Snakefinger – Chewing Hides The Sound

Grab it if you can find it! This just kills. SNAKEFINGER.

...its a mystery to me how british gentleman & san francisco based guitar
maestro snakefinger (1949-87) could be forgotten so soon. all his 4 studio
albums between 1979-87 are marvelous, this was his great debut album
including a funny kraftwerk-version of "the model". for fans of zappa &
nino rota & fred frith...

Reissue is now up for preoder https://www.secretrecordsmusic.com/secret-records-store/snakefinger-chewing-hides-the-sound-limited-edition-vinyl ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­

The vinyl is super thin and not very silent. Love the music, though.

Dans la brume des fins de soirées du Rat's club.....

Snakefinger, whose real name is John Philip Lithman, was a British guitar player who lived with the Residents at the end of the 1960’s. After that, he has collaborated to many of their albums and he also went on tour with them, including the one in 1986 that I witnessed in Montreal. I had the opportunity to interview him at that time.

'Chewing Hides the Sound' came out on Ralph Records, the Residents’ label, and they were his backing band on the album. It starts with 'The Model', a Kraftwerk song. Snakefinger injects into it just enough weirdness to make one of the best covers of this classic. 'Kill the Great Raven' is a pop song transformed into an underground anthem. In fact, the entire album is interesting. The ambiance of the Residents is there, but in a startling pop format. Songs follow each other and before we know it, we are transfixed by the strange atmosphere and the particular melodies. 'Here comes the bums' is an almost surrealist song that brings out Snakefinger’s voice and guitar. 'Magic and Ecstasy' is an instrumental piece with bits of weird asian music. 'Picnic in the Jungle' is a slightly bizarre catchy tune. This collaboration between Snakefinger and the Residents is fruitful. Expert in the pop format, Snakefinger brings a structure to the music and the Residents complete it with impeccable production and original arrangements that give the album an almost surrealist dimension. It’s catchy but one cannot entirely dive in because of the omnipresent bizarreness. 'I love Mary' is another instrumental piece with ethnic flavor which has a superb melody played on the xylophone. It’s like if we suddenly find ourself at the other side of the world, in a Bombay neighborhood. Snakefinger has produced two other excellent albums on Ralph Records : 'Greener Postures' and 'Manual of Error'.

© Alain Cliche 2016