Eskimo (album)
 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (June 2009) |
| Eskimo | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 1979 | |||
| Recorded | April 1976 – May 1979 | |||
| Genre | Avant-garde, ambient | |||
| Length | 39:01 | |||
| Label | Ralph Records | |||
| Producer | The Residents | |||
| The Residents chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
| Ultimate-Guitar.com |  [2] |
Eskimo is an album by the Residents. The album was originally supposed to follow 1977's Fingerprince; however, due to many delays and arguments with management, it was not released until 1979. Upon release it was hailed as the group's best record to date.[citation needed]
The pieces on Eskimo feature home-made instruments and chanting against backdrops of wind-like synthesizer noise and miscellaneous sound effects. The work is programmatic, each piece pairing music with text detailing a corresponding pseudo-ethnographic narrative.[1] While Eskimo is officially maintained to be a true historical document of life in the Arctic, the stories are deliberately absurd fictions only loosely based in actual Inuit culture, and the chanting is a combination of gibberish and commercial slogans. The album satirizes ignorance toward and mistreatment of the indigenous peoples of the Americas.[1]
Diskomo
A companion piece, Diskomo, was released in 1980 as a 12-inch single, featuring a remix of the songs backed by a disco beat. Diskomo 2000, a follow-up EP featuring the original remix, its B-side (Goosebump, a collection of children's songs played on toy musical instruments), and several other versions, was released in 2000.
Eskimo Track listing
- "The Walrus Hunt" – 4:01
- "Birth" – 4:33
- "Arctic Hysteria" – 5:57
- "The Angry Angakok" – 5:20
- "A Spirit Steals a Child" – 8:44
- "The Festival of Death" – 10:26
- Bonus tracks (1987 CD release only)
- "I Left My Heart in San Francisco"
- "Dumbo the Clown (Who Loved Christmas)"
- "Is He Really Bringing Roses? (The Replacement)"
- "Time's Up"
Personnel
- The Residents – vocals, instruments, effects
- Snakefinger – guitar
- Chris Cutler – percussion
- Don Preston – synthesizers