Wormwood
Arguably the most disturbing of the Residents' numerous darkly amusing albums,Wormwoodconsists of 18 songs (bookended by the instrumentals "In the Beginning" and "Revelation") sung by the protagonists of Old Testament tales, featuring the Israelite god Yahweh in a capricious and vengeful mood. "Bleeding is better than breathing to God," complains the daughter of Jephthah in "Burn Baby Burn," a sentiment echoed by Abraham (whom God commands to sacrifice his son to prove his faith) in "Kill Him!" Lot sleeps with his daughters, Salome gets a head, Onan spills his seed, and a mysterious disconnected finger appears in increasingly outlandish tales conveyed by means of theatrical vocals and melodramatically overwrought keyboards. Don't believe their veracity? "Look it up!" suggest the Residents, who conveniently provide chapter and verse for each and every story.--Richard Gehr