God In Three Persons

***God in Three Persons*** is the fifteenth studio album by The Residents, released March 21st 1988 on compact disc by Rykodisc*. God In Three Persons* tells the story of Mr. X, a disgraced evangelist who discovers a pair of conjoined twins with miraculous healing abilities.

The album was The Residents' first to be conceived with the compact disc format in mind, although it was also issued on vinyl as a double album by Ryko Analogue. It was supported by the release of the related EPs "Double Shot" and "Holy Kiss of Flesh", and the instrumental *God In Three Persons Soundtrack*, in a campaign spanning March to August 1988.

In the years since its release, *God In Three Persons* has remained popular among fans and associates of the group. A theatrical adaptation of the album debuted in Bourges, France in April 2019, with additional performances in San Francisco and at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in January 2020, and in San Francisco in May 2022. Further performances are currently planned for April 2024 in the United Kingdom.

## History

### Background

In 1987, The Residents were slowly struggling through the third installment of their planned ten album American Composers Series, and perhaps had lost interest, so when one Resident said, "Hey, I'm tired of this two sided record stuff! Why don't we make an album specifically for compact disc? That's got one side all the way, baby!" the other Residents all frantically nodded in approval, and began to write an epic hour long concept album about gender identity, religion, and Siamese twins.

One of the earliest pieces written during these sessions was a 23 minute instrumental piece composed by The Singing Resident, entitled "Knot In A Million Years", which was shortened down to the five minute "Loss of a Loved One". Following this, a rough demo tape of the material was recorded, featuring Hardy Fox on lead vocals and slightly different arrangements from the final album. The Residents had left space in the arrangements for their long-time collaborator, guitarist Snakefinger, who was on tour in Europe at the time.

In June 1987, Hardy Fox and Snakefinger both appeared on the Dutch radio program *Beautiful Extremes*, where Fox premiered The Residents' latest demo tape, recorded between January and June 1987. The tape contained material from the unfinished projects *Man*, Part Three of The Mole Trilogy, and four instrumental tracks from *God In Three Persons,* "Hard & Tenderly", "Loss of a Loved One" and "Their Early Years". Sadly, Snakefinger's tour was cut tragically short when he died of a heart attack in Linz, Austria on July 1st 1987.

In Summer 1987, the children's TV program *Pee-wee's Playhouse* moved from its New York studio to Hollywood, California, and The Residents were commissioned to score select episodes of the show's second season. It was here where they were introduced to MIDI technology and digital audio workstations. After experimenting with it in their episode scores, they began incorporating it into a private project, The Snakey Wake, a loving tribute to Snakefinger, which was performed live on August 24th. They then continued production on God In Three Persons, utilizing the new technology.

#### Collaborators

A local female vocalist, Laurie Amat, had been grandfathered into the sessions after she worked with the group on their abandoned Sun Ra & Ray Charles album. This would be the first of her many collaborations with The Residents, with her most recent work being on their 2020 God In Three Persons Live performances.

Composer, performer and friend of Snakefinger Richard Marriott, had also been brought in to provide brass and woodwind instruments. The sessions were produced by The Cryptic Corporation.

The album was completed in February 1988.

## Concept

    The narrative of *God In Three Persons* is detailed in the album's lyrics, written in trochaic octameter (the same meter as the well-known poem "The Raven" by Edgar Allen Poe) and delivered in the first person by The Singing Resident in the guise of the album's protagonist, Mr. X, a Colonel Tom Parker-type character and disgraced evangelist. X is accompanied throughout with occasional commentary sung by Laurie Amat, who acts as a "Greek Chorus" (and sings the album's "opening credits").

X discovers a pair of conjoined twins who have miraculous healing powers. He convinces the twins to let him manage their careers, touring them as holy healers and conducting services in which they cure the masses. He begins to lust after the "female" twin, before discovering that the twins' sexes are in fact fluid and interchangeable, rather than fixed.

Realizing that the twins are far more worldly than he had believed, and therefore less under his control, X conducts a vicious rape in which he severs the connection between the two, separating them forever. In the end, he realises that his feelings for the twins were not being imposed on him by the twins, but came from within himself.

## Release

Due to financial problems being faced by Ralph Records, The Residents had to back away from the label which they had founded sixteen years prior, and instead signed to Rykodisc on a one-album deal. *God In Three Persons* was released March 21st 1988 on compact disc by Rykodisc in America. Although it was initially planned as a CD-only release, a double LP edition of the album (on transparent vinyl) was issued by Ryko Analogue on May 23rd.

In the Netherlands the CD and vinyl editions of the album were released by Torso; the first Torso CD pressing suffered from sound quality issues, leading to a second pressing being issued shortly thereafter. Homer Flynn and Hardy Fox of The Cryptic Corporation promoted the release of the album with a series of interviews with publications including *Music and Sound Output*.

### "Potato chips"

Before the release of the album, The Residents had the idea to release *God In Three Persons* in multiple formats, in the same way a potato chip would be sold in different flavors. Aside from the album, The Residents envisioned an EP, an "instrumental excerpts" variant of the album, and a dance remix single. When the idea was pitched to Rykodisc and Torso, neither company was too fascinated with the concept, but both reluctantly agreed.

### Reissues

*God In Three Persons* was first reissued in 2000 by East Side Digital in the US; in Europe it was reissued by Euro Ralph as part of a two disc set which also included the *God In Three Persons Soundtrack*. It was reissued on CD again in 2015 by MVD Audio.

#### pREServed CD edition (2019)

An expanded, three CD pREServed edition of *God In Three Persons* was released August 9th 2019 by Cherry Red Records, MVD Audio and New Ralph Too. The first set in the series to feature three discs (as opposed to two), the pREServed *God In Three Persons* features a new remaster of the original album by engineer Scott Colburn, accompanied by the "Double Shot" and "Holy Kiss of Flesh" singles and *God In Three Persons Soundtrack*.

The set also includes additional, previously unreleased material such as the 22 minute suite "Knot In A Million Years", and a collection of pre-production demos with guide vocals from The Residents' long-time engineer and composer Hardy Fox.

## Reception

### Contemporary

Reviews of *God In Three Persons* at the time of its release were mixed, with many reviews and features apparently more focused on The Residents' eyeball masks and anonymity rather than their music, although *Rolling Stone* called the album "no less than a Residential *Tommy*", and Reflex magazine promoted the album with a six page feature in which writer Sam Ryder praised "the way the story just sort of floats in the music... The more you hear, the more you start to see it like a movie in your head, especially when you listen to it with the headphones on."

### Retrospective

Freelance music reviewer Mark Prindle received the album positively, describing it as "on the whole... one of their most intelligent records". Prindle saved particular praise for the album's lyrics, which he described as "by the by... pretty goddamned brilliant", while noting that the spoken-word style of the vocals "may grow a bit tiresome to some listeners".

## Legacy

In the years since its release, *God In Three Persons* has become one of the most celebrated of The Residents' post-"classic" era albums, and has remained popular among both fans and associates of the group. At the time of its release, the album was described by Homer Flynn of The Cryptic Corporation as "probably the most sophisticated thing they've done. In terms of impact, this is easily the strongest thing since *Eskimo* and *The Commercial Album*, and maybe The Residents' most powerful work of all."

At the end of 2007, the album received the most votes in Big Brother's "Favorite Top 10" poll of seven selected Cryptic associates and fans (including Homer Flynn and Hardy Fox), with six of the seven selecting it for their personal lists of favorite Residents projects. The album also received four separate mentions in the second, more detailed survey Big Brother conducted on himself and five other "random" participants in February 2009.

### *God In Three Persons Live*

The Residents had briefly intended to follow the release of *God In Three Persons* with a live theatrical adaptation of the album, and even got as far as writing an overture to the show, but the idea was abandoned when the group chose instead to develop Cube-E in 1989.

The Residents revisited the idea in April 2019, with the debut of a new performance based on the album in Bourges, France. This production featured The Singing Resident in the lead role of Mr. X.

Four American performances followed, with genderqueer artist Jiz Lee in the dual role of the twins; a preview at The Lab in San Francisco and three shows at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in in January 2020. These performances featured a new and fully re-orchestrated version of *God In Three Persons* (complete with overture), with contributions from long-time collaborator Joshua Raoul Brody. Partly funded by an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign, the show also featured video projections from John Sanborn, and costumes and set design by Leigh Barbier.

Three further performances of the show - this time in its "final, definitive" version, featuring every song from the album, including the previously omitted "Their Early Years", "Loss of a Loved One" and "Fine Fat Flies" - followed in San Francisco in May and June 2022. A special performance of the show in May 2022 was filmed for an upcoming video release supported by another Indiegogo campaign; the video, *God In 3 Persons Live*, was released April 21st 2023 on DVD and Blu-ray.

Three German performances of the show were planned for September 2021, alongside an exhibition of the work of John Sanborn at the ZKM Center for Art and Media in Karlsruhe, but these shows were ultimately cancelled due to logistical issues relating to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In September 2023, The Residents announced a mini-tour of five God In 3 Persons Live shows taking place across the United Kingdom in April 2024.

## Track listing

*All tracks composed by The Residents unless otherwise noted.*

### Rykodisc CD release (1988)

1. Main Titles (God In Three Persons) (3:51)
2. Hard & Tenderly (4:41)
3. Devotion? (3:20)
4. The Thing About Them (4:03)
5. Their Early Years (4:40)
6. Loss of a Loved One (4:50)
7. The Touch (3:45)
8. The Service (5:22)
9. Confused (By What I Felt Inside) (4:36)
10. Fine Fat Flies (4:04)
11. Time (1:11)
12. Silver, Sharp and Could Not Care (3:00)
13. Kiss of Flesh (9:39)
14. Pain and Pleasure (4:33)

### Rykodisc vinyl release (1988)

#### Disc One

##### Side A

1. Main Titles (God In Three Persons) (3:51)
2. Hard & Tenderly (4:41)
3. Devotion? (3:20)
4. The Thing About Them (4:03)

##### Side B

1. Their Early Years (4:40)
2. Loss of a Loved One (4:50)
3. The Touch (3:45)

#### Disc Two

##### Side C

1. The Service (5:22)
2. Confused (By What I Felt Inside) (4:36)
3. Fine Fat Flies (4:04)
4. Time (1:11)
5. Silver, Sharp and Could Not Care (3:00)

##### Side D

1. Kiss of Flesh (9:39)
2. Pain and Pleasure (4:33)

### pREServed CD edition (2019)

#### Track listing

##### Disc One - *God In Three Persons* Plus "Double Shot"

1. Main Titles (God In Three Persons) (3:53)
2. Hard And Tenderly (4:36)
3. Devotion? (3:36)
4. The Thing About Them (4:05)
5. Their Early Years (4:39)
6. Loss Of A Loved One (4:50)
7. The Touch (3:31)
8. The Service (5:02)
9. Confused (By What I Felt Inside) (4:38)
10. Fine Fat Flies (4:27)
11. Time (1:18)
12. Silver, Sharp And Could Not Care (3:04)
13. Kiss Of Flesh (9:39)
14. Pain And Pleasure (4:36)
15. Double Shot (Of My Baby's Love (Smith/Vetter) (3:54)
16. G3P Over (9:56)

##### Disc Two - Original Soundtrack Recording Plus "Knot in a Million Years"

1. Main Titles (God In Three Persons) (3:37)
2. Hard And Tenderly (3:46)
3. The Thing About Them (3:23)
4. Their Early Years (2:43)
5. Loss Of A Loved One (3:09)
6. The Touch (2:10)
7. The Service (Part 1) (2:55)
8. The Service (Part 2) (1:30)
9. Confused (By What I Felt Inside) (4:36)
10. Kiss Of Flesh (9:23)
11. Pain And Pleasure (1:59)
12. Knot In A Million Years (22:59)

##### Disc Three - G3P Ephemera

1. Main Titles (Demo) (3:20)
2. Devotion? (Demo) (2:51)
3. The Thing About Them (Demo) (4:11)
4. Loss of a Loved One (Demo) (3:31)
5. The Touch (Demo) (2:04)
6. The Service (Demo) (3:55)
7. Confused (By What I Felt Inside) (Demo) (3:19)
8. Loss of a Loved One (Extended) (5:43)
9. Holy Kiss of Flesh (Single Mix) (16:05)
10. Land of 1000 Dances / Double Shot (Kenner/Smith/Vetter) (13:13)
11. Their Early Years (Live) (5:18)
12. Hard And Tenderly (Live) (5:14)

## Liner notes

### pREServed CD edition (2019)

GOD IN THREE PERSONS was The Residents' first recording project designed from the outset for release on CD, the group being immediately intrigued by the format's capacity to play from beginning to end without a break, allowing for a different organisational form which might, they hoped, influence their compositional approach and enable a new kind of work.

The story is narrated in the first person by Mr. X, accompanied throughout by instrumental music and a commentary sung in the style of a "Greek Chorus".

Among the recurring melodies heard throughout the music are The Swingin' Medallions' 'Double Shot (Of My Baby's Love)' and the hymn 'Holy, Holy, Holy', by Reginald Heber and John Baccus Dykes. The hymn also provided the album's title.

GOD IN THREE PERSONS was written as a theatrical piece. As such, the musical background must at times assume a supportive role to prevent it from competing with the story. While this is consistent with the project concept, some excellent music is, at times, felt to be lost in the epic.

Following precedents set by the motion picture soundtrack and modern marketing techniques, The Residents are thus pleased to include an 'Instumental Excerpts' version of the album. The group created this 'soundtrack' as an instrumental, meta-Muzak version of their epic tone poem, and specifically requested it be included in this set.

*New Ralph Too*

## Credits

### Original release (1988)

* **Composed, Arranged & Performed by:** The Residents
* **Song Stylist**: Laurie Amat
* **Brass & Woodwinds**: Richard Mariott
* **Package Design**:PornoGraphics
* **Cover Photography**: Henrik Kam

### East Side Digital reissue (2000)

* **Produced by**: The Cryptic Corporation

## See also

* *God In Three Persons Soundtrack*
* *Holy Kiss of Flesh*
* *Double Shot*
* God In 3 Persons - Live!
* *God In 3 Persons* (live album)
* *God In 3 Persons Live* (video)

## Notes

1. ↑ Also features an uncredited demo version of "Time".

## External links and references

* *God In Three Persons* at The Residents Historical
* *God In Three Persons* at RZWeb (archived via archive.org)
* *God In Three Persons* at Discogs
* *God In Three Persons* pREServed edition at Cherry Red Records

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Ian Shirley, *Never Known Questions: Five Decades of The Residents*, Cherry Red Books, 2016
2. ↑ Mark Prindle, "God In Three Persons", Mark's Record Reviews, ca. 1996-2001 (archived May 1st 2023 by archive.org)
3. ↑ "Favorite Top 10", Big Brother, The Last Word, The Residents Historical, December 5th-14th 2007
4. ↑ "Favorite Top Ten", Big Brother, The Last Word, The Residents Historical, February 1st 2009
5. ↑ God In 3 Persons - Live! at Indiegogo

**Ralph Records (1972 - 1987)**
*Meet The Residents* (1974) · *The Third Reich 'n Roll* (1976) · *Fingerprince* (1977) · *Duck Stab!/Buster & Glen* (1978)*Not Available* (1978) · *Eskimo* (1979) · *Commercial Album* (1980) · *Mark of the Mole* (1981) *The Tunes of Two Cities* (1982) · *George & James* (1984) · *The Big Bubble* (1985) · *Stars & Hank Forever!* (1986)
**Ryko and Enigma (1988 - 1989)**
***God In Three Persons*** (1988) · *The King & Eye* (1989)
**East Side Digital (1990 - 2002)**
*Freak Show* (1990) · *Our Finest Flowers* (1992) · *Gingerbread Man* (1994) · *Have A Bad Day* (1996) *Wormwood* (1998) · *Demons Dance Alone* (2002)
**Mute Records (2004 - 2007)** *Animal Lover* (2005) · *Tweedles!* (2006) · *The Voice of Midnight* (2007)
**MVD Audio (2008 - 2015)**
*The Bunny Boy* (2008) · *Lonely Teenager* (2011) · *Mush-Room* (2013)
**MVD Audio and Cherry Red (2016 - present)** *The Ghost of Hope* (2017) · *Intruders* (2018) · *Metal, Meat & Bone* (2020)

**Fan club / off-label albums**
*Buckaroo Blues* (1989) · *The 12 Days of Brumalia* (2004) · *Night of the Hunters* (2007)*Hades* (2009) · *Dollar General* (2010) · *Night Train To Nowhere!* (2012)
**Soundtrack albums**
*Whatever Happened To Vileness Fats?* (1984) · *The Census Taker* (1985) · *Hunters* (1995) · *Icky Flix* (2001) *I Murdered Mommy!* (2004) · *Postcards From Patmos* (2008) ·  *Strange Culture/Haeckel's Tale* (2010)*Chuck's Ghost Music* (2011) · *Theory of Obscurity Soundtrack* (2014) · *Sculpt* (2016) · *Music to Eat Bricks By* (2019) · *Triple Trouble* (2022)
**Collaborative albums**
*Title In Limbo* with Renaldo & The Loaf (1983) · *I Am A Resident!* with You? (2018)
**Live in the studio**
*Assorted Secrets* (1984) · *Roadworms: The Berlin Sessions* (2000) · *Talking Light Live In Rehearsal, Santa Cruz, California* (2010)*Mole Dance 82* (2021) · *Duck Stab! Alive!* (2021)
**Related articles**
The Residents discography (W.E.I.R.D., 1979) · Ralph Records discography