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"Don't Be Cruel" is an EP released by The Residents through Torso in 1990. The CD edition features 2 outtakes from The King & Eye, as well as two then recent compositions by the band.

Background[]

In one day in August of 1989, The Residents recorded The King & Eye, an album comprising of 16 Elvis Presley covers, and 5 parts of their Baby King suite. During these sessions two more Elvis covers were recorded, Don't, and Surrender. And so when it came time for Torso to release the single from The King & Eye, these two were chosen as the B-Side.

When the EP was compiled and the group received test pressings with artwork included, The Residents all agreed that at 7 minutes, it was much, much too short. As a result, they sent Torso two recently finished untitled instrumental pieces to flesh out the release. Seeing as the artwork for the CD was already finished, the two tracks had to be included as secret bonus tracks.

When asked about the titles of these pieces, Uncle Willie checked the master tapes, and discovered they had only ever been listed as 'Song 1 with no name' and 'Song 2 with no name'. They were given the names The Toy Factory, and Ghost Music on the 2010 Mini-Album 'Chicken Scratching With The Residents',[1]

The single was re-released as part of the limited edition In Memoriam Torso box set in 1994, and then again in 2020 as part of the Cube-E Box Set, although featuring an edited version of the title track.

Track listing[]

7" Version[]

  1. Don't Be Cruel (Blackwell) (2:57)
  2. Don't (Leiber/Stoller) (1:53)
  3. Surrender (Pomus/Shuman) (1:55)

CD Version[]

  1. Don't Be Cruel (Blackwell) (3:00)
  2. Don't (Leiber/Stoller) (1:57)
  3. Surrender (Pomus/Shuman) (2:01)
  4. Song 1 with no name (Residents) (1:44)
  5. Song 2 with no name (Residents) (1:45)

Cube-E Box-Set, 2020[]

  1. Don't Be Cruel (Video Edit) (Blackwell) (2:23)
  2. Don't (Leiber/Stoller) (1:54)
  3. Surrender (Pomus/Shuman) (1:58)
  4. Burning Love (TELE5 Demo) (Linde) (2:14)
  5. Burning Love (TELE5 Performance) (Linde) (3:58)
  6. Ober (Live In Australia, 2005) (Residents) (2:46)
  7. Teddy Bear (Live In Australia, 2005) (Lowe/Mann) (4:45)
  8. Teddy Bear (Live In San Francisco, 2018) (Lowe/Mann) (4:14)

Credits[]

Release History[]

Year Label Format Region Notes
1990 Torso 7" Netherlands
CD With secret bonus tracks
1994 Euro Ralph 7" Europe As part of In Memoriam Torso box set
2020 New Ralph Too, Cherry Red, MVD CD US/Europe As part of Cube-E Box Set.

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See also[]

External links and references[]

References[]

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