Snake Document Masquerade

by Joe Viglione Kim Fowley can't be faulted for lacking creativity, but listening to Snake Document Masquerade is a chore, and after a couple of titles one conclusion becomes obvious: He is his own worst enemy. Despite Fowley's enormous catalog of personal music, it is the work he and Dinky Dawson did with the early, pre-John Cale Modern Lovers, as well as his discovery of the Runaways and hit production of Helen Reddy, that takes precedence over outings like Snake Document Masquerade. The Antilles imprint was issuing some unique music in the late '70s, but the emphasis was on self-indulgence, and Kim Fowley is a prime example of why that formula was not conducive to selling records. "Run for Your Life" opens the disc and has a quirky bit of ingenuity; Fowley is truly in need of other ears to produce his own original music. Also, his ego gets way out of hand. A more compelling personality, like Jonathan Richman, could pull off "Don't Feed the Animals," for Richman's instinct, timing, and knack for the unexpected are all absent here. "The Saga of Hugo X" is somewhat better when a female vocalist chimes in and "Lost Like a Lizard" offers some much-needed relief. The theme to Snake Document Masquerade seems to be Fowley's look into the future; this 1979 album addresses the years 1980-1989. Again, the concept isn't bad, it's just that the failure is in the execution. If the artist was successful previous to this, the wandering lyrics and deadpan delivery would be career suicide. Since there was nothing to lose, there was no risk in issuing what is a really tough outing. Snake Document Masquerade is one of those records that makes listening to Lou Reed's ode to cacophony, Metal Machine Music, such a joy. What this record really needed was Bob Pfeifer so that he and Kim Fowley could overwhelm each other with excess. One of those rare recordings that actually gets worse the more you hear it.