THE GINGERBREAD MAN is the story or, maybe more accurately, one of the many journeys of an entity that visits the minds of human beings, and spies upon their thoughts. In the center of these personalities, the Gingerbread Man finds each person's individual brain song, an infectious piece of pop music that floats around in their mind. The Gingerbread Man recognizes this brain song as a human's unconscious attempt at creating order in the quagmire of chaos constantly confusing its mental condition. Because of his ultimately detached position, The Gingerbread Man has no real emotional stake in the lives of these people, but they do represent an ongoing sense of amusement for him. In the end he sums up his feelings toward humanity with a brief song of his own. Bonus tracks: instrumental arrangement, edited condensation.
C**6
The Residence are the Best.
For anyone who loves the Residence distinct sound this is a great one and I highly recommend it to any true fan.
K**T
Five Stars
Tastes better than the other brands!
K**N
Can't Catch Me
One of my favorite Residents albums!
C**Y
Eskimo album
to wozwood, you need to go back to Eskimo and listen again. There is a lot humor in that record. The singers start chanting "we are devo, with a response saying no you're not !!" Some of the vocals are supposed to be in another language. There is also a chant of "coca cola adds life!" JUst one thought from a long time Residents fan.3.0 out of 5 stars got Milk?!?Reviewed in the United States on January 19, 2008These guys are friggin strange! This album was surprisingly good. Considering the thrashing it has taken from some of the reviewers, I went in not expecting much. Every song begins with the same melody but ends with the same different melody. Its hard to explain. In between those melodies is your typical Residents' style that doesn't fail. Not their best, and certainly not their worst (I think Eskimo REALLY sucks).
J**D
Phenomenal
I had the first 8 Res records , but i had too many other favorite bands and individuals exploring avant garde beauty and weirdness ; i confess that i misjudged them and am ashamed , and now return to the Residents after a long absence. Gingerbread Man is beautiful and i am grateful that i finally woke up to the Charles Bobuck / Hardy Fox /Residents phenomenon .Of the many wonderful synth giants ,Hardy is as beautiful and fabulous as any ; he is a supergiant of music and I never knew anything about him until he was gone .
B**.
Concept album about 9 different characters with hidden pain
Over the years, the Residents' style has evolved from very avant-garde to more cleanly orchestrated works. You could say that "Gingerbread Man" is much more polished than older albums like "Fingerprince", but like most material from the Residents, it still has that dark, wonderfully eerie trademark to it.Each track (except for the ending epilogue) is about one of nine characters and follows a common format: 1) a short instrumental introduction that includes a recurring, catchy melody 2) a verse sung by the character that poetically sums up their pain and exhaustion with life, and finally 3) spoken comments and thoughts from the character set to music. The liner notes to the CD explains the story behind each character.I know one criticism people have had about this album is that all the songs sound too similar. But I honestly think the repetition purposely fits here to make a musical/opera kind of format, where each chapter of the story begins with the same catchy melody. Scores for musicials tend to do this ("Cats" and The Who's "Tommy" come to mind).Also worth mentioning: a nine minute medley of the album, "Gingerbread Man Concentrate", can be found on the Residents' compilation "Our Tired, Our Poor, Our Huddled Masses." This includes 6 of the 9 character songs strung together, without the spoken dialogues. There's also a video set to this medley on their DVD, "Icky Flix". Some might actually prefer this condensed version.
S**N
Another Residential Oddity to Feed your Nightmares
Perhaps my all-time-favorite Residential album (and I got em all). Who else but The Residents can portray the Grim Reaper as a cookie/cutout Gingerbread man, who reveals the inner tortures, fears, phobias and obsessions of 9 characters, as they slide past the prime of life into their graves. "Ginger" reveals how bitter and twisted some people can become in their eternal chase of the dreams they cannot achieve. As we hear the doomsday babble of all 9 characters, "Ginger" keeps reminding us: "Run, run, fast as you can, you can't catch me, I'm the Gingerbread Man!" If you are fortunate to find the expanded CD-Rom version, get it, It will permanently freak you out as you "see" the busts of the characters and manipulate their environments.
W**D
got Milk?!?
These guys are friggin strange! This album was surprisingly good. Considering the thrashing it has taken from some of the reviewers, I went in not expecting much. Every song begins with the same melody but ends with the same different melody. Its hard to explain. In between those melodies is your typical Residents' style that doesn't fail. Not their best, and certainly not their worst (I think Eskimo REALLY sucks).
D**Y
Genius
Weird and brilliant. I put this album on when I want inspiration for my artwork. It takes me out of my normal mindset and into a creative zone.Delivery was very fast considering it came from the States. Great price too.
M**P
It goes round in your head for hours
Great album
S**W
Great Haunting Melody
This album is probably one of the most put together of the many Residents releases. The same haunting melody dominates every track...great idea...weird vocals(as usual)...great cd..Loved it !!!
A**R
Five Stars
Very good music, you can trust the Residents on that matter!
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