1990
CUBE-E
LIVE IN HOLLAND
Album
E-Z PIECE ONE:
BUCKAROO BLUES
From the Plains
to Mexico
The Theme from Buckaroo Blues
The Stampede
The Trail Dance
Bury Me Not
Cowboy Waltz
Saddle Sores
The Theme from Buckaroo Blues (reprise)
E-Z PIECE TWO:
BLACK BARRY
The Gospel Truth
Shortnin' Bread
Black Barry
Forty-Four
Engine 44
New Orleans
Voodoo Queen
What am I Gonna Do
Organism
E-Z PIECE THREE:
THE BABY KING
Ober
The Baby King 1
Don't Be Cruel
Devil in Disguise
Burning Love
Teddy Bear
Love Me Tender
The Baby King 11
Hound Dog/Out
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HISTORICAL CONTEXT*
When Tele-5 (a TV network in
Munich, Germany) commissioned a live performance from the Residents in 1989,
they responded with a huge, elaborate revue, Cube-E: The History of American
Music in 3 E-Z Pieces. The group presented a three-prong theory of American
music: that it began in the 1800s with 1) Cowboy music and 2) Negro spirituals,
that the two evolved and merged into 3) Elvis Presley, where American music
ended with British co-opting of Presely's vision. Cube-E became a live
show of dancers, costumes, sets, and even a scripted dialogue, that toured Europe
and parts of the United States before returning to Europe for an enthusiastically-received
second tour.
The Residents refused to wear
the eyeball and skull costumes on the road—even to the point of having
it written into their contracts—except for one brief dance number in which
they appeared in large caricature-ish versions. The group felt that their trademark
wardrobe was overshadowing their art. However, costumes or no, Cube-E
was their most critically and commercially successful stage work to date. The
ambitious production eventually spun off this live album, a studio album (The
King and Eye), and a studio single ("From
the Plains to Mexico"), and has since been regarded as one of the Residents'
watershed accomplishments.
REVIEW
RATING: 9
The articles I've read, video
I've seen, and music I've heard lead me to believe that Cube-E would
be an undebated 10...if I could see it. But, as with the unhappy lessons of
The Mole Show, I can't see it. A smorgasbord
for the eyes doesn't translate well to CD, so, with a missing dimension, 9 is
the best we could hope for here.
9 it is, and with a vengeance.
How many times have you heard an artist say, "I'm going to do the history
of American music," then actually pull it off? I know the approach here
seems oversimplified, but listen hard: "Buckaroo Blues" has not-so-subtle
hints at the developments of country, folk, and Tin Pan Alley. "Black Barry"
flourishes with jazz piano, blues guitar, and unrestrained gospel celebration.
"The Baby King" has all of it. And, the whole overarching thing has
the sounds of the American avant-garde, from Partch to Beefheart.
Which brings me to another important
question: how many times have you heard an artist make MIDI and synthesized
drums sound INTERESTING?
The Residents do. Don't ask
me how, but they do. I'm sure the source material helps: Elvis, cowboys, and
the African-American tradition ("Black Barry," the section of slave
spirituals, could merit a 7 or 8 all by itself) are not exactly lightweights
(no snide comments on Elvis). But then, neither is the Residents' genius, and
it's in full force for Cube-E.
Any complaints? Well, I would
like to hear the full performance of "The Baby King," but we've got
The King and Eye for that—though
frankly, the little bit on Cube-E blows the studio album out of the
water. I can't imagine what it, or any other piece for that matter, would have
been like with the lighting, costumes, props and sets, and choreography.
All of which is to say that,
while this live album itself may not be a full-blown masterpiece, it's a sizable
chunk of a full-blown masterpiece. That makes it a force to be reckoned with,
and an essential Residents work to be sure.
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