Snakefinger, the eccentric British guitarist who often collaborated with even more eccentric American friends the Residents, had his own unique vision of music, and this album lays out the components of that vision beautifully. It opens with "The Model", a Kraftwerk cover, which only hints at what is to come. Excellent riffage and interesting production. It is followed by "Kill the Great Raven", which introduecs Snakefinger's bizarre sense of humor. "Jesus was a Leprechaun" is even more bizarre and funny, a sacreligious in-joke, and possessive of yet more fine riffage. "Here Come the Bums" seems to expose the songwriter's fear of vagrants ("They're gonna get me, gonna get me..."). The next three songs comprise what I think is the high point of the album: "The Vivian Girls", a Beefheart-esque descent into revisionist sci-fi; "Magic and Ecstasy", a breathless, breakneck Ennio Morricone cover; and "Who is the Culprit and Who is the Victim?" is utterly unique in the annals of rock, a song that could very well have come straight from the head of Travis Bickle (main character in TAXI DRIVER). That isn't to say that the rest of this album is anticlimactic: "What Wilbur?" is another weird atonal rock number. "Picnic in the Jungle" is an apocalyptic rocker. "Frendly Warning" is incredible, with some of the best riffs I've heard in a rock song. "I Love Mary", another cover, is light and eccentric, probably a lesser number on the album. And then we have "Vultures of Bombay", and a more beautiful way to end a pop album would be hard to conceive. If you love rock music but are looking for something different, I highly recommend Snakefinger's CHEWING HIDES THE SOUND and its followup GREENER POSTURES, which continues his move toward more large-scale conceptual works without losing the song craftsmanship of this album. Snakefinger has a strange relationship with the electric guitar, but a beautiful one, and his soloing is often mind-boggling... "How the hell did he do that?" Though the Residents co-wrote all the originals and produced, you don't have to be a fan of theirs to appreciate Snakefinger. In the context of avant-rock, underground, new wave, or whatever you want to call it, Snakefinger's CHEWING HIDES THE SOUND is a lost classic, and should transcend all eras, styles, and trends to the serious rock fan. Hope you enjoy it.
