Commercial Album

Artist	The Residents
Released	October 29th 1980
Recorded	September 21st - November 8th 1979
Studio	Grove Street Studio, San Francisco, California
Length	42:12
Label	Ralph Records
Producer	The Residents
Residents release chronology
Previous	Commercial Single (1980)
Next	Greener Postures by Snakefinger (1980)
Residents recording chronology
Previous	Chewing Hides The Sound by Snakefinger (1979)
Next	Diskomo / Goosebump (1980)
Snakefinger chronology
Previous	"The Man In The Dark Sedan" (1980)
Next	Greener Postures (1980)

Commercial Album is the seventh studio album by The Residents, released on October 29th 1980 on Ralph Records.

Another manifestation of The Residents' whimsical relationship with pop music and their interest in music about music, Commercial Album is a collection of forty one-minute long "commercial" songs.

History

Commercial Album cover sketch by Sammi Selmo

Commercial Album was conceived and recorded by The Residents between September 21st and November 8th 1979, or September 1979 and July 1980. The album pares down the concept and structure of the average "commercial" pop song, reducing it to a one-minute "jingle". These "jingles" are, in turn, designed to be repeated three times to form a complete pop song. Commercial Album contains forty such sixty-second vignettes, representing The Residents' own "personal top 40".

The group used a number of ideas in the composition of Commercial Album which had cropped up during the recording of Eskimo, but which were not appropriate for that project. The new concept meant that some songs of average length had to be stripped back to their basics for the final release. The longer, original version of "Ups and Downs" can be found on the Residue of The Residents compilation. The first track recorded was "Less Not More" and the last was "Loss of Innocence."

During the recording of Commercial Album, The Residents teamed up with several artists, including their old friend Snakefinger, who not only provided guitar, but sings on "Ups and Downs". The band also recruited Chris Cutler, who had worked with them on Eskimo, and Fred Frith.

The liner credits also mention "Special Secret Appearances by ?"; the secret guests included Lene Lovich, who sang "Picnic Boy", Andy Partridge of XTC, who plays and sings on "Margaret Freeman", and Nessie Lessons, the wife of The Residents' engineer Hardy Fox, who appears on several tracks. Many years later, it was revealed that David Byrne of Talking Heads performed backing vocals on "Suburban Bathers", and producer Brian Eno performed synthesizer on "The Coming of the Crow".

Cover art

The album's cover art, designed by Sammi Selmo and executed by Ralph Records' in-house design wing Porno Graphics, features the faces of then-popular celebrities John Travolta and Barbra Streisand, with an image of four blue-eyed Residents superimposed on top, positioned so that their eyeball masks cover the eyes of Travolta and Streisand.

The back cover art features the album's track listing arranged in a grid, in a manner resembling popular singles charts such as the Billboard Hot 100. The font used on the front cover and at the top of the back cover is Eurostile Extended Black; derivatives of the Eurostile font family are widely available, and have occasionally been used on later reissues and related releases.

Release

Original US pressing back cover art, with incorrect track listing

Prior to the album's release, The Cryptic Corporation bought forty one-minute commercial slots on KFRC-AM, the most popular top 40 radio station in San Francisco at that time, and used them to broadcast the full contents of Commercial Album over a three day period. A special mono mix of the album was created specifically for this purpose, making it the first Residents album to be mixed in mono since their debut, Meet The Residents, in 1974.

According to Cryptic treasurer and spokesperson Jay Clem, "the conception, execution and marketing of the LP was intended to be more commercial than anything we've done so far. When it came time to make the choice of a station for the world premiere, we really only had one choice, since KFRC is the top-rated Top 40 station in the market and is a consistent national award-winner. Because the album has 40 cuts we wanted to premiere on a Top 40 station, and we have also pressed 40,000 copies of the album."

Commercial Album was released in the US on October 29th 1980 by Ralph Records, in three variations. The first, limited to 15,000 copies, features an incorrect track listing on the back cover, with tracks 8 - 14 listed in a different order, perhaps a remnant of an earlier track listing. The second US pressing, limited to 20,000 copies, corrected the incorrect track listing.

Commercial Album promo art, 1980

Commercial Album was the first Residents album, after the 1979 compilation Nibbles, to be licensed for international release. In the UK it was released by PRE Records, who also issued the Commercial Single 7" EP, featuring two songs ("Shut Up Shut Up" and "And I Was Alone") which were excluded from the final track listing of the album. In Australia the LP was released by Missing Link Records, who had previously released Nibbles there, and in New Zealand the LP was issued by RTC.

The French pressing was released by Celluloid in January 1981, and contained the same sleeve error as the earlier American pressing, but came with an additional 7" single containing "Shut Up Shut Up" and "And I Was Alone". Later Celluloid pressings, which corrected the incorrect track listing, did not come with the bonus single.

The German edition was released by Charisma Records, and featured an extensive fourteen page biography on The Residents written by Alfred Hilsberg. Both the British and German pressings featured the incorrect track listing on the sleeve. While the UK LP featured the correct track listing on the album's labels, the German pressing has no track listing on the label at all, just "1-20" (20:00) and "21-40" (20:00).

Charisma also released the album on cassette, making this the first Residents album to be publicly released on that format. The track listing on the cassette is correct, but "Suburban Bathers" is misspelt "Suburdan Bathers". The album was also issued on cassette in Australia by 7 Records & Tapes, and in France by Vogue (featuring the same spelling error as the German cassette).

Phonogram and Celluloid Records financed a short film directed by The Residents with Graeme Whifler entitled One Minute Movies, featuring the tracks "Moisture", "The Act of Being Polite", "Perfect Love", and "The Simple Song". The advent of MTV in the years following the release of the film meant that these clips received a great deal of rotation when MTV was first on the air, due in no small part to a lack of available music videos at the time.

The international releases and promotional campaigns were successful, and Commercial Album ultimately sold well, however the album received a lukewarm reception in the New Wave music press, which had been lavish in its praise of the group's albums from Fingerprince to Eskimo. This, combined with some internal frictions, led The Residents into a period of frustration which would culminate in the conception of the epic Mole Trilogy project the following year.

Reissues

Later Commercial Album t-shirt design

The LP was reissued for The Residents' 13th Anniversary in 1985. Three years later it would be repressed for the Residents Classic Series, on black vinyl and a special limited green vinyl edition. The LPs were pressed by Ralph Records, while East Side Digital and Torso (in Holland) released an expanded version of the album on CD.

The CD version of the "Classic Series" edition included ten "bonus babies": "Diskomo", "Shut Up Shut Up" and "And I Was Alone" from The Commercial Single, "Theme for an American TV Show", a cover of the Ramones' "We're A Happy Family" from the Miniatures compilation, "The Sleeper", "Boy In Love" and "Jailhouse Rock" from Residue of The Residents, and the later singles "This Is A Man's Man's Man's World" and "Hit The Road Jack".

Ralph sub-label T.E.C. Tones released the album on cassette in the US in 1990. The CD was reissued in 1994 as part of the now rare box set In Memoriam Torso.

Euro Ralph released a newly remastered CD edition of the album in Europe in 1995 in a limited quantity of 5,000 copies. Two years later, this remaster was released in the US by East Side Digital, and in Japan by Bomba Records. The Japanese release of this remaster came with a 16 page booklet.

In 2004, Mute reissued the CD in a deluxe hardbook case with a 24 page booklet, with slightly updated cover art. This version boasts itself as being the "25th Anniversary Repress", despite in fact being released on the albums 24th anniversary. This was the first release to credit Andy Partridge, Lene Lovich and Nessie Lessons as collaborators on the album.

A second remastered version of the album was released by Birdsong/Hayabusa Landings in Japan in 2010, for the album's 30th anniversary. This edition was remastered by Soichiro Nakamura and contained the same bonus tracks as the 1988 Classic Series CD. MVD Audio reissued the CD once again in 2015, in a version largely the same as the earlier pressings.

The Spotify digital version incorrectly lists the album as having been released in 1979; this error is possibly a result of the Mute "25th Anniversary Repress" issued in 2004.

pREServed CD edition (2019)

Postcard included with early copies of Commercial Album pREServed

Released alongside Eskimo in January 2019, Commercial Album was the seventh installment in The Residents' pREServed series of expanded and remastered editions of their albums. A two-disc set, it contains the additional tracks from The Commercial Single, as well as other songs featured on previous CD reissues of the album.

It also includes a considerable amount of previously unheard material, such as the instrumental outtakes "Kraftwerk" and "Cosmetics for Reality", 1982 live studio rehearsals, new versions of Commercial Album songs recorded by The Residents in 2004 for Commercial DVD, and live versions dating from 1986 to 2015.

A vocal version of "Cosmetics for Reality" was issued on the limited edition Record Store Day vinyl compilation Leftovers Again?! in 2021. Further pREServed releases related to Commercial Album are expected for release at an unknown time in the future; these are expected to include the mono mix of Commercial Album created for airing the tracks in radio commercial time slots, and a collection of "multi-track explorations" derived from the original master tapes.

"Classic Series" vinyl edition (2023)

Commercial Album was released as the seventh instalment in Psychofon Records' collector vinyl "Classic Series", in a special pop-up gatefold edition of 200 copies on transparent/rainbow splatter vinyl, in October 2023 via the Psychofon website.

This edition features a gatefold cover with a pop-up design in the center; the package is housed within a green "Classic Series" branded tote bag.

Commercial DVD

In 2004, The Residents expanded upon the concept of the short film One Minute Movies by commissioning independent filmmakers and video artists to create additional videos for each song on Commercial Album; the resulting collection was released on DVD by Mute, titled Commercial DVD, in conjunction with the "25th Anniversary" hardbook CD issued by the label.

Track listing

All tracks composed by The Residents unless otherwise noted.

Original release (1980)

Side A (20:59)

1. Easter Woman (1:03)
2. Perfect Love (1:03)
3. Picnic Boy (1:01)
4. End of Home (1:04)
5. Amber (1:02)
6. Japanese Watercolor (1:02)
7. Secrets (1:03)
8. Die in Terror (1:03)
9. Red Rider (1:02)
10. My Second Wife (1:02)
11. Floyd (1:03)
12. Suburban Bathers (1:04)
13. Dimples and Toes (1:03)
14. The Nameless Souls (1:04)
15. Love Leaks Out (1:04)
16. Act of Being Polite (1:03)
17. Medicine Man (1:04)
18. Tragic Bells (1:03)
19. Loss of Innocence (1:04)
20. The Simple Song (1:02)

Side B (21:12)

1. Ups and Downs (1:04)
2. Possessions (1:03)
3. Give It to Someone Else (1:03)
4. Phantom (1:04)
5. Less Not More (1:03)
6. My Work Is So Behind (1:04)
7. Birds in the Trees (1:04)
8. Handful of Desire (1:04)
9. Moisture (1:04)
10. Love Is... (1:03)
11. Troubled Man (1:04)
12. La La (1:04)
13. Loneliness (1:04)
14. Nice Old Man (1:04)
15. The Talk of Creatures (1:04)
16. Fingertips (1:04)
17. In Between Dreams (1:03)
18. Margaret Freeman (1:03)
19. The Coming of the Crow (1:04)
20. When We Were Young (1:02)

"Classic Series" CD reissue (1988)

1. Easter Woman (1:06)
2. Perfect Love (1:05)
3. Picnic Boy (1:03)
4. End of Home (1:06)
5. Amber (1:04)
6. Japanese Watercolor (1:04)
7. Secrets (1:05)
8. Die in Terror (1:05)
9. Red Rider (1:04)
10. My Second Wife (1:04)
11. Floyd (1:05)
12. Suburban Bathers (1:05)
13. Dimples and Toes (1:06)
14. The Nameless Souls (1:06)
15. Love Leaks Out (1:05)
16. Act of Being Polite (1:05)
17. Medicine Man (1:06)
18. Tragic Bells (1:05)
19. Loss of Innocence (1:06)
20. The Simple Song (1:04)
21. Ups and Downs (1:06)
22. Possessions (1:06)
23. Give It to Someone Else (1:05)
24. Phantom (1:06)
25. Less Not More (1:05)
26. My Work Is So Behind (1:06)
27. Birds in the Trees (1:06)
28. Handful of Desire (1:06)
29. Moisture (1:05)
30. Love Is... (1:05)
31. Troubled Man (1:06)
32. La La (1:06)
33. Loneliness (1:06)
34. Nice Old Man (1:06)
35. The Talk of Creatures (1:05)
36. Fingertips (1:06)
37. In Between Dreams (1:06)
38. Margaret Freeman (1:05)
39. The Coming of the Crow (1:06)
40. When We Were Young (1:13)
41. Shut Up Shut Up (1:04)
42. And I Was Alone (1:05)
43. Theme For An American TV Show (1:27)
44. We're A Happy Family _(Ramones) (1:11)
45. The Sleeper (2:58)
46. Boy In Love (2:57)
47. Diskomo _{(*Residue Edit)} (4:35)
48. Jailhouse Rock _{(Leiber/Stoller) (*1982 Residue version)} (3:08)
49. This Is A Man's Man's Man's World _{(Brown) (*1984 Single Version)} (3:44)
50. Hit The Road Jack _{(Mayfield) (*Original 1986 Single Version)} (4:04)

pREServed CD edition (2019)

^(*) indicates tracks which are previously unreleased.

Disc 1 - Commercial Album + Bonus Tracks

1. Easter Woman (1:03)
2. Perfect Love (1:03)
3. Picnic Boy (1:03)
4. End of Home (1:03)
5. Amber (1:02)
6. Japanese Watercolor (1:03)
7. Secrets (1:03)
8. Die in Terror (1:02)
9. Red Rider (1:02)
10. My Second Wife (1:02)
11. Floyd (1:03)
12. Suburban Bathers (1:03)
13. Dimples and Toes (1:03)
14. The Nameless Souls (1:04)
15. Love Leaks Out (1:02)
16. Act of Being Polite (1:03)
17. Medicine Man (1:03)
18. Tragic Bells (1:03)
19. Loss of Innocence (1:02)
20. The Simple Song (1:03)
21. Ups and Downs (1:03)
22. Possessions (1:03)
23. Give It to Someone Else (1:03)
24. Phantom (1:03)
25. Less Not More (1:03)
26. My Work Is So Behind (1:03)
27. Birds in the Trees (1:03)
28. Handful of Desire (1:03)
29. Moisture (1:03)
30. Love Is... (1:03)
31. Troubled Man (1:03)
32. La La (1:03)
33. Loneliness (1:03)
34. Nice Old Man (1:03)
35. The Talk of Creatures (1:03)
36. Fingertips (1:03)
37. In Between Dreams (1:03)
38. Margaret Freeman (1:03)
39. The Coming of the Crow (1:03)
40. When We Were Young (1:09)
41. Shut Up, Shut Up (1:02)
42. And I Was Alone (1:04)
43. Electronic Elaborate Waste (1:02) ^(*)
44. Kraftwerk (1:03) ^(*)
45. Cosmetics for Reality (1:06) ^(*)
46. Rosco's Righteous Rodent (1:01) ^(*)
47. Pretty Baby (1:04) ^(*)
48. Tuxedos (1:08) ^(*)
49. No Longer Unused (1:03) ^(*)
50. Instant Hostility (3:04) ^(*)
51. Elevator Lady (2:37) ^(*)
52. We're A Happy Family ^(Ramones) (1:10)
53. Commercial Commercials Suite (3:07) [Unlisted, CD only]

Disc 2 - Bonus Tracks

1. Shut Up, Shut Up (Residue Version) (1:12)
2. And I Was Alone (Alternate) (1:03) ^(*)
3. Ups and Downs (Residue Version) (3:07)
4. Boy In Love (2:55)
5. Die In Terror (1982 Rehearsal) (1:28) ^(*)
6. Give It To Someone Else (1982 Rehearsal) (0:53) ^(*)
7. Love Leaks Out (1982 Rehearsal) (1:09) ^(*)
8. The Talk of Creatures (1982 Rehearsal) (1:04) ^(*)
9. Easter Woman (Live 1986) (2:30)
10. Amber (Live 1986) (1:45)
11. Red Rider (Live 1986) (1:32)
12. Die In Terror (Live 1986) (1:26)
13. The Coming of the Crow (Live 1986) (1:45)
14. Moisture (Icky Flix Version) (1:05) ^(*)
15. Act of Being Polite (Icky Flix Version) (1:03) ^(*)
16. Perfect Love (Icky Flix Version) (1:06) ^(*)
17. Simple Song (Icky Flix Version) (1:04) ^(*)
18. Red Rider (Commercial DVD Version) (1:09) ^(*)
19. Moisture (Commercial DVD Version) (1:10) ^(*)
20. Commercial Album Suite (Live 2005) (5:48)
21. Give It To Someone Else (Live 2013) (3:04)
22. Easter Woman (Live 2015) (2:34) ^(*)
23. My Second Wife (Live 2015) (2:28) ^(*)
24. Loss of Innocence (Live 2015) (2:18) ^(*)

pREServed vinyl edition (2023)

^(*) indicates tracks which are previously unreleased.

Disc 1 - Commercial Album

Side A

1. Easter Woman (1:03)
2. Perfect Love (1:03)
3. Picnic Boy (1:03)
4. End of Home (1:03)
5. Amber (1:02)
6. Japanese Watercolor (1:03)
7. Secrets (1:03)
8. Die in Terror (1:02)
9. Red Rider (1:02)
10. My Second Wife (1:02)
11. Floyd (1:03)
12. Suburban Bathers (1:03)
13. Dimples and Toes (1:03)
14. The Nameless Souls (1:04)
15. Love Leaks Out (1:02)
16. Act of Being Polite (1:03)
17. Medicine Man (1:03)
18. Tragic Bells (1:03)
19. Loss of Innocence (1:02)
20. The Simple Song (1:03)

Side B

1. Ups and Downs (1:03)
2. Possessions (1:03)
3. Give It to Someone Else (1:03)
4. Phantom (1:03)
5. Less Not More (1:03)
6. My Work Is So Behind (1:03)
7. Birds in the Trees (1:03)
8. Handful of Desire (1:03)
9. Moisture (1:03)
10. Love Is... (1:03)
11. Troubled Man (1:03)
12. La La (1:03)
13. Loneliness (1:03)
14. Nice Old Man (1:03)
15. The Talk of Creatures (1:03)
16. Fingertips (1:03)
17. In Between Dreams (1:03)
18. Margaret Freeman (1:03)
19. The Coming of the Crow (1:03)
20. When We Were Young (1:09)

Disc 2 - COMS 1-3 RDX Suite

Side C

1. COMS 1-3 RDX Suite Pt 1 (16:14) ^(*)
   1. End of Home
   2. Floyd
   3. Picnic Boy
   4. Act of Being Polite
   5. Amber
   6. Suburban Bathers
   7. Loss of Innocence
   8. Perfect Love
   9. Secrets
   10. The Simple Song
   11. The Nameless Souls
   12. Japanese Watercolor
   13. Easter Woman
   14. My Second Wife
   15. Dimples and Toes
   16. Love Leaks Out
   17. Tragic Bells

Side D

1. COMS 1-3 RDX Suite Pt 2 (16:40) ^(*)
   1. Possessions
   2. Phantom
   3. Loneliness
   4. Moisture
   5. Nice Old Man
   6. Troubled Man
   7. In Between Dreams
   8. Less Not More
   9. The Talk of Creatures
   10. Margaret Freeman
   11. Ups and Downs
   12. Margaret Freeman
   13. Fingertips
   14. Give It To Someone Else
   15. The Coming of the Crow
   16. My Work Is So Behind
   17. Birds in the Trees
   18. When We Were Young

Liner notes

The Residents, 1978

"Classic Series" CD reissue (1987)

• Point one: Pop music is mostly a repetition of two types of musical and lyrical phrases, the verse and the chorus.
• Point two: These elements usually repeat three times in a three minute song, the type usually found on top-40 radio.
• Point three: Cut out the fat and a pop song is only one minute long. Then record albums can hold their own top-40, twenty minutes per side.
• Point four: One minute is also the length of most commercials, and therefore their corresponding jingles.
• Point five: Jingles are the music of America.
• Conclusion: This compact disc is terrific in shuffle play. To convert the jingles to pop music, program each song to repeat three times.

Credits

• Written & Produced By: The Residents
• Extra Hard Working Guest Musician: Fred Frith (Guitar and Bass)
• Special Appearances: Chris Cutler (Drums), Don Jackovich, Sandy Sandwich (Guitar and vocals on "Margaret Freeman"), Mud's Sis & Snakefinger (Guitar, violin, vocals)
• Special Secret Appearances: Nessie Lessons, Lene Lovich, Don Preston, David Byrne & Brian Eno
• Cover Design & Art Direction: Pore Know Graphics

Release history

Year	Label	Format	Region	Notes
1980	Ralph Records	LP	USA	Three variations.
	PRE Records		UK	Incorrect track listing on sleeve
	Charisma Records		Germany	Incorrect track listing on sleeve, no track listing on label.
		Cassette		Suburban Bathers misspelt.
	Missing Link	LP	Australia
	7 Records & Tapes	Cassette
	RTC	LP	New Zealand
1981	Celluloid	LP+7"	France	Incorrect track listing on sleeve, contains additional 7".
		LP		Correct track listing on sleeve. No 7"
	Vogue	Cassette		Suburban Bathers misspelt.
1985	Ralph Records	LP	USA	13th Anniversary Re-Press.
1988
	East Side Digital	CD		Contains 10 bonus tracks.
	Torso	LP	Holland
		CD		Contains 10 bonus tracks.
1990	T.E.C. Tones	Cassette	USA	10th Anniversary Re-Press.
1994	Euro Ralph	CD	EU	As part of the Memoriam Torso box set.
1995				Remastered version
1997	East Side Digital		USA
	Bomba Records		Japan	Remastered version, comes with 16 page booklet.
2004	Mute		Europe	24th Anniversary repress, mislabeled as 25th. 32 page booklet.
2010	Birdsong/Hayabusa Landings		Japan	30th Anniversary remaster. Same bonus tracks as 1988.
2015	MVD Audio		USA
2019	New Ralph Too, Cherry Red	2xCD	UK, USA, EU	pREServed CD edition
2023		2xLP		pREServed vinyl edition
	Psychofon Records	LP	EU	Classic Series collectors vinyl edition of 200 copies on transparent rainbow splatter vinyl, with pop-up gatefold cover

See also

• Commercial Single
• One Minute Movies
• Commercial DVD
• "Cosmetics for Reality"
• "Kraftwerk"
• Lene Lovich
• Andy Partridge
• David Byrne
• Brian Eno

Buy Or Die!

Listen online

• Commercial Album on Spotify
• Commercial Album pREServed edition on Spotify

External links and references

• Commercial Album at The Residents Historical
• Commercial Album at RZWeb
• Commercial Album on Discogs
• Commercial Album pREServed edition on Cherry Red Records

Commercial Album (1980) Side A: "Easter Woman" · "Perfect Love" · "Picnic Boy" · "End of Home" · "Amber" · "Japanese Watercolor" · "Secrets" "Die in Terror" · "Red Rider" · "My Second Wife" · "Floyd " · "Suburban Bathers" · "Dimples and Toes" · "The Nameless Souls" "Love Leaks Out" · "Act of Being Polite" · "Medicine Man" · "Tragic Bells" · "Loss of Innocence" · "The Simple Song" Side B: "Ups and Downs" · "Possessions" · "Give It to Someone Else" · "Phantom" · "Less Not More" · "My Work Is So Behind" · "Birds in the Trees" "Handful of Desire" · "Moisture" · "Love Is..." · "Troubled Man" · "La La" · "Loneliness" · "Nice Old Man" "The Talk of Creatures" · "Fingertips" · "In Between Dreams" · "Margaret Freeman" · "The Coming of the Crow" · "When We Were Young" Personnel The Residents · Fred Frith · Snakefinger · Don Jackovich · Chris Cutler Sandy Sandwich · Mud's Sis · Nessie Lessons · Lene Lovich · David Byrne · Brian Eno Related works "Electronic Elaborate Waste" · "Kraftwerk" · "Cosmetics For Reality" · "Rosco's Righteous Rodent" · "Pretty Baby" · "Tuxedos" "No Longer Unused" · "Instant Hostility" · "Elevator Lady" · "One Minute Movies" · Commercial Single ("Shut Up Shut Up" / "And I Was Alone") · "Boy In Love" · Minatures ("We're A Happy Family") · "Talkin' in the Town" · "Womb To Worm" · Greener Postures · "Theme For An American TV Show" · Ralph Radio Special · "Commercial Suite" · Commercial DVD · Commercial Album by The 180 Gs · The Commercial Single Commercials (In Mono) · Commercial Book (Commercial Album Radio Ads) Related articles Ralph Records · The Cryptic Corporation · Grove St. studio · Poor No Graphics · Buy Or Die 1980½ · Diskomo/Goosebump‏‏‎

The Residents studio albums Ralph Records (1972 - 1987) Meet The Residents (1974) · The Third Reich 'n Roll (1976) · Fingerprince (1977) · Duck Stab!/Buster & Glen (1978) Not Available (1978) · Eskimo (1979) · Commercial Album (1980) · Mark of the Mole (1981) The Tunes of Two Cities (1982) · George & James (1984) · The Big Bubble (1985) · Stars & Hank Forever! (1986) Ryko and Enigma (1988 - 1989) God In Three Persons (1988) · The King & Eye (1989) East Side Digital (1990 - 2002) Freak Show (1990) · Our Finest Flowers (1992) · Gingerbread Man (1994) · Have A Bad Day (1996) Wormwood (1998) · Demons Dance Alone (2002) Mute Records (2004 - 2007) Animal Lover (2005) · Tweedles! (2006) · The Voice of Midnight (2007) MVD Audio (2008 - 2015) The Bunny Boy (2008) · Lonely Teenager (2011) · Mush-Room (2013) MVD Audio and Cherry Red (2016 - present) The Ghost of Hope (2017) · Intruders (2018) · Metal, Meat & Bone (2020) Fan club / off-label albums Buckaroo Blues (1989) · The 12 Days of Brumalia (2004) · Night of the Hunters (2007) Hades (2009) · Dollar General (2010) · Night Train To Nowhere! (2012) Soundtrack albums Whatever Happened To Vileness Fats? (1984) · The Census Taker (1985) · Hunters (1995) · Icky Flix (2001) I Murdered Mommy! (2004) · Postcards From Patmos (2008) · Strange Culture/Haeckel's Tale (2010) Chuck's Ghost Music (2011) · Theory of Obscurity Soundtrack (2014) · Sculpt (2016) · Music to Eat Bricks By (2019) · Triple Trouble (2022) Collaborative albums Title In Limbo with Renaldo & The Loaf (1983) · I Am A Resident! with You? (2018) Live in the studio Assorted Secrets (1984) · Roadworms: The Berlin Sessions (2000) · Talking Light Live In Rehearsal, Santa Cruz, California (2010) Mole Dance 82 (2021) · Duck Stab! Alive! (2021) Related articles The Residents discography (W.E.I.R.D., 1979) · Ralph Records discography