ERA B474 is a compilation of material by The Pre-sidents, released in early 2012 on the Robot Selling Device. It is a compilation of recordings from the earliest days of The Residents, dating from 1969, to the release of the Santa Dog EP in 1972, and was the first official release of a number of the group's early demo recordings.
It was intended to be the first in a series of compilations featuring rare or unheard archival material, however this was the only installment in the series to see release. A similar concept would later be enacted with the pREServed series of expanded reissues, which began in 2018 and continues to the present.
An expanded version of ERA B474 was released on CD the following year by The Cryptic Corporation, titled The Delta Nudes' Greatest Hiss; it was again expanded and reissued in 2016 by Klanggalerie as The Residents Present The Delta Nudes.
History[]
Intended as the first in a series of compilations releasing rare tracks and merchandise related to various "eras" in The Residents' history, ERA B474 includes "Blow Blusy Balloon" and "The Ballad of Stuffed Trigger", neither of which had never been released to the public in any form, as well as the complete six-minute 1969 take of "I Hear Ya Got Religion" (previously released in a shorter edit on dot.com in 1999), and the first official releases of "Mad Sawmill", "Goodbye Lover" and "Maggie's Farm" from The Warner Bros. Album.
The release of the album was accompanied by a short-lived run of t-shirts featuring images from the earliest part of the group's career, including one with the "Residents, Uninc." logo seen on the back cover of Meet The Residents; many of these shirts are now rarely seen.
This compilation was later effectively superseded by the Delta Nudes' Greatest Hiss and The Residents Present The Delta Nudes compilation albums, released in 2013 and 2016 respectively, which boasted all of the tracks on this compilation, with expanded track listings featuring further unheard early recordings.
The "ERA" project only continued for a month after the release of ERA B474, but following Cherry Red Records and MVD Audio's acquisition of The Cryptic Corporation and its archives in 2016, the concept was developed into the much more comprehensive pREServed reissue campaign which began in 2018 and continues into the present.
Track listing[]
- Aircraft Damage (3:51)
- Mad Sawmill (1:30)
- I Hear Ya Got Religion (6:26)
- Blow Blusy Balloon (3:35)
- Ballad of Stuffed Trigger (2:54)
- Goodbye Lover (2:38)
- King Kong (Zappa) (4:08)
- Maggie's Farm (Dylan) (1:24)
- Party of 71 (3:00)
- D For Doorknob (3:50)
- Hallowed Be Thy Ween (14:06)
Liner notes[]
"The term "The Residents" first appeared in 1974 on the cover of Meet The Residents. Before that there were no Residents, just the loosely bonded friendship of a few people. For the sake of simplicity I shall call them "Pre-sidents."
This version of ERA takes a look at B4-74, when experimentation artistically, culturally and socially was not just the norm, it was the rule. Young people in the South who tend to be wary of the political and social climate tend to drift toward the West.
Lured to the Flower Power Revolution were the Pre-sidents. They however did not go to San Francisco like one might expect, but instead settled down in San Mateo 20 miles south of San Francisco.
About the same time a couple of friends from Louisiana and Texas. Homer Flynn and Hardy Fox found themselves on the same road to Flower Power in San Francisco. They established themselves in a loft type commercial building in the Mission District and were soon joined by more refuges from the South, Jay Clem, Palmer Eiland, and John Kennedy.
The Mission district five lived upstairs from a space that had previously been used to publish a dog lover's magazine, Western Kennel World. The downstairs space was large but completely unusable due to a giant printing press that took up much of the floor. The Pre-sidents had ambitious artistic dreams far too big for their tiny place in San Mateo and so it only made sense that they use the downstairs as a place to launch the film project, Vileness Fats once the press was dismantled.
The Pre-sidents would take the train from San Mateo to San Francisco several times a week and eventually work begin in earnest on building the first set for Vileness Fats. The upstairs five happily joined the San Mateo guys so soon there were instantly nine people on the production. The San Mateo group labeled the upstairs people as the unincorporated residents to distinguish one group from the other.
Vileness Fats was the biggest project the Pre-sidents undertook but they also launched into their musical interest with their friends N. Senada and PC Lithman who visited from Europe during this era.
Projects from pre-1974 are sketchy and largely personal. The Residents do not generally encourage the inspection of that time.
We know that around 1974 the Pre-sidents reorganized as The Residents and the unincorporated residents (Residents, Uninc,) - now down to four - reorganized as The Cryptic Corporation with the attitude of continuing their support of the artistically inclined group. This arrangement has changed very little in the past 40 years.
Cryptic has allowed us access to some of their archives for this project."
Recording Dates[]
- "Aircraft Damage" From the December 1972 EP Santa Dog.
- "Mad Sawmill" from the Warner Brothers Album demo tape, completed May 1971.
- "Hear Ya Got Religion" according to the Dot.Com liner notes, this was recorded in 1969.
- "Blow Blusy Balloon" Unknown. B474.
- "Ballad of Stuffed Trigger" recorded 1970, according to the WEIRD Guide to The Residents.
- "Goodbye Lover" outtake from the Warner Brothers Album demo tape, completed May 1971.
- "King Kong" from the B.S. demo tape, completed December 1971.
- "Maggie's Farm" from the Warner Brothers Album demo tape, completed May 1971.
- "Party of 71" live recording from February 12th 1972.
- "D For Doorknob" live at The Boarding House, October 18th 1971.
- "Hallowed Be Thy Ween" from the B.S. demo tape, completed December 1971.
Buy Or Die![]
Listen online[]
- The Residents Present The Delta Nudes on Spotify
- The Residents Present The Delta Nudes on Apple Music
