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)

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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)

1. Boots
2. Numb Erone
3. Guylum Bardot
4. Breath and Length
5. Consuelo’s Departure
6. Smelly Tongues
7. Rest Aria
8. Skratz
9. Spotted Pinto Bean
10. Infant Tango
11. Seasoned Greetings
12. N-ER-GEE (Crisis Blues)
13. Fire
14. Explosion
15. Lighting
16. Aircraft Damage
17. Tuesday #1/Guylum Bardot Version
18. Boots Again
19. Numb Erone/Inka
20. Tuesday #2/Smelly Tongues Version
21. Consuela’s Return
22. Breadth and Length Version
23. Numb Erone “Live”
24. Spotted Pinto Bean/Tuesday #5
25. 7733 Variations

Disc 2: Stereo mix (1-12, Ralph Records RR0677, 1977), outtakes and ephemera (13-25, previously unreleased)

1. Boots
2. Numb Erone
3. Guylum Bardot
4. Breath and Length
5. Consuelo’s Departure
6. Smelly Tongues
7. Rest Aria
8. Skratz
9. Spotted Pinto Bean
10. Infant Tango
11. Seasoned Greetings
12. N-ER-GEE (Crisis Blues)
13. Overlay At High Speed
14. Spotted Pinto Queen
15. Inka Don’t Dry
16. Tuesday #3
17. Quick Brain Tuesday
18. Poisoned Popcorn
19. N-ER-GEE Crisis Outro
20. 1-10 (with a Touch of 11) Pt. 1
21. 1-10 (with a Touch of 11) Pt. 4
22. 1-10 (with a Touch of 11) Pt. 5
23. 1-10 (with a Touch of 11) Pt. 6
24. 1-10 (with a Touch of 11) Pt. 7
25. 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)

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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)

1. Swastikas On Parade
2. Hitler Was a Vegeterian
3. Satisfaction
4. Loser = Weed
5. Beyond the Valley of a Day in the Life
6. Flying
7. German Slide Music Pt. 1
8. German Slide Music Pt. 2
9. German Slide Music Pt. 4
10. German Slide Music Pt. 5
11. German Slide Music Pt. 6

Disc 2: More ephemera (previously unreleased except 7-9)

1. The ‘Oh Mummy’ Show (Live 1976)
2. The Letter (1982 Rehearsal)
3. Satisfaction (Live, Madrid 1983)
4. Land of 1000 Dances (Scott Colburn 1992 Mix)
5. Loser = Weed (Live 2013)
6. Third Reich (Icky Flix DVD Mix)
7. Third Reich (Live 2001)
8. ‘Oh Mummy’ Backing Tape Concentrate
9. Third Reich Outtakes Reel

Fingerprince: pREServed edition (New Ralph Too/MVD/Cherry Red NRT004 (U.K.), 2018)

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Disc 1: Original album (1-9, Ralph Records RR1276, 1977) and Babyfingers EP (10-14, Ralph Records RR0377, 1977)

1. You Yesyesyes
2. Home Age Conversation
3. Godsong
4. March De La Winni
5. Bossy
6. Boo Who?
7. Tourniquet of Roses
8. You Yesyesyes Again
9. Six Things to a Cycle
10. Monstrous Intro
11. Death In Barstow
12. Melon Collie Lassie
13. Flight of the Bumble Roach
14. Walter Westinghouse

Disc 2: Ephemera (previously unreleased except 6-7 and 11-14)

1. Leapmus (February 1976)
2. Entrance to Crypt
3. Clumsy Climb
4. Piano Dittie
5. You Yesyesyes (‘Oh Mummy’ Mix)
6. Whoopy Snorp
7. God Song (1982 Rehearsal)
8. Walter Westinghouse (1982 Rehearsal)
9. God Song (Studio Rehearsal)
10. Tourniquet of Roses (Live in Tromso 1986)
11. Walter Westinghouse (Live 1997)
12. Once I Went to Barstow (Live 2011)
13. Melon Collie Lassie (Live 2014)
14. Fingerprince Concentrate

Duck Stab/Buster & Glen: pREServed edition (New Ralph Too/MVD/Cherry Red NRT005 (U.K.), 2018)

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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)

1. Constantinople
2. Sinister Exaggerator
3. The Booker Tease
4. Blue Rosebuds
5. The Laughing Song
6. Bach is Deade
7. Elvis and His Boss
8. Lizard Lady
9. Semolina
10. Birthday Boy
11. Weight-Lifting Lulu
12. Krafty Cheese
13. Hello Skinny
14. The Electrocutioner
15. Guylum Bardot ’78
16. Soulful Sax
17. Ow Boutthat
18. When Johnny Comes Marching
19. Unlisted
20. Santa Dog ’78

Disc 2: More ephemera (Track 4 previously unreleased, Tracks 6-7 previously unreleased on CD)

1. Bach is Dead (1982 Rehearsal)
2. Birthday Boy (1982 Rehearsal)
3. Constantinople (1982 Rehearsal)
4. DS/Bag Suite (Tromso, Inconvenienced, 1986)
5. Semolina (Live 1986)
6. Hello Skinny (Icky Flix Version)
7. Constantinople (Icky Flix Version)
8. Lizard Lady/Hello Skinny (Live 2005)
9. Semolina (Live 2011)
10. Lizard Lady (Live 2011)
11. Blue Rosebuds (Live 2014)
12. Weight-Lifting Lulu (Live 2014)
13. Blue Rosebuds (Remix)
14. The Booker Tease (Re-Imagined)
15. Weight-Lifting Lulu (Re-Imagined)
16. Constantinople (Re-Imagined)
17. Bach is Dead (Re-Imagined)
18. Laughing Song (Re-Imagined)
19. The Electrocutioner (Re-Imagined)
20. Hello Skinny (Re-Imagined)