Search - Residents :: River of Crime: Episodes 1-5 (Bonus CD)

The Rz redundantly out of their element

Mr. Richard K. Weems | Fair Lawn, NJ USA | 05/28/2007

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I am a big enough fan of the Guys With Eyes to not just drool like a puppy with its bell rung when there is a new recording to devour, but to listen and look critically, to see from where they have come and where they are going, to see if their output furthers their art, or if it falls complacently back on previous endeavor.



Unfortunately, I find this recording to be very much of the last sentiment.



The Residents have a long-established discography of pure brilliance, so it is not surprising to find the occasional dull attempt, but this one in particular bothers me in several different directions. For one, this is a second recent attempt at narrative, the other being Tweedles!, but both seem to very much spring from the poor effort that was God in Three Persons. However, in retrospect, God was not all that bad a work, especially when compared to this one.



The Rz have always had a nice dynamic going in their work, a kind of dissonance. On the surface, their use of electronics may seem almost cartoonish, a little silly. But the subject matter is often much more dark than the music may initially imply. Whether their subject matter involved freak shows, or abusive relationships, or the realms of psychosis, The Rz have continually produced music that is a little scary and thrilling. But when it works best is when the music AND subject matter work together (or against each other) and stand quite brilliantly apart. Even in purely musical works, the subject matter itself rises through the music, such as in their soundtrack work for Hunters.



The narrative that presents itself here and in similar works are often quite tedious to get through. Tweedles! has some moments of interest, and God as well, but what held those efforts a little higher than this one was that the music was a lot more interesting. Possibly because of the focus here to do 'radio drama,' The Rz seemed to put a lot less into the music itself and instead focused on the voice, which is just another Homer-Flynn-reflection with all the pitfalls of weak writing--obvious segue, faux storytelling mode, everthing you might see in a bad high school creative writing class.



In all, this feels like a redundant recap of a form that has never really worked for The Rz. On their own Ralph America website they have been releasing collections of purely instrumental work--that would be a much more wise investment of your interest in the Residents than this release.

"

Instumental spectacular

Millie Rim Job Dee | On Top, Mo Mo | 02/28/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I've spent a good two years listening to this now and I had to go back and change my initial review. This has grown on me quite a bit. It is a fantastically subtle instrumental album and I never seem to tire of it. Its one of my favorite Rez instrumentals next to Postcards from Patmos, Animal Lover Instrumental, and High Horses.



The stories are okay, but I prefer the instrumental disk here. The five stars apply to that disk alone. After many many listens I find that the stories become a distraction from the music."