Leapmus
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PLEASE GO AWAY! This recording was not intended for release. THEY HATE IT!!! |
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"Leapmus" (working title "Red")[1] is a 14 minute suite recorded in February 1976 by The Residents, a full year before the release of their 1977 album Fingerprince. It appears to have been composed as a leap year gift for Helen Hall, then wife of the group's engineer and arranger Hardy Fox.
Featuring early versions of the Fingerprince tracks "You Yesyesyes" and "Boo Who?", the "Leapmus" suite would remain unheard by the public until the release of the expanded and remastered pREServed CD edition of Fingerprince in 2018; it was later included on the double LP pREServed vinyl edition of the album in 2023.
History
"Leapmus" was recorded between 1975 and February 1976,[2] initially under the working title "Red",[1] with the final title referencing that year's leap day (February 29th). It appears to have been conceived as a self-contained suite, likely as a gift from the group's producer and arranger Hardy Fox to his (then) wife Helen Hall, and not intended for any kind of public release; the message "For Helen" is written on the master tape's cover.
Many of the musical themes and composition techniques featured in the suite would later be present on Side A of The Residents' 1977 studio album Fingerprince; "Leapmus" presents early versions of "You Yesyesyes" and "Boo Who?", which would both be further developed over October and November 1976[3] for release on the album. The "Leapmus" version of "You Yesyesyes" itself became a part of the album, in a two-and-a-half-minute edit titled "You Yesyesyes Again".
Release
"Leapmus" would remain in The Residents' archives, unknown to the wider public, until 2018, when the suite was released in its original unedited form on the pREServed CD edition of Fingerprince. According to The Mysterious Archivist, not even The Cryptic Corporation had listened to "Leapmus" before it was made public.
In 2023, "Leapmus" was released on the pREServed double LP vinyl edition of Fingerprince, where it featured as the entirety of Side D.
List of releases
- Fingerprince pREServed CD edition (2018) [Version 1]
- Fingerprince pREServed vinyl edition (2023) [Version 1]
List of versions
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sycamore Street studio recording, 1975 - February 29th 1976 (14:37)
See also
External links and references
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Yeah, Red = Leapmus." Richard Anderson, message in Mysterious Spanish, Uninc. Discord server, July 25th 2026
- ↑ Leftovers (1970-1988) liner notes, 2025
- ↑ Fingerprince pREServed vinyl edition liner notes, 2023
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Tourniquet of Roses Fingerprince / Babyfingers (1976-1979) Side A |