Santa Dog '84
"Santa Dog '84" is an unfinished single by The Residents, recorded in 1984 as a new iteration of the track "Fire" (aka "Santa Dog") from their 1972 debut EP. While never completed, the track remains as an unfinished "work in progress" and was first released alongside the next completed re-recording of "Fire" in 1988.
The long-unreleased single was finally issued in a private, limited lathe-cut 7" edition in October 2021 by noted Residents collector Jannis Tsakalis. The single was issued in two variants, transparent and black vinyl, with 20 copies of each.
The 2021 edition of the single also features a version of the track with vocals by Molly Harvey, and on the B-side, "Mr. Skull's New Years Eve Song" (recorded live on New Years Eve 1989).
History
The Residents had intended to record a new version of "Fire" in 1984, as it had been six years since the previous Santa Dog '78, which was six years after the initial Santa Dog EP.
However, part way through production of the 1984 version of the track, The Residents decided that they had not developed enough since the previous version to justify a new one, and that a new version of "Fire" should only be recorded when they changed outlook or style, rather than simply every six years.
As a result, the incomplete "Santa Dog '84" was scrapped, although some parts were later salvaged for use in For Elsie, and a "work in progress" version appears on the Santa Dog 88 EP, and on the 1999 compilation Refused.
Although the single was never completed, the project was far enough into development that cover art was created for it, by a graphic designer who was still a college student at the time, known as Rex Ray. Ray would later collaborate with Ralph Records and The Residents on numerous occasions, becoming one of their most frequent collaborators in the 1980s and early 1990s.
"Santa Dog '84" was excluded from the 2009 expanded re-issue of Meet The Residents, which featured all other versions of "Fire" recorded between 1972 and 1992.
Release
"Santa Dog '84" was finally released as a 7" single in October 2021, in an extremely limited private lathe-cut run, pressed by noted Residents fan and collector Jannis Tsakalis (who had earlier distributed the long-unreleased Tourniquet of Roses collectors' box set).
This edition of "Santa Dog '84" features the original cover art by Rex Ray, with a paper insert memorialising the late designer. The single was released in two variants, black and clear vinyl, with 20 copies of each being distributed privately to fans.
As well as the original unfinished version of the track, the single includes a version with vocals by Molly Harvey (who met the group years after the original recording), and on the B-side, "Mr. Skull's New Years Eve Song", recorded at the group's Cube NYE show in 1989. The version of the "New Years Eve Song" featured here has been slightly edited to fit the six-minute limit of one side of a 7" single.
Track listing
2021 private lathe-cut edition
Side A
Side B
See also
External links and references
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Santa Dog (1972) Side A: "Fire" by Ivory and the Brain Eaters · Side B: "Explosion" by The Delta Nudes |