- Commercial Album
-
Commercial Album Studio album by The Residents Released October 1980 Recorded September 1979-October 1980 Genre Avant-garde, Noise rock, Experimental rock Length 42:12 Label Ralph Records (original US release)
Pre Records (original UK release)
Charisma Records (original European release)
East Side Digital (CD reissue)Producer The Residents Professional reviews The reviews parameter has been deprecated. Please move reviews into the “Reception” section of the article. See Moving reviews into article space.
The Residents chronology Babyfingers
(1979)The Commercial Album
(1980)Mark of the Mole
(1981)Commercial Album is an album released by The Residents in 1980. It is commonly considered a follow-up of Duck Stab/Buster & Glen. The album pares down the concept and structure of the average commercial pop song and reduces it to a one-minute redux. It contains a compilation of 40 such sixty-second vignettes. The album used several session musicians, including Chris Cutler, Snakefinger (who sings lead on "Ups and Downs") and Fred Frith as well as two anonymous guest vocalists, Lene Lovich ("Picnic Boy") and Andy Partridge ("Margaret Freeman").
The faces on the album cover are John Travolta and Barbra Streisand. The backside of the original LP labels listed the length as "1:00" after each of the 40 song titles. The first edition sleeve listed the tracks in the wrong order.
The liner notes state that songs should be repeated three times in a row to form a "pop song". The Residents purchased 40 one-minute advertising slots on San Francisco's most popular Top-40 radio station at the time, KFRC, such that the station played each track of their album over three days. This prompted an editorial in Billboard magazine questioning whether the act was art or advertising.[citation needed]
Track listing
All tracks by The Residents
- "Easter Woman" – 1:03
- "Perfect Love" – 1:03
- "Picnic Boy" – 1:01
- "End of Home" – 1:04
- "Amber" – 1:02
- "Japanese Watercolor" – 1:02
- "Secrets" – 1:03
- "Die in Terror" – 1:03
- "Red Rider" – 1:02
- "My Second Wife" – 1:02
- "Floyd" – 1:03
- "Suburban Bathers" – 1:04
- "Dimples and Toes" – 1:03
- "The Nameless Souls" – 1:04
- "Love Leaks Out" – 1:04
- "Act of Being Polite" – 1:03
- "Medicine Man" – 1:04
- "Tragic Bells" – 1:03
- "Loss of Innocence" – 1:04
- "The Simple Song" – 1:02
- "Ups and Downs" – 1:04
- "Possessions" – 1:03
- "Give It to Someone Else" – 1:03
- "Phantom" – 1:04
- "Less Not More" – 1:03
- "My Work Is So Behind" – 1:04
- "Birds in the Trees" – 1:04
- "Handful of Desire" – 1:04
- "Moisture" – 1:04
- "Love Is..." – 1:03
- "Troubled Man" – 1:04
- "La La" – 1:04
- "Loneliness" – 1:04
- "Nice Old Man" – 1:04
- "The Talk of Creatures" – 1:04
- "Fingertips" – 1:04
- "In Between Dreams" – 1:0
- "Margaret Freeman" – 1:03
- "The Coming of the Crow" – 1:04
- "When We Were Young" – 1:02
- Bonus Tracks (1988 CD release only)
- "Shut Up Shut Up"
- "And I Was Alone"
- "Theme for an American TV Show"
- "We're a Happy Family/Bali Ha'i"
- "The Sleeper"
- "Boy in Love"
- "Diskomo (Remix)"
- "Jailhouse Rock"
- "It's a Man's Man's Man's World"
- "Hit the Road Jack"
Personnel
- Chris Cutler – Drums
- Fred Frith – Musician
- Phil "Snakefinger" Lithman – Guitar, Violin, Vocals
- Lene Lovich (vocals on "Picnic Boy")
- Don Preston – Synthesizer
- The Residents – Arrangers, Composers, Producers, Writers
- Andy Partridge - Vocals, Guitar on "Margaret Freeman" (as Sandy Sandwich)
The Residents Studio Albums 1970s1980sCommercial Album · Mark of the Mole · The Tunes of Two Cities · Title in Limbo · George & James · Whatever Happened to Vileness Fats? · The Big Bubble: Part Four of the Mole Trilogy · Census Taker · Stars & Hank Forever: The American Composers Series · God in Three Persons · The King & Eye
1990sFreak Show · Our Finest Flowers · Gingerbread Man · Hunters · Have a Bad Day · Wormwood: Curious Stories from the Bible
2000sRoosevelt 2.0 · Roadworms: The Berlin Sessions · Icky Flix · Demons Dance Alone · WB: RMX · 12 Days of Brumalia · I Murdered Mommy · Animal Lover · River of Crime (Episodes 1–5) · Tweedles · Night of the Hunters · The Voice of Midnight · Smell My Picture · The Bunny Boy · Postcards From Patmos · Hades · The Ughs! · Arkansas
2010sOzan · Strange Culture/Haeckel's Tale · Dollar General · Talking Light Rehearsal · Lonely Teenager · Dolor Generar
Live Albums The Mole Show Live at the Roxy · The 13th Anniversary Show Live in the U.S.A. · 13th Anniversary Show: Live in Japan · The Thirteenth Anniversary Show · The Mole Show Live in Holland · Cube E: Live in Holland · Live at the Fillmore · Wormwood Live · Kettles of Fish on the Outskirts of Town · The Way We Were · Cube E Box Set · Talking Light
Singles and EPs Santa Dog · Satisfaction · The Beatles Play the Residents and the Residents Play the Beatles · Santa Dog '78 · Babyfingers · Diskomo · The Commercial Single · Intermission: Extraneous Music from the Residents' Mole Show · Safety is the Cootie Wootie · It's a Man's Man's Man's World · Kaw-Liga · Earth vs. the Flying Saucers · Hit the Road Jack · For Elsie · Snakey Wake · Buckaroo Blues · Santa Dog 88 · Double Shot · Holy Kiss of Flesh · From the Plains to Mexico · Don't Be Cruel · Blowoff · Santa Dog '92 · Prelude to "The Teds" · Pollex Christi · I Hate Heaven · In Between Screams · High Horses · The Sandman Waits · Anganok
Compilations The Residents Radio Special · Please Do Not Steal It! · Nibbles · Residue of the Residents · Ralph Before '84: Volume 1, The Residents · Assorted Secrets · Memorial Hits · The Pal TV LP · Heaven? · Hell! · Stranger Than Supper · Liver Music · Daydream B-Liver · Poor Kaw-Liga's PainLouisiana's Lick · Our Tired, Our Poor, Our Huddled Masses · Residue Deux · 20 Twisted Questions · 25 Years of Eyeball Excellence · Land of Mystery · Refused · Dot Com · Diskomo 2000 · Petting Zoo · Eat Exuding Oinks · Best Left Unspoken...Vol. 1 · Best Left Unspoken...Vol. 2 · Best Left Unspoken...Vol. 3 · Ten Little Piggies · Chicken Scratching With The Residents
Related Articles Categories:- The Residents albums
- 1980 albums
- Charisma Records albums
- Ralph Records albums
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.