For nearly 50 years, the art collective known as The Residents has challenged the sound and structure of Western pop music, a venture which began on record in 1974 with their debut LP, Meet The Residents. Now, the group has partnered with Cherry Red to undertake The Residents pREServed, a series of deluxe reissues of core albums in The Residents' catalogue with scores of rare and unreleased material.
Known for their unconventional sound and style as well as their deeply secretive though iconic appearance - the exact lineup of the band remains unknown, but even non-fans know their common costumes, featuring oversized eyeballs for heads on bodies clad in top hats and tails - The Residents present rock and roll at its most avant garde. Their cockeyed approach was evident from the sleeve of their debut album, which parodied Meet The Beatles. (EMI were reportedly very unhappy, while George Harrison was purported to have acquired a copy before the cover was changed with an edited stereo remix in 1977.) Their ambitious sound collages, deconstruction of familiar pop tunes and provocative imagery earned them a comparatively small but wildly devoted fan base over the decades.
Following last year's Cherry Red-distributed studio album, The Ghost of Hope, plus the career-spanning four-disc anthology 80 Aching Orphans: 45 Years of The Residents, the group and the label have begun expanding each album in The Residents discography with never-before-heard compositions and outtakes, all remastered from the original tapes - plus collectible packaging offering unseen photos and new liner notes. 1974's Meet The Residents features both mono and stereo mixes of the album, the contents of 1972's Santa Dog EP and 20 unreleased cuts, while the esoteric The Third Reich 'N Roll (1976) includes tracks from two non-LP singles (a cover of The Rolling Stones' "Satisfaction" and a deconstructed 7" of Beatles material) plus 11 unreleased studio and live highlights. Writers Ian Shirley and Jim Knipfel, respectively, have paired up with The Residents' mysterious archivist for the liner notes. Both sets are available now.
And on March 23, a second wave of pREServed releases hits stores, covering Fingerprince (1977) and Duck Stab/Buster & Glen (1978) and featuring 14 unreleased works among the 45 bonus tracks included between the sets. Knipfel and Shirley return for liner notes duties there, as well.
Full details on each release and pre-order links can be found below!
Meet The Residents: pREServed edition (New Ralph Too/MVD/Cherry Red NRT002 (U.K.), 2018)
Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
Disc 1: Original mono mix (1-12, Ralph Records RR0274, 1974), Santa Dog EP (13-16, Ralph Records RR1272, 1972), outtakes and ephemera (17-25, previously unreleased)
- Boots
- Numb Erone
- Guylum Bardot
- Breath and Length
- Consuelo's Departure
- Smelly Tongues
- Rest Aria
- Skratz
- Spotted Pinto Bean
- Infant Tango
- Seasoned Greetings
- N-ER-GEE (Crisis Blues)
- Fire
- Explosion
- Lighting
- Aircraft Damage
- Tuesday #1/Guylum Bardot Version
- Boots Again
- Numb Erone/Inka
- Tuesday #2/Smelly Tongues Version
- Consuela's Return
- Breadth and Length Version
- Numb Erone "Live"
- Spotted Pinto Bean/Tuesday #5
- 7733 Variations
Disc 2: Stereo mix (1-12, Ralph Records RR0677, 1977), outtakes and ephemera (13-25, previously unreleased)
- Boots
- Numb Erone
- Guylum Bardot
- Breath and Length
- Consuelo's Departure
- Smelly Tongues
- Rest Aria
- Skratz
- Spotted Pinto Bean
- Infant Tango
- Seasoned Greetings
- N-ER-GEE (Crisis Blues)
- Overlay At High Speed
- Spotted Pinto Queen
- Inka Don't Dry
- Tuesday #3
- Quick Brain Tuesday
- Poisoned Popcorn
- N-ER-GEE Crisis Outro
- 1-10 (with a Touch of 11) Pt. 1
- 1-10 (with a Touch of 11) Pt. 4
- 1-10 (with a Touch of 11) Pt. 5
- 1-10 (with a Touch of 11) Pt. 6
- 1-10 (with a Touch of 11) Pt. 7
- 1-10 (with a Touch of 11) Pt. 8
The Third Reich 'N Roll: pREServed edition (New Ralph Too/MVD/Cherry Red NRT003 (U.K.), 2018)
Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
Disc 1: Original album (1-2, Ralph Records RR1075, 1976), Satisfaction EP (3-4, Ralph Records RR0776, 1976), The Beatles Play The Residents and The Residents Play The Beatles EP (5-6, Ralph Records RR0577, 1977) and ephemera (7-11, previously unreleased)
- Swastikas On Parade
- Hitler Was a Vegeterian
- Satisfaction
- Loser = Weed
- Beyond the Valley of a Day in the Life
- Flying
- German Slide Music Pt. 1
- German Slide Music Pt. 2
- German Slide Music Pt. 4
- German Slide Music Pt. 5
- German Slide Music Pt. 6
Disc 2: More ephemera (previously unreleased except 7-9)
- The 'Oh Mummy' Show (Live 1976)
- The Letter (1982 Rehearsal)
- Satisfaction (Live, Madrid 1983)
- Land of 1000 Dances (Scott Colburn 1992 Mix)
- Loser = Weed (Live 2013)
- Third Reich (Icky Flix DVD Mix)
- Third Reich (Live 2001)
- 'Oh Mummy' Backing Tape Concentrate
- Third Reich Outtakes Reel
Fingerprince: pREServed edition (New Ralph Too/MVD/Cherry Red NRT004 (U.K.), 2018)
Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
Disc 1: Original album (1-9, Ralph Records RR1276, 1977) and Babyfingers EP (10-14, Ralph Records RR0377, 1977)
- You Yesyesyes
- Home Age Conversation
- Godsong
- March De La Winni
- Bossy
- Boo Who?
- Tourniquet of Roses
- You Yesyesyes Again
- Six Things to a Cycle
- Monstrous Intro
- Death In Barstow
- Melon Collie Lassie
- Flight of the Bumble Roach
- Walter Westinghouse
Disc 2: Ephemera (previously unreleased except 6-7 and 11-14)
- Leapmus (February 1976)
- Entrance to Crypt
- Clumsy Climb
- Piano Dittie
- You Yesyesyes ('Oh Mummy' Mix)
- Whoopy Snorp
- God Song (1982 Rehearsal)
- Walter Westinghouse (1982 Rehearsal)
- God Song (Studio Rehearsal)
- Tourniquet of Roses (Live in Tromso 1986)
- Walter Westinghouse (Live 1997)
- Once I Went to Barstow (Live 2011)
- Melon Collie Lassie (Live 2014)
- Fingerprince Concentrate
Duck Stab/Buster & Glen: pREServed edition (New Ralph Too/MVD/Cherry Red NRT005 (U.K.), 2018)
Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
Disc 1: Original album (1-14, Ralph Records RR0278, 1978; 1-7 also released as Ralph Records EP RR1177, 1978) and epehemra (15-20, previously unreleased except 20 from Ralph Records single RR7812, 1978)
- Constantinople
- Sinister Exaggerator
- The Booker Tease
- Blue Rosebuds
- The Laughing Song
- Bach is Deade
- Elvis and His Boss
- Lizard Lady
- Semolina
- Birthday Boy
- Weight-Lifting Lulu
- Krafty Cheese
- Hello Skinny
- The Electrocutioner
- Guylum Bardot '78
- Soulful Sax
- Ow Boutthat
- When Johnny Comes Marching
- Unlisted
- Santa Dog '78
Disc 2: More ephemera (Track 4 previously unreleased, Tracks 6-7 previously unreleased on CD)
- Bach is Dead (1982 Rehearsal)
- Birthday Boy (1982 Rehearsal)
- Constantinople (1982 Rehearsal)
- DS/Bag Suite (Tromso, Inconvenienced, 1986)
- Semolina (Live 1986)
- Hello Skinny (Icky Flix Version)
- Constantinople (Icky Flix Version)
- Lizard Lady/Hello Skinny (Live 2005)
- Semolina (Live 2011)
- Lizard Lady (Live 2011)
- Blue Rosebuds (Live 2014)
- Weight-Lifting Lulu (Live 2014)
- Blue Rosebuds (Remix)
- The Booker Tease (Re-Imagined)
- Weight-Lifting Lulu (Re-Imagined)
- Constantinople (Re-Imagined)
- Bach is Dead (Re-Imagined)
- Laughing Song (Re-Imagined)
- The Electrocutioner (Re-Imagined)
- Hello Skinny (Re-Imagined)
Andrea says
The general consensus is that these reissues are compressed to death.
No surprise, being Cherry Red.
God knows which sources they used.
TwentySmallCigars says
The general consensus is that nobody has heard these yet.
I have heard both good and bad sounding releases from Cherry Red, their Hawkwind and Bill Nelson releases have been superb.
Let's not start any rumours until we know something for sure.
Justin Cole says
I bought the pREServed "Meet the Residents" and "Third Reich" the day of release. I think the sound quality on both is fantastic. There may be some compression, but I don't mind a little bit, and they are far from bricked. The liner notes were surprisingly extensive without giving away any of the mystery that is the group's allure. But the best part is the wealth of bonus tracks: some of "Reich"'s are of historical import mostly, while "Meet" has some I would gladly swap places with certain album tracks. Essential, in my never-humble opnion.