Search - Renaldo & the Loaf :: Elbow Is Taboo

Just Waiting to Be Rediscovered.

Music Fan | New Mexico | 12/23/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Renaldo & The Loaf decided to call it quits after this album was released. It appeared that Ralph Records, their loyal record company owned by The Residents had been sold to the sales manager, and was now "T.E.C. Tones Records". Rumour has it that the group became intimidated by the change, and decided that this would be the perfect time to go on to other projects. They of course, reunited 20 years later. This record is the slickest of all of their recordings. this one has clear sound quality, as well as keyboards, and sampling devices. As well as (seemingly) a profesional studio. Although this record is still as avant-garde experimental as you can imagine, it is also their most accessible, meaning that in this case, there is less sound experimentation, and more of a song based structure. I wonder what the next album could have sounded like.Here's the record track by track.









1.Street Called Straight-comprises of flute recorders, lots of percussion, and boy have these guys learned to play the guitar.



2. Boule-a strange french track about a dog.



3. The Elbow Is Taboo-a song about being naive. sexual innuendo builds up, and it turns out he's singing about an elbow, and not a...well, y'know. Hardy Fox appears in this song for one line.



4.Hambu Hodo-hands down, one of the strangest songs. the song's lyrics are words with several letters taken out of each word, for example the title means "hamburgers, hotdogs", if you take off a couple of letter's, it's Hambu Hodo. this features some of Renaldo's best vocals.



5. Dance For Sonambulists-the most mainstream souding Renaldo & The Loaf song, but for some reason, on the cd release, the last minute of the previous track leaks into this track and takes up the first entire minute. this song is mainly guitar. Quite a catchy instrumental.



6. Here's To The Oblong Boys-weird is an understatement. almost has a hip hop beat to it at times.



7. The Bread Song-a song about addiction...to bread.



8. Critical/Dance-the guy's apparently decided to redo this track which originally appeared on "Arabic Yodelling" back in 1983. This version is more electronic with samples of who knows what.



9. Extracting The Re Re (A Ritual Call To Prayer)- made up of some keyboard licks, some mad percussion, a driving drum machine beat, and samples of a tobbacco auctioneer to give it a ritual type feel."