| Santa Dog | |
| Type: | EP |
| Artist: | Residents, Uninc. |
| Cover: | SantaDog.jpg |
| Released: | 20 December 1972[1] |
| Recorded: | 1972 |
| Length: | 11:09 |
| Label: | Ralph Records |
| Next Title: | Meet the Residents |
| Next Year: | 1974 |
| Chronology: | The Residents |
Santa Dog is the debut extended play by the American art rock group the Residents, credited as Residents, Uninc. Released on the Christmas season of 1972, it is one of the Residents' most notorious releases, with the title track (originally published as "Fire") being one of their most well-known songs. Most copies of the EP were sent to close friends, family and celebrity figures such as Frank Zappa and Richard Nixon, the latter refusing his copy.
The music on the EP mostly consists of short percussive pieces, surrealist lyrics and chants, tape loops, and even sampled music (which was not common practice in 1972). Every track is credited to a different fictional artist and songwriter.
The title track went on to become a sort of milestone for the Residents, being re-recorded every couple of years, usually when the group has felt their sound had changed enough. Most of these re-recordings were collected on the group's 1999 compilation, Refused.
The EP was released as a pair of 7" singles presented in a gatefold sleeve designed to look like a Christmas card from an insurance company. One single presented tracks 1 and 4 (sides A and D), while the other presented tracks 2 and 3 (sides B and C). Possibly due to poor supervision, a significant amount of copies were pressed before their varnish finish had dried, resulting in the gatefold sleeves being stuck together.
While the music on Santa Dog was eventually featured on numerous compilations (as well as featured on several reissues of Meet the Residents), the original 1972 EP is today a very rare and valuable collector's item.
All songs and lyrics written by the Residents, but credited to the fictional persons listed below.
"Santa Dog '78" was recorded in 1978 following a promotional stunt in which the Residents had returned to their San Francisco studio after allegedly having fled to Europe due to label pressures on the release of Eskimo. The single was given away to Ralph mail order customers on Christmas season of 1978. The new recording is similar in structure to the original, but features a throbbing bass synth, horns and cartoonish vocals similar in style to the music on Duck Stab / Buster & Glen.
Santa Dog '88 was released in 1988 and given away to members of UWEB, the official Residents fan club which ran from 1988 to 1993. The CD contained all four versions of "Santa Dog" which had been recorded at the time, although "Santa Dog '84" was never completed, due to dissatisfaction with the recording. Although the track was overdubbed in 1999 for the group's Refused compilation, it was still presented as unfinished. Sections of the track were used in the composition of For Elsie in 1985.
The arrangement of "Santa Dog '88" is much longer and more intricate than other versions of the song, featuring MIDI instruments in the style developed by the group in the late 1980s. The track also borrows elements of "Auld Lang Syne".
"Santa Dog '92" was recorded in 1992 and given away to members of UWEB in January 1993,[2] shortly before the fan club was dissolved.[3] It is the longest version of "Santa Dog" released, clocking in at nearly 13 minutes, and is much darker and narrative-driven than every other version of the song, featuring ring-modulated vocals and ambient sounds in a dark, atmospheric backdrop. Melodies and lyrics from the original song are scattered throughout the track, deconstructing it in a manner not unlike what the Residents had done on the Our Finest Flowers album in 1992.
In compilations since, the track has been re-titled "Where Are Your Dogs? Show Us Your Ugly!"[4]