Buckaroo Blues

***Buckaroo Blues*** is an album by The Residents, showcasing studio demo material recorded by the group between March and October 1988. It was issued as a limited edition CD exclusively through the group's official fan club UWEB in January 1989.

The CD showcases three lengthy recordings, all of which relate to live performance projects The Residents were developing at the time; "Buckaroo Blues" (which would become the opening suite in the 1989-1990 tour Cube-E) and an unproduced live adaptation of their album *God In Three Persons*.

## History

In late 1987, inspired by the western folk music of Hank Williams they had been indulging in the previous year, The Residents purchased a genuine collection of cowboy poems and medleys, containing such famous works as "Bury Me Not" and others. Inspired by the material, the group began to compose a suite of pieces derived from the poems.

After finishing their *God In Three Persons* album in February 1988, the group began developing this material, concurrently with a live adaptation of the album. Both projects relied heavily on the use of MIDI technology, which the artists had been familiarizing themselves with since July 1987.

The Residents worked on both projects throughout much of 1988, but by Summer had grown tired of God In Three Persons, and shelved the live project. Around this same time, Torso, their European record label, invited them to perform at the 20th Anniversary Party of Dutch record store Boudisque Records. Seeing as the Buckaroo Blues material was easy enough to perform, albeit a tad short at only 20 minutes, the group agreed to appear, adding a new re-arrangement of *Land of 1000 Dances*, and *Double Shot* to the setlist. Both tracks originate from their 1976 *Third Reich 'n Roll* album, but a re-recording of Double Shot had recently been put out as a single.

This material was debuted in November 1988 with a live performance of each track, followed by reworked versions of Land of 1000 Dances and Double Shot, and a new version of *Santa Dog.*

At the same time, UWEB, had just been formed. UWEB was the official Residents fan club, which sought to provide hardcore fans of The Residents with releases not suitable for store shelves. At this point, they had released the *Santa Dog '88* EP, and *the Snakey Wake* single, which, similarly to this album, is a studio version of a live performance.

Deciding that they wanted to make Buckaroo Blues their next live project, instead of their next album, the group released the material through UWEB. This album is highly regarded among fans, but has never been re-pressed. It was oddly absent from the 2020 *Cube-E* box set.

Several months following the release of this album, *Buckaroo Blues* would become the first part of the group's touring performance *Cube-E*, followed by the similarly themed suites "Black Barry" and "The Baby King", designed in order to create an impressionistic history of modern American music.

### Studio album, EP or outtakes compilation?

The true definition of what *Buckaroo Blues* actually is, in terms of format, has been subject to some debate amongst Residents fans. Some consider it to be a limited release studio album, some an outtakes compilation, and others, an EP.

The argument for its designation as a studio album is usually as follows: *Buckaroo Blues* is a studio album because it's 49 minutes long, and contains material recorded entirely following the release of their fifteenth studio album, *God In Three Persons*. Those supporting its designation as a compilation album suggest that, since the tracks are largely conceptually unrelated, the release must be a compilation.

Those arguing that the release is an EP suggest that, despite the release's length exceeding that of many LPs at the time, as it only contains three tracks (two of which are described as "bonus tracks" on The Residents' official website) then it must be an EP or single, and not an album at all.

## Track listing

1. Buckaroo Blues (19:46)
	1. Theme From Buckaroo Blues
	2. Stampede
	3. Trail Dance
	4. Bury Me Not
	5. Cowboy Waltz
	6. Saddle Sores
	7. Theme From Buckaroo Blues (Reprise)
2. Land of 1000 Dances / Double Shot (13:09)
3. God In Three Person's Over (9:56)

## Credits

* **(P) + (C):** Cryptic Corporation
* **Manufactured By:** UWEB

## See also

* *The King & Eye*
* *God In Three Persons*
* "Black Barry"
* *Buckaroo Blues & Black Barry*
* Cube-E

## External links and references

* *Buckaroo Blues* at The Residents Historical
* *Buckaroo Blues* at Discogs

1. ↑ Cube-E - Historical - The Residents

**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