God In Three Persons

UNCLE WILLIE'S HIGHLY OPINIONATED GUIDE TO THE RESIDENTS

God in Three Persons is a tremendously complex piece of writing—almost a Residents novel in its length and symbolic depth of meaning. The album seemed to present “the new Residents.” Several things seemed particularly modern and different about their approach. For one thing, it was the first Residents album conceived especially for CD, a full 60 minutes instead of the 40 minute playing time of conventional albums. It was also the first Residents album recorded for a label other than Ralph. It was created for the better distributed and far blander RYKO Disc label.
It was pointed out that The Residents had a new sound because in 1988 their studio was no longer a “mad scientist laboratory” but had become an “instrument under perfect control.” The group themselves wrote this off as an inevitable by-product of their artistic maturity. As a result, the music here is not earth shattering, but orderly, pleasant, and workman-like in its craftsmanship. Anyone who bought this album looking for the maniacal music of The Residents' past would have been sorely disappointed.
But the music was also subtle to suit a purpose. This was a soundtrack—incidental, and therefore subordinate, to the narration it accompanies. The music functions as emotional embellishment to the narration or to create atmosphere.
The most important element of their new sound (for this project, at least) was the appearance of The Residents first totally coherent lyrics. On the surface, the album tells the story of a pair of androgynous Siamese twins and the sado-masochistic cowboy who loves them. The narrative tells the story of their first meeting, the cowboy’s (aka Mr. X) and the twins personal histories, Mr. X’s exploitation of the twins talents as faith healers, and the trio’s furtive sexual dalliances. All of this builds to a spectacular and disturbing climax.
Symbolically, however, the story conveys deeply profound meanings. The characters personify the interrelationships and conflicts between the Western trinity and Eastern duality. Mr. X is a cowboy (cowboys being the stereotypical inhabitants of “the West”) and the twins are Siamese (Siam being in the East).
Like the yin and yang of Eastern religion, the twins are both male and female, submissive and dominant, worldly and naïve. Like the yin and yang, these qualities in the twins are in a constant state of flux, with neither twin completely male or female.
Mr. X, being a very masculine and heterosexual representation of God, naturally falls in love with the twins, seeing only their sweet, submissive feminine characteristics. Before long, though, he begins to recognize the maleness that is swimming around in their being, and schemes to split the two with a razor, hopefully confining each gender to a separate half.
In the album's climax, Mr. X confronts the twins. They mock him, forcing him to realize that the twins are not necessarily virginal and innocent, but are also worldly and experienced. He realizes that the twins who had been his slaves were now his masters. He realizes (to his shock) that the love for what he perceived to be the female part of the twins, he had also felt for the inseparably male part of the twins, and that by extension, his love for the twins was both heterosexual and homosexual. In a stroke of pure genius, The Residents wrote a composition in which Mr. X is forced to see that he too, is composed of a duality of emotion and beliefs. The realization that homosexuality is part of this make-up forces him to understand that his passion for the twins is comprised of both love and hate.
In the literal interpretation of the story, Mr. X, in a fit of anger, violently seperates the twins. In the figurative story, Mr. X is desperately trying to maintain his unique identity rather than merge into the duality that his trinity cosmology denies. He divides them in a futile attempt to maintain the trinity, but it is impossible—he merges with them in a bizarre sadomasochistic sex act.
The sex act combines all the dualities—love and hate, tenderness and violence, heterosexuality and homosexuality, sin and purity, earthiness and transcendence.
Ironically, but all too appropriately, in the album’s resolution, the three of them are now separate and united. The connection was both temporary and permanent. They are still a trinity, but are also a duality. All these dualities will forever remain separate but inseparable. Groovy, isn’t it?
- Sinister Scratcher




Holy Kiss Of Flesh

"Holy Kiss Of Flesh" is an almost danceable, entirely newly recorded cover version of "Kiss of Flesh" from The Residents' God In Three Persons project.

Inspired by "Holy, Holy, Holy", text by Reginald Heber (1735-1826), tune by John Baccus Dykes (1823-1876).



Holy Kiss Of Flesh RMX





Double Shot


1 Double Shot (3:52)
2 Loss Of Loved One (Extended Version) (5:37)
3 Kiss Of Flesh (Instrumental) (9:09)

"Double Shot", though not from "God In Three Persons", served as inspiration for this Residents epic.
"Loss of Loved One" and "Kiss of Flesh" are adapted from The Residents' recording, "God In Three Persons".



God In Three Persons 2LP(1988)

This work is a true masterpiece.
An epic opera of sorts and far too complicated to explain with this here comment.
The themes covered are the opposites in identity, the Yin, The Yang; good & evil, female/male, dark & light of eastern, and Zoroastrian, proportions complimented with western images of the Holy Trinity and the divisions of the individual and the self from the world around and the forms of unification we adopt (Sado-masochism being one of the more perverse forms covered).
Musically, the piece is utterly amazing and has to be listened to as a whole. (The fact that the Residents never make LPs that are NOT concept albums makes it very difficult indeed to ever make Best Of compilations). There is the recurrent leit motif/refrain which appeared on their Double Shot single that was released at the same time but does not appear as part of this work. Also, amongst 4 or 5 of the tracks, guest singer Laurie Amats layered voice, which sounds almost like a female chorus, warns of us the impending climax: "Somethings coming....somethings coming....but not real soon" is the first of these. The aforementioned impending climax of the release is the last two tracks and the whole of the LP is designed as a build-up towards those final scenes.
The sounds themselves are always as cutting edge as you would expect from these sonic pioneers, with lush production and expansive synth sounds and, of course, very strange noises are always around the corner somewhere.
I cant really do the release justice with this little comment because its just so complex and on so many levels. It is so completely full of metaphor and symbolism (even the artwork and symbols representing each of the tracks on the inner sleeve are mind-bogglingly profound) that my words are trivial in comparison.
All I will leave you with is the fact that these guys (or are they female?) are geniuses. Unfathomable respect is due. Amen!!
mach1ne,

•Main Titles (God In Three Persons)
•Hard & Tenderly
•Devotion?
•The Thing About Them
•Their Early Years
•Loss Of A Loved One
•The Touch
•The Service
•Confused (By What I Felt Inside)
•Fine Fat Flies
•Time
•Silver, Sharp And Could Not Care
•Kiss Of Flesh
•Pain And Pleasure


God In Three Persons Over from the Buckaroo Blues CD.
Also ncluded on this disc are also two rare recordings, Land of 1000 Dances [13:00] and God in Three Person's Over [10:00], the original sketch for an overture for a live production of "God in 3 Persons." and the only available studio recording of the complex wild west Buckaroo Blues suite [20:00]. The piece was a prominant aspect of the "CUBE E" live show in 1989-90.



God In 3 Persons - Original Soundtrack Recording (1988)


A1 Main Titles (God In Three Persons) (3:38)
A2 Hard & Tenderly (3:44)
A3 The Thing About Them (3:25)
A4 Their Early Years (2:43)
A5 Loss Of A Loved One (3:10)
A6 The Touch (2:08)
B1 The Service (Part 1) (2:51)
B2 The Service (Part 2) (1:28)
B3 Confused By What I Felt Inside (5:37)
B4 Kiss Of Flesh (9:25)
B5 Pain & Pleasure (2:00)

All tracks are re-mixed and edited instrumental arrangements from
"God In Three Persons"