''Duck Stab!'' is a 7-inch

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

the Residents The Residents are an American art collective and art rock band best known for their avant-garde music and multimedia works. Since their first official release, ''Meet the Residents'' (1974), they have released over 60 albums, numerous music vi ...

, released in 1978 through the

Ralph Records Ralph Records was an independent record label active between 1972 and 1989, best known for being initially run by avant-garde art collective, ''The Residents''. The name coming from the slang phrase for vomiting, "calling Ralph on the porcelain tele ...

label. The songs were later remixed and re-released (albeit in a different order) as side one of their ''

Duck Stab/Buster & Glen ''Duck Stab!/Buster & Glen'', later renamed as just ''Duck Stab'', is the fifth studio album by American art rock group The Residents, released in November 1978. It is named after the first side of the album, ''Duck Stab!'', a seven-song EP r ...

'' album.

Background

Originally a side project for the Residents, ''Duck Stab!'' is very different from the Residents' previous works, which features clear and understandable, if nonsensical lyrics, as well as crafted and complex instrumentals. Despite the primitive equipment available for them at the time, the Residents managed to create a diverse sounding record. ''Duck Stab!'' was intended to have a follow up EP titled ''Buster & Glenn,'' which would be released later in that same year. Yet, that second EP was combined with ''Duck Stab!'' to make a single album, which was done to improve the general sound quality. The record was a critical success. Whilst some noted that the Residents were approaching commercial elements with this EP, it was noted that they were purposefully avoiding others, such as a traditional chorus/verse structure.

Track listing

Reception

In an unusual turn, the Residents quickly sold out of their original pressing. ''Duck Stab!'' is considered to be a vast improvement on the previous year's ''

Fingerprince ''Fingerprince'' is the third studio album by American art rock group the Residents, released in 1977. It was allegedly intended to be a three-sided record titled ''Tourniquet of Roses,'' but due to financial difficulties in fulfilling such a pro ...

'' and the best starting point for any fan. In a review for ''

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

'', Kieran McCarthy concluded that, although the songs on ''Duck Stab!'' were sparse and strange, the release is an "essential" part of the Residents' discography.

References in Popular Culture

''Duck Stab!'' was mentioned in the 1993 song "Whiteness Thy Name Is Meltonian" from the album ''

This Leaden Pall ''This Leaden Pall'' is the fourth album by the English rock band Half Man Half Biscuit, released in 1993. The album cover features a bleak overdeveloped picture of the now demolished Hale Wood pub in Halewood, Merseyside. In 2001 it was v ...

'' by

Half Man Half Biscuit Half Man Half Biscuit are an English rock band, formed in 1984 in Birkenhead, Merseyside. Known for their satirical, sardonic, and sometimes surreal songs, the band comprises lead singer and guitarist Nigel Blackwell, bassist and singer Neil Cr ...

References

1978 EPs The Residents albums {{1970s-rock-album-stub