Meet The Residents: Preserved Edition

I used to be a mild fan of The Residents, rarely digging much deeper than their most accessible works (hello, The Commercial Album!), and my interest quickly waned in the mid-90's. Honestly, I didn't think I would ever buy another Residents CD. But then these newly expanded pREServed editions of their first two albums reignited my interest.And I am glad they did. After countless reissues of these albums, with bonus tracks alternately appearing and disappearing between re-re-releases, these finally deliver definitive editions. Each tri-fold digipak holds two discs and a thick booklet. This is a surprisingly informative booklet--for a band whose primary claim to fame is their anonymity.Each CD is in its own protective sleeve (nice touch, that) and overflowing with bonus tracks. In addition to extensively remastered mono and stereo versions of the album (Is there another album with as many differences between the mono and stereo mixes?), you get the Santa Dog EP and additional outtakes and related recordings. There are an overwhelming 13 bonus tracks on each discs, many of which are more intriguing than what has been previously released from this period. Heck, not like I'm knocking the album, but I would even gladly swap some of the album tracks with these "ephemera". OK--I confess, "N-ER-GEE" can take a hike.The bonus tracks reveal so many detours and paths not taken by a group that was learning what they wanted to do musically and even what constitutes a "band". In reappraising the album itself, I was amazed by how a set that is so often described as "off-putting" and "extreme" is largely a collection of pretty straight-forward tunes, played with standard instruments and usually in 4/4 time. This may be a challenging listen even today (I'm still looking at you, "N-ER-GEE"), but it is an intriguing glimpse into the development of an embryonic band that grew into a big, faceless baby.

These discs are A LITTLE TOO LOUD. They should have turned the volume knob down a little bit when remastering, but alas, this seems to be the way of reissues these days. In any event, it's great to have the album in both mono and stereo versions, and the bonus tracks are essential for Residents fans. Highly recommended.

Excellent! Now if only we could get a pREServed edition of Not Available

This the last remaster of this underground classic you will ever need. You get both the original mono mix and the 1977 stereo remix, the Santa Dog '72 EPs ,plus a plethora of bonus tracks. I'll still hold onto my older versions of this CD, but this one is by sure the keeper.

Item exactly as described. A+++

I like this albumI use it to hold my sequin wig in place

Great Album, but why no Digital Album available?

...so much has changed since the Residents first started cobbling their ingenious brand of avant-conceptual-amateur-faux-naive audio artchamacallit. We basically know who they are now, for one...but time (and this information) has not dimmed the appeal of their earliest music, which I still find to be their best. Conceptually they were firing on all cylinders, and they couldn't just flarp out kooky-but-basic MIDI soundscapes to support their non-musical ideas: They had to realize their own soundtracks through traditional instruments, crude early electronics, tape manipulation, and other such techniques. It was time-consuming and painstaking, but the results were more than worth it.This, their first album, has been issued TWENTY EIGHT times, according to Discogs. I remember picking up the early Ralph CD, which had the "Santa Dog" double 45 as a bonus, and loving it. Then there was an ESD CD that eliminated the bonus material. Then an LP reissue of the original mono version, but for some reason in (slightly) edited form. This edition sweeps the board, gathering both the mono and stereo versions (both sounding great, considering they were recorded on consumer-grade stuff by relative amateurs), along with "Santa Dog," and a generous helping out outtakes that have not been released. The booklet is about as informative as the Residents get, meaning you'll get a pretty heady dose of (self-)mythology, but also a bit more background than they used to provide. Tantalizing photos, too, although the lack of captions will make sure you don't learn TOO much from them.And the music...you've likely heard it, so you know what I mean when I say it's woolly and abstract, chaotic and disjointed, and yet strangely compelling. It plays like dispatches from an alternate, warped reality, with the occasional pop-culture signpost only throwing the weirdness into higher relief. The additional material shows that this stuff was actually a lot more considered and planned than it may appear, as it includes illuminating alternate versions of released material...you'll also catch glimpses of future Residential projects, such as a fleeting appearance by the "Six Things to a Cycle" rhythm (chew-chew-gum-chew-gum-gum-chew-chew).So, have you bought more than one copy of this record? If so, you're the sort of obsessive who will get a lot out of this. And you can sell your old copies. If you're a neophyte, this is as good a place to dive in as any, although I might recommend "The Third Reich'n'Roll" (reissued in a similarly lush package, although with slightly less relevant bonus material) as an easier point of entry...One complaint, though: The Residents pioneered digital technology, but it never occurred to them to include the track numbers of the songs? C'mon, Homer!

A great start for those that hasn't met the Residents yet. In both mono and stereo, and a full disc of extras. This is a labour of love. The re-mix shows a lot of detail. A low-fi record turned hi-fi.

Music = great. Sadly there is a foul-up on the Santa Dog e.p. in that Explosion and Lightning (tracks 14 & 15 on disc 1) have been transposed so Lightning comes before Explosion.

Really pleased with this product and service

Nun zunächst stellt sich die Frage: warum schon wieder ein rererelease dieses klasischen "Avantgarde Debüt Album " der Band aus San Francisco, die zu Recht als "Holy Cow of Avantgarde" gilt und nun fast schon ins 5 Jahrzehnt driftet ? Diesmal gibt es wirklich ALLES was das Sammlerherz begehrt und ich denke für die, ist die neue DOCD auch am ehsten interessant. Neben den beiden historischen Aufnahmen des Albums in Mono 1974 und in Stereo von 1977 gibt es jede Menge Bounstracks und/oder outtakes.Doch für manche Fans scheint schon der neue remasterte Mix "ein Stein des Anstosses zu sein", aber schon auf den alten Cds gab es auch immer wieder Warnhinwiese das die Aufnahmen nicht dem aktuellen Stand der Technik entsprachen bzw. entsprechen (1988 etc.) und dies ist nun mal weider ein Versuch, geglückt oder verunglückt mag jeder selbst entscheiden, die uralten Aufnahmen auf einen aktuellen Stand der Technik zu bringen, gewiss geht damit der Charme der Residents "in their collective underwear" verloren, das bewusst primitive oder sogar dilletantische der frühen Songs und Experimente etwas verloren. Aber Ohrenschmerzen bekommt man davon nicht wie ein Rezensent meint.Wer also authentisch hören will sollte eher zu den Original Versionen oder den frühen Cds auf Torso oder ESD griefen, die auch die hier wieder enthaltene legendäre "Santa Dog" ep als Bonus enthalten.Nach meiner Meinung lohnt sich der Kauf für den geneigten Fan und Sammler allemal wegen der weiteren bonus tracks, die aus dem geheimnisvollen Archiv aufgetaucht sein sollen. Auf Cd1 : Outtakes and Ephemera : Tuesday #1 : Guylum Bardot Version- Boots Again-Numb Erone/Inka Tuesday#2 : Smelly Tongues Version - Consuelo`s Return -Breath and Length Verison Numb- Erone "Live"Spotted Pinto Bean / Tuesday #5 7733 Variations- alles ungehobene Schätze, die die Arbeitweise der Residents dokumentieren und meist wichtige Ergänzungen zum Gesamtwerk, bei denen man sich fragt, warum sie jetzt erst nach sooo vielen Jahren erst der Öffentlichkeit zugänglich gemacht werden. Auf Cd2 gehts dann nach dem Stereo Mix des Albums weiter :: Outtakesand Ephemera :Overlay Half Speed - Spottes Pinto Queen- Inka Don`t Dry- tuesday#3 Quick Brain Tuesday- Poisoned Popcorn- (also wirklich unveröffentlichte neue Sachen) N-REGEE Crisis Outro - 1-10(With A touch of 11) part 1-8. Jede Menge neues Zeug zum Entdecken und sich wundern selbst wenn man schon in den Sammlerkreisen kusierenden Outtakes zum Album kennt und hat.Der Text im Booklet von Kenner "Ian Shirley" und das neue gelungene Design runden die Sache ab und bei der Preisgestaltung kann man auch nicht meckern. Das Gleiche gilt auch für die neue Version von "Third Reich N Roll" die parallel erschienen ist.

Dem von "darker scratcher" Geschriebenem gibt es nichts hinzuzufügen.Meet The Residents ist die von mir am meisten gehörte Rez-Scheibe seit den späten 70ern und auch diese Version wurde von mir gekauft, insbesondere wg. der bisher unveröffentlichten Stücke.Hierfür gibt es fünf *****++