Cheap Thrills series), or Eskimo (the Residents most well-known work).

Like most of their work, Demons Dance Alone is very satisfying & intriguing. Unlike most of their work, there is a (very small) chance in hell that a radio station would actually play some tracks off of it. Apparently the lyrics to Demons Dance Alone were inspired by 9/11/01. There is certainly a lot of sadness and thoughtfulness in songs like "Ghost Child", "Honey Bear", "Betty's Body", and "The Car Thief".

Of course this IS a Residents release, so some goofy weirdness is in order. This approach is most self-evident on "Mickey Macaroni" & "Make Me Moo" (both of which feature a child singing), the manic tempo increase on "Neediness", as well as a musical interlude of "Jingle Bells".

As far as musical textures are concerned, imagine combining Steve Reich's "Music for 18 Musicians", Enya's voice, Captain Beefheart's rhythmic adventurousness, Kraftwerk's electronic approach, Devo's eccentricity, and a more subdued Tom Waites on vocals, then you would have an idea as to the originality and vitality of Demons Dance Alone. For sheer musical audacity and artistic integrity, the Residents are beyond reproach.

In a nutshell, I'd agree with a previous reviewer in saying this is their best album in 20 years. To temper that judgement, I should admit that I've not been as fond of the Residents' output for some time. I'm definitely an old school Rez-head. And with that in mind, please don't expect another Commercial Album or Duck Stab. That period was a magical chemistry of people and ideas that could not nor should not ever be recreated. If you come to this album expecting the good old days of psychedelic dada wackiness, you'll be very disappointed. The Residents have matured beyond their years, added some new members and lots of new ideas, which need to be approached and analyzed on their own terms, in our own time. For example, this album was inspired and influenced in part by the 9/11/01 attacks. In my mind, this represents an enormous leap from the world of satire and fantasy to a timely, heavy political issue. It's not dealt with explicitly, but reflected opaquely in a series of vingettes which work as a song cycle. I say this because there are a number of repeated musical themes.. upon a first listen one might think they're only doing 3 or 4 songs in slightly different arrangements, but over the course of the album it cements the project together, not conceptually but materially.
One change to reckon with is their overall sound.. the guitar player and Molly Harvey have been with the group for some time now, and I've honestly had an undecided reaction to their inclusion till now, but with this project they have fully come into their own as creative participants. Some advocates of the new members would say that this is their "crossover album", that will finally propel them into the pop charts.. I don't see that happening anytime soon. Detractors say that the guitar is too "heavy metal" and strays from their original vision. Well, I happen to like the new sound. The guitar playing is not as zany as Snakefinger, but it's every bit as technically interesting, full of bite and original tone, and in the tradition of RZ guitar players, he nails the current RZ vibe spot-on, which is a melancholy, narcotic dirge, with a hint of hopeful reflection. The whole RZ sound right now is exceptionally bittersweet, and the newer members not only interpret this fully, but add their own unique metaphors to the mix. If you're with me so far, you should waste no time and get the two-disc special edition version of this disc. If RalphAmerica.com is sold out of them, you can settle for the single disc regular version. As a guy who generally only likes "the early stuff", I couldn't have been more surprised at the depth of my reaction to this modern masterpiece. Buy with informed confidence.

This is a beautiful (and, yep, I say that about the Residents) album, with lyrical content that is unsurpassed except maybe by God in Three Persons.

Despite some depressing lyrics, the album is up-beat, with the underlying message that life -is- what we make it.

One of the most telling things from the live show (what, you missed the tour? you missed out!) was the simple story of having good times in life, but no one telling the speaker "These are the good times." Or the story of Mr Skull meeting James Brown... a meeting that to James Brown was just another night on the road... but to Mr Skull was a moment that shaped the rest of his life.

The good times are there: focus on them, not on the bad, whether it is the loss of a lover (in, say, Caring or Honey Bear), or something like 9-11.

It's easy to take the pain and suffering that is day to day life, and, like the singer in the last song, invite the Demon in to dance with it. But the lesson is that Demons Dance Alone.

So, yes, some of the material of the album is depressing and lonely... it is the Residents after all, so it's not likely to be all about happiness and light...

But.. it is also exhilirating and a reminder to appreciate the gift that life is. (In that sense, it is similar to God in Three Persons: "For pain and pleasure are the twins that slightly out of focus spin around us till we finally understand that everything that gives us pleasure also gives us pain to measure it by.")

I've been a fan of the Residents since the beginning. I haven't
purchased any of their albums in recent years, but thought I'd
give DDA a try. It's a great album, mixing old time vocals
and new with the ever present Residents lyrics. Glad I gave it
a try.

If there was a nuclear holocaust and I could take only one Residents album into a bunker with me, this would be it. The music is strange, haunting, and perfectly executed. Mr. Skull's vocals are as enjoyable as ever, but it is the plaintive voice of Molly Harvey that carries many of the songs. On "The Car Thief", she is really stunning.

I will concede that among the Residents catalog, "Demons Dance Alone" is their most pop-oriented work ("Wormwood" is a close second). However, the melodic structure of the songs is by no means a concession to popular tastes. Rather, it adds another level of weirdness to the Residential proceedings.

It has been noted that this album was a response to 9-11, but other than conveying a sense of loss and sadness, there are no overt references or political statements about that particular event. To me, the tenuous 9-11 connection is a distraction from the timeless, transcendent quality of the music and lyrics.

If you are a long-time listener, this album will allow you to enjoy yet another challenging and engaging aspect of the Residents' art. If you are new to their music, this is a great place to start. "Demons Dance Alone" is accessible, yet full of the avant-garde elements that set the Residents far, far above the mainstream.

this is our eyeball buddies after 9-11.

They still have that atonal melodial space cadet glow. But the overall tonal and lyrical mood of this album is so depressing! Although they sing nothing about the American Trajedy of 9-11, this album and it's "giving up hope" mood has 9-11 written all over it!

As far as the musical quality of the songs go, they are some of the most beautiful songs ever performed by The Residents. In "Life would be Wonderful," a Resident sings abou chasing the fast disappearing American Dream. He sings that If he had a million dollars, if his pet mouse wouldnt have died, if, if ,if.... then life would be wonderful.... Just like if we didnt have to face the real world in this country, then "life would be wonderful" as it was before 9-11.

Demons Dance Alone is far superior to their latest creation, "Animal Lover."

Very nice record.

But I don't understand why so many say this recording is about the 9/11 2001. Where in the lyrics does it refer to 9/11? Can someone please explain?

And, is Betty's Body about incest? It sounds like that.

This is a hauntingly wonderful CD from The Residents. The lyrics seem quite banal when read on the page, but hearing them sung is akin to coming across a diary one kept as a child and re-discovered in an attic many years later - there is a creepy sense of familiarity with the themes but an increduality that the words were actually put on paper in innocence.... I love this CD and forgive The Residents for their American Composers CDs that cost me a fortune in the UK and were so dull!

When I began listening to the Residents 26 years ago I would not have imagined finding a Residents album that stood in-between the general peculiarity that they indulge in and the pop mainstream that they emanate. And if I had told you they would achieve a triumph in emotion and art, you would have committed me.

No doubt you still will, but I will persist.

Compared to the Resident's other work I would find that this album comes close to Eskimo for its overall achievement. Rather than emotion becoming art, Eskimo was a major triumph in the studio art of that day. For sheer complexity, you will be hard pressed to find another album that comes close to Eskimo's quilting of sound. Eskimo remains as the most renowned, in terms of sales and overall recognition by recording artists (it came very close to a Grammy Award nomination) as any Residents album to date. But, it remains elusive emotionally to most fans today, and usually doesn't even make the top 10 of fan lists.

In this album the Residents beg us not to look at this as a Residents album, but a statement of 7 people in a concert touring bus during the time of the September 11th bombing of the World Trade Center. For once - they seem to be begging - listen to us, and try to understand that we are human beings with emotions and concerns like the rest of you have. It's a shocking thing for a band that more famous for their anonymity than their music to say.

Rather than falling into the cynicism that they tend to tie themselves into when discussing a subject (the albums Gingerbread Man and Wormwood come into mind), the Residents have used metaphors and painfully revealing language to describe thoughts and emotions that have become increasingly ambiguous after September 11. The hopelessness we felt of watching innocent people die (Ghost Child). Children beg us to move them away from the reality of the event (Make Me Moo). Men remember their lust of a newly lost unrequited lover (Betty's Body). Victims that cannot get away from their fate, even when screaming "leave me alone" (The Beekeepers Daughter). A man realizes that he has been diminished by his own actions (Demons Dance Alone).

Demons Dance alone is a stinging reminder of our shock. Forget McCartney's ever so sweet "Freedom" (a song that I, a long time Beatles fan, could never warm up to), or any other so-called anthem that may have popped up after the 9-11 events. This album tears open wounds that we thought were healing and, as the last song makes known to us: "only Demons dance alone" - and we damn ourselves to that fate if we ever think we can forget about what had happened and how it affected us.