Snakefinger ‎– "The Spot" (Ralph Records 7" ‎– RR7805) 1978

Snakefinger's solo debut single, attractively pressed in Blue vinyl, is his best and most commercial tune. Should have fit right in with the Post-punk flood very nicely,especially in his native UK. Anything in coloured vinyl nailed to the wall of yer local pop emporium got bought pronto, so one imagines that this shifted a few units.
'Meet The Residents' favourite "Smelly Tongues" gets a Lithman overhaul on side B to further add to this 7 incher's cred.

DOWNLOAD on the spot HERE!

Snakefinger ‎– "Manual Of Errors" (Ralph Records ‎– SN 8203) 1982

Not Lithman's best album, but still ahead of the pack by some margin in invention and creepy quirkiness. "You Sliced Up My Wife" is one of Snakefinger's best tunes, and its got classic 1980+ porno graphic's style artwork. So its a thing of great barely fathomable beauty.
After this he went on to do some awful blues stuff,in between guesting for the Residents, leading up to his untimely death in 1987.

Tracklist:
Yeti: What Are You? 4:01
Beatnik Party 3:42
The Garden Of Earthly Delights 3:00
You Sliced Up My Wife 1:59
I Followed George's Dream 5:16
Bring Back Reality 5:06
Shining Faces ("I Am Nino") 2:19
Eva's Warning 4:33
Private Universe / The Life On Nebulov 7:25

DOWNLOAD manually without error HERE!

Snakefinger ‎– "Greener Postures" (Ralph Records ‎– SN-8053-L) 1980

Snakefinger was on a roll ,post 1975, once Chilli Willi had run its course.
His second solo album for Ralph is at least the equal of "Chewing Hides The Sound", with more quirky but strange pop songs. Hummable but creepy, a rare combination indeed.

Tracklist:

Golden Goat
Don't Lie
The Man In The Dark Sedan
I Come From An Island
Jungle Princess
Trashing All The Loves Of History
Save Me From Dali
Living In Vain
The Picture Makers Vs. Children Of The Sea

DOWNLOAD from the greener pastures of the past HERE!

Snakefinger - "Chewing Hides The Sound" (Ralph Records - SNK 7909) 1979

Even though we saw pictures of Snakefinger, and knew he was in abysmally bad pub rock group Chilli Willi and the Red Hot Peppers, there was still an aire of mystery about him. Like most artists featured on the official Buy or Die innersleeve that accompanied all Ralph releases up to 1982.
The music is typically inventive and features the trademark harmonised, pitch shifted Snakefinger guitar sound, that adorned most Residents records from that golden period.
Naturally there are many Resident contributions to this fine LP, which is justified as they were heavily  indebted to Phillip 'Snakefinger ' Lithman for his many musicianly interjections on their best recordings. As he could actually play an instrument, he was essential to compliment the Residents masterly,and monophonic, use of 'wrong notes'. They are both greatly missed, as Phil Lithman died (for real) in 1987, and the Residents died Artistically) around 1983-ish. Reside in Peace both of you.

Tracklist:

The Model 3:39
Kill The Great Raven 3:05
Jesus Was A Leprechaun 2:00
Here Comes The Bums 2:51
The Vivian Girls 2:59
Magic And Ecstasy 2:51
Who Is The Culprit And Who Is The Victim? 2:59
What Wilbur? 2:35
Picnic In The Jungle 4:00
Friendly Warning 2:39
I Love Mary 2:33
The Vultures Of Bombay 3:06

DOWNOADing reveals the sound HERE!

Art Bears ‎– "Winter Songs" (Rē Records ‎– Re 0618) 1979

On a sad day when Scotland voted NO for independence,and YES to the New World Order; I couldn't think of a Scottish band to post;but you can recheck The Prats and He's Dead Jim, 'cus they're good.

So here's another Chris Cutler group on Recommended Records instead( with Fred Frith, and Dagmar Krause). 

I was first drawn to them because they were on Ralph Records. Don't really have anything to say about this, except that it is the ambient reflection of the minds of the chin stroking types in 'Art' galleries; elitist, soul-less, cold, humourless, and intellectually intimidating. Pop this on when you want to appear 'Intellectual' to stupid people. Yes, a tad pretentious, but a cracking piece of work that wouldn't be out of place given an airing in some damp fusty crypt, or as a soundtrack to a funeral full of people the departed participant didn't like.

Tracklist:

A1	The Bath Of Stars
A2	First Things First
A3	Gold
A4	The Summer Wheel
A5	The Slave
A6	The Hermit
A7	Rats And Monkeys
B1	The Skeleton
B2	The Winter Wheel
B3	Man And Boy
B4	Winter / War
B5	Force
B6	3 Figures
B7	3 Wheels

 

DOWNLOAD some songs for a very bleak and austere winter HERE!

Various Artists - "Frank Johnson's Favorites" (Ralph Records RR8110) 1981

As selected by the Ralph records computer, a certain mr Frank Johnson(Oh those Zany chaps!). Here are his/her/its favourite Ralph Records recordings. Mostly obscure B-sides, and unreleased compositions from Ralph's band of weirdo's from around 1977 to 81. No Chrome on this one, but this is compensated for by a hefty number of Englishmen. San Francisco must have ran out of weirdo's!?

Great tracks by UK pub Rocker, Phillip Lithman, aka Snakefinger; unreleased gibberish from the medical men of Renaldo and the Loaf; a couple of Henry Cow connected numbers from Fred Frith and Art Bears; Swiss art pop from Yello; more MX-80 Sound avant rock riffage; and two decent singles from Tuxedo Moon (when they were still good).

Of course we also get a couple of excellent Residents B-Sides,which, naturally are the best, and weirdest ,of the bunch.

A great compilation to alienate your conformist friends,and to prove that you are an intellectual who can appreciate things from outside of outside the box.

Sleeve Notes:

Compilation of single B-sides and non-LP tracks selected by Frank Johnson, the Ralph Records computer (at that time):

Track A1: released as a single in 1980, never before on any LP,
Track A2: released as the B side to "Dancing In The Street" single (1980),
Track A3: never before released. Thanks to Melvyn for sitting still,
Track A4: released as a single in 1980, never before on any LP,
Track A5: released as the B side of "Satisfaction" single (1976), never before on any LP,
Track A6: released as the B side of "The Spot" single in 1978, never before on any LP,
Track B1: released as the B side of "Bimbo" single (1980), never before on any LP,
Track B2: released as the B side of "Someday You'll Be King" (1980), never before on any LP,
Track B3: released as the B side of "Man In The Dark Sedan" single (1980), never before on any LP,
Track B4: released as the second side of "The Beatles Play The Residents - The Residents Play The Beatles" single (1977), never before on any LP,
Track B5: released as the B side of "Rats And Monkeys" single (1979), never before on any LP,
Track B6: released as the B side of "What Use?" single (1980), never before on any LP.

Tracklist :

A1	–Tuxedomoon	Dark Companion	4:10
A2	–Fred Frith	What A Dilemma	3:12
A3	–Renaldo And The Loaf	Melvyn's Repose	2:05
A4	–MX-80 Sound	O Type	3:36
A5	–Residents, The	Loser = Weed	2:09
A6	–Snakefinger	Smelly Tongues	2:24
B1	–Yello	I.T. Splash	2:37
B2	–MX-80 Sound	White Night	4:17
B3	–Snakefinger	Womb To Worm	3:13
B4	–Residents, The	Flying	3:22
B5	–Art Bears	Collapse (Edited Version)	3:00
B6	–Tuxedomoon	Crash	5:26

DOWNLOAD frank johnson's favorites and make them your own HERE!

Various Artists ‎– "Subterranean Modern" (Ralph Records ‎– SM7908) 1979

"Subterranean Modern was Ralph Records' first album involving music from anyone other than The Residents or Snakefinger. The idea was to widen Ralph's appeal by bringing a greater variety of styles into the label. To this end Ralph had four band submit contributions on the theme of "San Francisco". Each was required to include a version of <a href="/artist/Tony+Bennett">Tony Bennett</a>'s I Left My Heart In San Francisco. The four bands chosen were The Residents (of course), Chrome, Tuxedomoon, and MX-80 Sound..." (notes from The Residents website)

Another fantastic compilation with The Residents on it is the near perfect “Subterranean Modern”, which was the first release on Ralph to feature 'other' bands other than The Residents. What a magnificent quartet of examples from the crusty edge of the pop-pie we have here.

The proto-industrial punk of the beyond great Chrome, the proto alt-rock pre-post punk of MX80 Sound, the unclassifiable Residents (sigh!), and Tuxedomoon from when they were good,if not great!

This is the format that best showcases The Residents, like side one of 'Fingerprince; like 'Duck Stab',like 'The Commercial Album',like 'The Tunes of Two Cities'; amongst too few other examples from the eyeball headed ones vast back catalogue, that,quite frankly, after 1984 sucked bad! They were always better,touching on genius with the shorter avant-pop format than the stretched out concepts of, for example, Eskimo.Maybe 'The Big Bubble(part Four of the Mole Trilogy)' was their last good album.Also the over embracing of the 'latest' technology also fucked up the inventiveness......as it does with everyone. Here we have The Residents at their absolute peak of strangeness.

 

Tracklist: 

A1	–Chrome	Anti-Fade	3:52
A2	–Chrome	I Left My Heart In San Francisco	0:27
A3	–Chrome	Meet You In The Subway	5:15
A4	–MX-80 Sound	Lady In Pain	2:49
A5	–MX-80 Sound	I Left My Heart In San Francisco	1:52
A6	–MX-80 Sound	Possessed	4:54
B1	–The Residents	I Left My Heart In San Francisco	2:02
B2	–The Residents	Dumbo, The Clown (Who Loved Christmas)	2:07
B3	–The Residents	Is He Really Bringing Roses? (The Replacement)	2:34
B4	–The Residents	Time's Up	2:54
B5	–Tuxedomoon	I Left My Heart In San Francisco	1:03
B6	–Tuxedomoon	Everything You Want	4:14
B7	–Tuxedomoon	Waterfront Seat	4:28

DOWNLOAD from a modern subterranean paradise from the past HERE!