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PLEASE GO AWAY! This recording was not intended for release. THEY HATE IT!!! |
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Assorted Secrets is a compilation of live rehearsal recordings by The Residents, originally released only on cassette on Ralph Records in 1984, and later reissued on CD as a numbered limited edition in 2000.
Assorted Secrets features a recording of an April 1982 live rehearsal of the group's debut tour The Mole Show, and live-in-the-studio rehearsals dating from Fall 1981 to May 1983, including songs which had been earmarked for an earlier tour concept which did not eventuate.
History[]
Following the financial disaster of The Mole Show tour and near disintegration of The Residents and The Cryptic Corporation in 1983, Ralph Records needed to raise funds in a hurry. In order to do this, they released this collection of existing material on cassette, as well as licensing collections to other labels such as with Ralph Before 84.
Assorted Secrets is a rather unique collection for its time though, as it is made up of unreleased recordings of the group rehearsing live, including a number of live-in-studio rehearsals, which supposedly were recorded secretly by an unidentified "wretch", and later reclaimed by The Residents.[1]
The first side is an early test performance of The Mole Show recorded live at The House on April 10th 1982, and the second consists of studio rehearsals dating between Fall 1981 and May 1983. Tracks 2 through 8 were recorded sometime between Fall 1981 and Spring 1982 in anticipation of a then-planned 10th Anniversary show, whilst tracks 9 through 11 were recorded on May 5th 1983, in preparation for The European Mole Show.
Release[]
The Residents weren't exactly proud of these recordings nor of the release as a whole, so shortly after its release in October 1984, Assorted Secrets was pulled from the Ralph catalog. As with most hard to find and out of print releases by The Residents, something of a myth grew around the recordings, and demand for a reprint continued to grow over the years, with The Residents outright refusing.
However, fifteen years after its initial release, Assorted Secrets was reissued as a limited edition CD through Ralph America. The re-issue was covered in text reading "The One That Won't Go Away!", "They Hate It!!!", "You Shouldn't Listen To This...", and "Don't play this for your friends...". The CD featured an extended and alternate take on the original, with an unreleased instrumental take of "God Song" being included as the album's opening track, and three tracks ("Constantinople", "Smack Your Lips" and "Happy Home") being swapped out for alternate takes.
Recording date inconsistencies[]
Conflicting recording dates for this album have appeared on both releases. On the original cassette it is stated that the rehearsals featured on tracks 2-8 were recorded in Fall 1981, however the later CD pressing claims these tracks were recorded between January and March 1982.
The 1982 dates were later supported by the liner notes accompanying several releases in the pREServed series of remastered and expanded reissues of The Residents' catalog, which featured recordings from these sessions.
Reception[]
Retrospective[]
In a positive review in March 2010,[2] freelance music reviewer Mark Prindle described Assorted Secrets as "a very solid primer of The Residents' early records up through Mark of the Mole", despite "lots of annoyingly high-pitched synthesizer noises".[3]
Track listing[]
Original cassette release (1984)[]
Side One: Mark of The Mole Live (33:23)
- Mark of the Mole (33:23)
- Voices of The Air
- The Ultimate Disaster
- Migration
- Another Land
- The New Machine
- Final Confrontation
Side Two: Studio Rehearsals (27:59)
- The Letter (2:14)
- Ship's A'Going Down (2:35)
- Bach Is Dead (1:27)
- Birthday Boy (3:44)
- Constantinople (2:29)
- Die In Terror (2:14)
- Give It To Someone Else (0:57)
- Smack Your Lips (4:13)
- Song of the Wild (3:34)
- Happy Home (4:32)
Ralph America CD reissue (2000)[]
- God Song (1:33)
- The Letter (2:13)
- Ship's A Goin' Down (2:32)
- Bach Is Dead (1:20)
- Birthday Boy (3:41)
- Constantinople (Take 2) (2:10)
- Die In Terror (2:17)
- Give It To Someone Else (0:58)
- Festival of Death (9:23)
- Smack Your Lips (4:03)
- Song of the Wild (3:32)
- Happy Home (2:14)
- Mark of the Mole Part 1 (14:43)
- Voices of The Air
- The Ultimate Disaster
- Migration
- Mark of the Mole Part 2 (10:44)
- Mark of the Mole Part 3 (Final Confrontation) (8:13)
Additional recordings[]
2000 CD reissue external package
As part of the pREServed series, various additional tracks recorded during these sessions have since been released.
1982 Rehearsals[]
- The Letter (2nd Take)
- Walter Westinghouse
- Die In Terror (second take)
- Give It To Something Else (second take)
- Love Leaks Out
- The Talk of Creatures
- Eskimo Suite (second take)
- Diskomo
- The Talk Of Creatures (second take, available on bootlegs)
- Give It To Someone Else (Third take, 'Sketches For A Live Show' email downloads)
- Birthday Boy (Second take, 'Sketches For A Live Show' email downloads)
- Ship's A Going Down (Second take, 'Sketches For A Live Show' email downloads)
- Constantinople (Third take, 'Sketches For A Live Show' email downloads)
Res Dance '82[]
- God Song
- Voices of The Air
- The Secret Seed
- The Ultimate Disaster
- God of Darkness
- Migration
- Smack Your Lips
- Another Land
- The New Machine
- Final Confrontation
- Satisfaction
- Happy Home
Credits[]
- Mark of The Mole Recorded live before an audience in Santa Monica April 10th, 1982 by: Scott Fraser
Additional credits featured on later versions
- Produced by: The Cryptic Corporation
Release history[]
| Year | Label | Format |
|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Ralph Records | Cass |
| 2000 | Ralph America | CD |
See also[]
External links and references[]
- ↑ Not Available pREServed edition liner notes, 2019
- ↑ Mark Prindle, "The 'What's New?' Page", Mark's Record Reviews, March 13th 2010 (archived via archive.org)
- ↑ Mark Prindle, "Assorted Secrets", Mark's Record Reviews, March 13th 2010
