Customer Reviews

Whatever Happened to Vileness Fats

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This album has a complex history to it, so pay attention: Before they were even officially a band (early 1972), the members of what shortly became the Residents originally tried to create a motion picture, 14 hours in length and shot on videotape, in their cramped warehouse home, titled Vileness Fats. Needless to say it didn't quite work out as planned, but the footage they shot, of a drama taking place in a land of one-armed midgets, was finished off ten years later, pared down to under an hour and with a new soundtrack (this album) recorded by the band.

Those familiar with the musical career arc of the Residents will know that by 1984 the band's output was becoming more and more refined, dominated more by precise synthesizers and electronic tones than the ragged anything-goes approach they took in their first decade. So this album was a bit of a boon to those who missed their chaotic early sound: while the music was still created largely using their trusted ARP synths, the style was a throwback to their early days, with the Singing Resident following suit and reverting to his muppet-like screech for many songs. The end result is a nice mix of their early energy and (then) modern sophistication, best exemplified on the instrumental pieces, like "Atomic Shopping Carts" and "Broccoli and Saxophone". While the music is obviously designed to push along the narrative, several strong songs emerged on this record, like "Eloise" a manic poem retrieved from the very earliest days of the group, and the two album epics, the multi-part "The Importance of Evergreen" and the grim closer "The Knife Fight". Overall, this album is more successful than the movie itself, and to some fans was probably the best work the Residents had done in years.

The East Side Digital release of the CD (which is the one I own) also includes a second soundtrack the band did at the time, for a small independent film called The Census Taker. I've never seen it, but I'm told it's not very good. The music isn't much to write home about either. Unlike the Vileness Fats pieces, the music here mostly doesn't hold up on its own, and is obviously designed mostly as background music. Unfortunately at this point in their career the band didn't quite have Devo's facility for this type of writing, and listening to it can be a chore. The one bright spot is "Where Is She?" which became a highlight of the group's live show for their 13th Anniversary Tour. Still, the Residents have made much worse music in subsequent years. This is a worthwhile album to own. Just be careful on the second half.

One of the ESSENTIAL Residents albums of all time and one of the very few to hold up to their Classsic era, '72-'80. This is a score to the unreleased film Vileness Fats , worked on around '72-'74,a short "version" came out around the release of this album, in tandem with a Mole Show video. The music here being recorded in the mid-'80's. a beautiful swirling surrealistic dreamworld! Includes the early classic Eloise,contained here within Broccoli and Saxophone,this music stands up well on its own,and is a must for even a "casual" Residents fan. There's talk of a full lenth dvd of the Vileness Fats footage some time in the future,hopefully it will include even more music from this bizarre project!