Front cover (censored) depicting a woman fellating a baby.
Baby Sex is a demo tape recorded in 1971, in a time before The Residents got their name. It contains various studio recordings and excerpts from the group's open mic performance at the Boarding House in San Francisco. The album presents itself as somewhat of a sound collage, taking obvious inspiration from the works of Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart. '
The demo was originally very hard to find as it was only avalible to members of the band and of course Hal Halverstadt at Warner Bros Records. The tape was heavily bootlegged during its time. It wasn’t until 2019 when the album got released as that years “Record Store Day” release where it was abrivitated to the more used “B.S”. After this release, it was later released on the “Cherry Red” compilation “A Nickle If Your Dicks This Big”, as well with”The Warner Brothers Album”.
The album marks the first appearance of guitarist / violinist Philip "Snakefinger" Lithman and The Mysterious N. Senada, who is rumored to be a mere fabrication of The Residents' lore. Both musicians also played with the group at the Boarding House performance. Other first appearances include “Peggy Honeydew” who would in the following years become a character in the ill fated “Vilenis Fats”.
This album, as well as three other proto-albums recorded between 1970 and 1971 (Rusty Coathangers for the Doctor, The Ballad of Stuffed Trigger and The Warner Bros. Album), is not considered by The Residents to be part of their legacy, mostly due to its poor quality and lack of any direction or artistic value. However, various tracks from the album have been officially released through fan-oriented compilations, and the "Eloise" poem has been present in many of The Residents' projects, such as Vileness Fats, The 13th Anniversary Show and Disfigured Night.
Track listing[]
Side One
- We Stole This Riff
- Holelottadick (Parody of "Whole Lotta Love" by Led Zeppelin)
- Baby Sex
- Deepsea Diver Song
- King Kong (F. Zappa)
- Cantaten to der Dyin Prunen
Side Two
- Somethin' Devilish
- The Fourth Crucifixion
- Hallowed Be Thy Ween, 1971
- The Sandman
- Eat Me Mother
- Eloise
- D for Doorknob
- Kamakazi Lady
Notes[]
- "The Fourth Crucifixion" contains an excerpt from a radio interview with Snakefinger and The Mysterious N. Senada. The interview was also included in the UWEB compilation, Daydream B-Liver.
- An excerpt of "Cantaten to der Dyin Prunen" was released in the UWEB Snakefinger tribute, Philip Charles Lithman a.k.a. Snakefinger. The song is also referenced in "You Yesyesyes," from The Residents' Fingerprince album.
See also[]
- ERA B4-74
- The Delta Nudes' Greatest Hiss