Continuing their series of vinyl reissues, the Residents have recently re-released their 1978 classic album Duck Stab/Buster & Glen. As to be expected with Cherry Red Record and their released, the powers that be have done it again with this vinyl reissue.
The Album Review
Taken from the Fingerprince + Duck Stab review from March 2018
In 1978, the Residents released an EP entitled Duck Stab. When the group had more material to offer, a second EP entitled Buster & Glen was planned. However, a change was made: instead of releasing a second EP, Buster & Glen was made the second side of the group’s next album- with the Duck Stab EP serving as the first side. Of the group’s first four releases, Duck Stab is perhaps the most accessible.
While their previous albums had either distorted production and/or 20 minute pieces, Duck Stab featured 14 tracks- with all of them running no longer than four minutes. With this, the album runs for 34 minutes- their shortest album at that point in time. Some of the group’s most celebrate work is on this album, including the wild frenzy of “Constantinople,” the creepy “Blue Rosebuds,” and the simply chilling “Hello Skinny.” Musically, the album fits with the new wave music that was being released in the late 1970s. If anyone were looking to get into the music of the Residents, this isn’t a bad place to start. The balance between experimentation and weirdness is fairly solid.
The Vinyl Packaging and Sound + Bonus Tracks
As with pervious entries in the series, the records for Duck Stab come packaged in spiffy looking Residents at 50 inner sleeves. For the vinyl release, the label have gone with original green colored artwork, with the standard artwork at the center. As far the sound goes, the sound quality is decent. It must be noted that when playing the main album, I found myself having to turn up the volume nearly to the maximum to have it sound decent. Similar to Fingerprince, it’s hard to determine whether this sounds better than previous vinyl pressings of Duck Stab. Personally, I think it sounds fine. Along with this, you’re getting some liner notes, which are different from the ones that came with the 2018 CDs.
The second record offers an exclusive track on side 3 entitled “Shitty Rock N Roll RDX Suite,” which is basically the “Duck Stab” portion of the album remixed as a single track. It’s nothing too special but completists should be happy to have it. For side 4, all six songs found on the first CD of the 2018 Duck Stab reissue, plus the three 1982 rehearsals found on the second CD.
Conclusion
As a whole, this pREServed edition of Duck Stab/Buster & Glen is a solid release from the Residents. While it’s hard to say if this sound better than previous vinyl pressings, the effort put into these vinyl reissues from Cherry Red are worthy of the price they go for.
I'm a writer/journalist with a passion for music and pop culture. Having graduated from King's College in Wilkes-Barre, PA in 2014, I've been looking for a platform in which I can share my passions. Since 2009, I've been posting to my own blog- The Walrus' Music Blog- via Blogger. I'm also the author of two self-published books, "The Camp: Stories from the Summer" and "The College: Stories from King's." Together, the two books cover the story of my life from 2004 to 2014. I've been lucky enough to interview several of my favorite musicians over the years and go to concerts from time to time. I'm also very devoted to the CBS reality TV show Survivor, which I started watching in 2002 when its fourth season started. I currently live in New Jersey.