Subterranean Modern

Very smart clean vinyl with a nice crisp cover.

This Ralph Records album features four groups, all from San Francisco. The a-side is shared by The Residents and sci-fi noise merchants Chrome (Damon Edge and Helios Creed), and the b-side by MX-80 Sound and Tuxedo Moon. A stipulation given to all the acts was that each should cover the old standard I Left My Heart (In San Francisco). Apart from The Residents who attacked it with relish, none of the other bands seemed very keen on the idea, Chrome, for example, offering a minute long noise collage.

The four Residents tracks form a piece called The Replacement, the story of a person whose personality is being gradually taken over by that of another. All four tracks are brilliant, especially Is He Really Bringing Roses? with its hilariously dischordant guitar riff and Time's Up, which sounds like it was recorded inside a giant clock. The vinyl is rare now but the four Rez tracks can be found on the orginal ESD CD of Eskimo and, in better quality, on the Residue Deux CD. Does anybody want some roses?