Part Three of The Mole Trilogy is a title ascribed to an unfinished and unreleased studio album by The Residents which was conceived and partly recorded between 1981 and 1985 (with additional recordings dating from the late 1980s and early 1990s),[1][2] but which was repeatedly delayed and ultimately abandoned by the group, following the financial failure of their debut live tour The Mole Show in 1983 and the 1985 release of the trilogy's fourth (and, to date, final) instalment, The Big Bubble.
During the period of time when the album was scheduled as an upcoming release, Ralph Records printed the caveat "This Is Not Part Three of The Mole Trilogy" on a number of releases and promotional items. The phrase was seen on the back of the 1982 EP Intermission, the 1983 outtakes compilation Residue of The Residents, and 1984 studio album George & James, to name but a few.[3]
Elements of tracks presumed for inclusion on Part Three of The Mole Trilogy were first released in the form of the Robot Selling Device release Mole Suite in 2011, and a short sequence of tracks which may or may not have been intended for the album saw release in 2019 on the sixth disc of the pREServed remastered collection Mole Box.[1]
History[]
Initial plans[]
A Mole from promotional art for The Mole Trilogy
Part Three of The Mole Trilogy was originally conceived by The Residents during production of the first album in The Mole Trilogy, Mark of the Mole; as of the release of Mark of the Mole in 1981, Part Three was still intended to be the closing chapter in the trilogy, described by Ralph Records managing director Jay Clem as being a work-in-progress with a projected completion date of 1985.[2]
Shortly after the release of the second album in the trilogy, The Tunes of Two Cities, in March 1982, The Residents began developing a live tour based on the two albums, The Mole Show, which premiered on October 26th following a test performance in April.
In summer 1982, Homer Flynn of The Cryptic Corporation stated that the group planned to start recording Part Three late in that year, but also stated that they were considering including material from Part Three in the finale of the Mole Show. At that time, Hardy Fox stated that the album's "schematics" had been laid out and that it was shaping up to be their most radical album yet, "treading over" all their earlier ones.[4]
However, following the financial failure of the Mole Show tour and near split of The Cryptic Corporation in 1982, The Residents ultimately chose to begin work on a new project, The American Composer Series, and began work on the first entry in that series, George & James, the following year.
By early 1984, work was well underway on the fourth part of the trilogy, The Big Bubble, a "musical documentary" album (similar to The Tunes of Two Cities) elaborating on the musical culture explored in detail in the plot of the unreleased Part Three. Despite this, Cryptic correspondent "Willie the Squealer" reported in April 1984 that Part Three was half complete, and that unspecified tracks from it had somehow leaked and were circulating in England at that time.[5]
In 1986, the official word was that Part Three had been 'too heavy and serious' for The Residents to record at the time, but that it was still scheduled for release.[6]
Later attempts[]
In June 1987, Hardy Fox played a tape containing material The Residents had been working on since February as part of a radio special on WHS in Holland. Fox describes one untitled song as being similar to The Big Bubble. This track has since been officially released as "Untitled" on the Big Bubble disc of the 2019 pREServed box set Mole Box, where it is said to originate from The Big Bubble sessions.[1]
The Residents quietly continued work on The Mole Trilogy in the late 1980s and early 1990s, recording a series of mostly instrumental tracks featuring motifs from The Mole Trilogy, as well as entirely new compositions such as "Tired Old Man" and "Marching To The We";[1] a number of these pieces were compiled into the 17 minute piece "Mole Suite", which was issued as a digital-only EP on the group's online digital music store Robot Selling Device in 2011.
"Mole Suite" (aside from "Marching To The We") was not included on the 2019 Mole Box, but was mentioned in the liner notes included in the set, with no explanation as to why most of the suite was not included. The "Miscellaneous Mole Materials" disc presents a short sequence of tracks which "may or may not" originate from the unfinished Part Three, as well as a selection of other studio outtakes from the era (a number of which originate from the private compilation cassette A Sorded Residents).[1]
The back of the slipcase which houses the "Miscellaneous Mole Materials" CD features a note reading "Is any of this part three of The Mole Trilogy?". The CD includes "Now It Is Too Late", a track which seems to originate from the era and apparently relates to the Mole Trilogy concept, but which The Residents cannot remember recording, and a piece titled "Going Nowhere", specifically mentioned in the liner notes as possibly being from Part Three.[1] The Snakefinger song "Eva's Warning," co-written by The Residents, features many of the same lyrics as "Now It Is Too Late;" Snakefinger was playing the song in concert as early as September 11th, 1981; showcasing that the set of lyrics had already been fully developed into "Eva's Warning" by the time Mark of the Mole was released. An early version of "Dimples and Toes," from 1980, also features the same lyrics as "Now It Is Too Late," suggesting that the lyrics predate the Mark of the Mole sessions itself.
Concept[]
The fictional band The Big Bubble, as featured in the album art to the fourth entry in The Mole Trilogy, 1985
Much of what is known about the plot of the incomplete and unreleased Part Three of The Mole Trilogy derives from the liner notes to the fourth instalment (and third and final release) in the trilogy, The Big Bubble, in 1985, although the basic elements of the plot had been conceived by The Residents before the first album in the trilogy, Mark of the Mole, was released in 1981.[2]
Several decades after their initial civil war, which had no clear victor, the hard-working and deeply religious Mohelmot people continue to live uneasily alongside the vacuous and materialistic Chubs, and tensions between the two cultures persist throughout their everyday lives. Cross-breeding between the two groups inspires a conservative pure-Mohelmot movement called the Zinkenites, who want to return the Mohelmot to their traditional values and culture. One of the Zinkenite leaders is a cross-breed named Kula Bocca.
The story tells of Kula Bocca hiring a local band called The Big Bubble to play songs to stir up the youth at a rally. The concert begins with a speech by Kula Bocca, and the band performs songs in the native Mohelmot language, which had been banned since the war at the end of Mark of the Mole. Kula Bocca arranges for Ramsey, the leader of the band, to be arrested in the middle of the concert, causing a riot and a huge public outcry against anti-Mohelmot laws.
The story continues in the liner notes of the album The Big Bubble, which reveal that Ramsey was later released from prison following a public outcry after his arrest, and The Big Bubble was signed by Frankie DuVall of Black Shroud Records (named after the traditional Mohelmot form of dress) to release a single and album.
Related tracks[]
- "Another Another Land"
- "Now It Is Too Late"
- "Going Nowhere"
- "Tired Old Man"
- "Marching To The We"
- "Mole Suite"
This Is Not Part Three of The Mole Trilogy[]
The Residents' official hardnosed pens, sent to mail-order subscribers in the early 1980s, photo by Robert Eliason
Following the release of The Tunes of Two Cities (the second album in The Mole Trilogy) in 1982, Ralph Records began printing the caveat "This Is Not Part Three of The Mole Trilogy" on its Residents releases, as well as on a number of promotional items released by the label at the time.
Items that are "Not Part Three of The Mole Trilogy" include:
- Intermission
- Residue of The Residents
- The Comix of Two Cities by Matt Howarth
- The White Single
- George & James
- The Residents' official hardnose pen[7]
See also[]
External links and references[]
- The Mole Trilogy at The Residents Historical
- The Mole Trilogy at RZWeb (archived via archive.org)
- This is Not Part Three of The Mole Trilogy at RZWeb (archived via archive.org)
- Mole Box at Discogs
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Mole Box: The Complete Mole Trilogy pREServed liner notes, 2019
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Letter from Jay Clem to Lou Stathis, August 13th 1981
- ↑ Oliver Hall, "Crucial new Residents box set collects the scattered pieces of the never-finished Mole Trilogy", Dangerous Minds, April 5th 2019
- ↑ JJJ Interview, Summer 1982
- ↑ Willie the Squealer, "Willie Watches", Ralph Records newsletter, April 23rd 1984
- ↑ The Cryptic Guide to The Residents (Pg. 11)
- ↑ Post by Robert Eliason to The Residents unofficial Facebook group, May 23rd 2022
