God in Three Persons (1988)
This sprawling work is one of their most important and most
harrowing. The singing Resident tells the tale, in his best
southern drawl, of a Colonel Tom Parker type who becomes
involved with siamese twins, who have the power to heal. A
story with dark sexual undercurrents and a genuinely
shocking climax is reward for patient listening.
The music plays second fiddle at times (thus the release of
an instrumental version), but is very nicely done. Their
Early Years is a highlight for me, a great little story
about the twins' upbringing and the time they gained
respect by bringing a dog back to life. The last track on
the album, Pain And Pleasure, is another wonderful
bittersweet piece. Snakefinger was to have contributed some
guitar parts but, alas, it was not to be.
This was another change for The Residents. It's a very
mature and thoughtful work with subtle instrumentation;
perhaps a bid to be taken seriously, at a time where they
were being dismissed by the accursed music press as
conceptual jokers.