ESKIMO

It's really easy to dismiss something like this album as a bunch of noise thrown together in an afternoon. Even by progressive-rock standards, Eskimo is avant-garde. It makes Zappa sound like a pandering pop-peddler. And even if the Residents had a tiny fanbase, their music could still be art - - but I'm willing to concede that their music speaks to far too many people to simply be an inside joke.

Right?

Eskimo is creative, and even clever, in concept, but it eventually wears thin. I'll admit, too, to being unnerved by some of the animal noises - - maybe that's part of my ambivalence about the album. I should also say that for some reason, Eskimo struck me as having a plot similar to that of Nancy Kress's sci-fi novel Steal Across the Sky, which is something that endeared me toward the album. The story in the liner notes turns out to be totally different, of course.

Ultimately, there just isn't enough substance here for a forty-minute album, although there's nothing about the concept, per se, which should limit it. Two stars for audacity and originality.