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American Composer's Series 1982-1987

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American Composer's Series 1982-1987 is a three-disc CD compilation by The Residents, released on June 20th 2025 by Cherry Red Records, MVD Audio and New Ralph Too, as part of the group's ongoing pREServed reissue series.

The set collects material related to the group's short-lived American Composers Series project, including remastered and expanded editions of the albums George & James and Stars & Hank Forever!, with additional contemporary studio and live material, and thirteen previously unreleased tracks, including a suite of Sun Ra covers, interpretations of songs by Buddy Holly and Lou Christie, and a never-before-heard Residents original, "Burning with Desire".

Originally titled The American Composers Box, an early version of the set was planned to also include the group's mid-1980s soundtrack work, as well as their longer instrumental compositions from the period.[1][2] The box set was originally earmarked for release around 2020, but was delayed due to rights issues surrounding a "vital" element of the set;[3] the group's previously unreleased music for the television series Pee-wee's Playhouse.[4]

In November 2021, a representative of Cherry Red Records explained that the situation was both "really complicated" and also "only ever really a single email away from happening".[5] Ultimately, after Cherry Red were unable to secure the rights to the Pee-wee's Playhouse music,[4] it was decided that the soundtrack material would be incorporated into a separate "Film and TV" collection for future release.[6]

The three-disc version of the set had been finalized by March 2025,[7] and was officially announced on April 4th 2025, with pre-orders opening on that day via the Cherry Red website.

Track listing[]

(*) indicates tracks which are previously unreleased.

Disc 1: George & James[]

  1. Rhapsody In Blue (George Gershwin) (10:31)
  2. I Got Rhythm (George/Ira Gerswhin) (3:04)
  3. Summertime (Heyward/George/Ira Gerswhin) (4:08)
  4. Apollo Intro (Brown) (0:55)
  5. I'll Go Crazy (Brown) (1:43)
  6. Try Me (Brown) (0:50)
  7. Think (Pauling) (1:57)
  8. I Don't Mind (Brown) (2:39)
  9. Lost Someone (Brown/Stallworth/Byrd) (5:39)
  10. Please, Please, Please (Brown/Terry) (1:19)
  11. Night Train (Forest/Simpkins/Washington) (3:37)
  12. JB@45 (15:49)
  13. This Is A Man's Man's Man's World (Brown/Newsome) (3:42)
  14. Man's World (Australian Version) (Brown/Newsome) (4:54)
  15. I Got Rhythm (13th Anniversary Tokyo) (George/Ira Gerswhin) (1:45)
  16. Man's World (Fillmore) (Brown/Newsome) (7:16)
  17. Man's World (Icky Flix) (Brown/Newsome) (3:53)

Disc 2: Stars & Hank Forever![]

  1. Hey Good Lookin' (Williams) (2:47)
  2. Six More Miles (To The Graveyard) (Williams) (4:16)
  3. Kaw-Liga (Williams/Rose) (4:53)
  4. Ramblin' Man (Williams) (3:13)
  5. Jambalaya (Williams) (4:45)
  6. Sousaside (Sousa) (23:03)
    1. Nobles Of The Mystic Shrine
    2. The Stars And Stripes Forever
    3. The Thunderer
    4. The Liberty Bell
    5. Semper Fidelis
    6. The Washington Post
  7. I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry (Williams) (3:09)
  8. Pictures Of Life's Other Side (Williams) (2:49)
  9. Dear Brother (Williams) (3:43)
  10. I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry (First Take) (*) (Williams) (4:31)
  11. Six More Miles (Accapella) (*) (Williams) (2:37)
  12. Ramblin' Man (Vocal Reference Mix) (*) (Williams) (3:02)
  13. Kaw-Liga (Single Mix) (Williams/Rose) (3:11)
  14. Kaw-Liga (Horror Mix) (Williams/Rose) (2:06)
  15. Jambalaya (Warfield) (*) (Williams) (3:35)
  16. Kaw-LIVE-Ga (Warfield) (*) (Williams/Rose) (3:29)
  17. Stars N Stripes (Icky Flix) (Sousa) (2:16)

Disc 3: De-Composed/Re-Composed[]

  1. Jailhouse Rock (Leiber/Stoller) (3:07)
  2. The Stars And Stripes (Single Mix) (Sousa) (2:36)
  3. Space Is The Place (*) (Ra) (5:23)
  4. Satellites Are Spinning (*) (Ra) (2:39)
  5. Rocket #9 (*) (Ra) (5:13)
  6. Daydream In Space (Ra) (8:25) [Note 1]
  7. That'll Be The Day (Demo) (*) (Holly/Allison/Petty) (2:10)
  8. Lightning Strikes (*) (Christie/Herbert) (4:21)
  9. Burning With Desire (*) (4:48)
  10. Kaw-Liga (Prairie Mix) (Williams/Rose) (9:31)
  11. Jailhouse Rock (Australian Version) (Leiber/Stoller) (3:07)
  12. Hit The Road Jack (7" Version) (Mayfield) (3:57)
  13. Hit The Road Jack (Special Almost Dance Mix) (Mayfield) (5:51)
  14. Poor Kaw-Liga's Pain (Williams/Rose) (5:29)
  15. Jambalaya (Dog Stab/Larvik) (*) (Williams) (5:18)
  16. Jambalaya 4 (*) (Williams) (6:00)
  17. Be Kind To U-Web Footed Friends (0:45)

See also[]

Buy Or Die![]

Notes[]

  1. ↑ The CD edition features the full-length version (8:25) of "Daydream In Space", however the version available on streaming platforms in some countries substitutes the shorter edit (5:13).

External links and references[]

  1. ↑ "The idea is to bring together a lot of their own mid 80s work for TV and film, longer compositions like Fur Elsie and so on" - Richard Anderson, 2021
  2. ↑ "Greetings Eyeball Fans!", Cherry Red Records Residents mailing list newsletter, April 28th 2023
  3. ↑ "American Composers is more or less done and dusted too, but there's a vital missing piece of the jigsaw they're still trying to secure." - Richard Anderson, The Residents Facebook group, May 1st 2020
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Roger Batty, "Visits From The Not-So-Good Doctor", Musique Machine, May 28th 2025
  5. ↑ "Yes, one day. On the one hand it's really complicated, on the other it's only ever really a single email away from happening. Watch this space." - Richard Anderson, commenting in The Residents unofficial Facebook group, November 10th 2021
  6. ↑ "Greetings Eyeballers!", Cherry Red Residents newsletter, May 5th 2024
  7. ↑ "DOCTOR DARK IS BACK!", Cherry Red Residents newsletter, March 29th 2025
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