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On October 30th 1982, The Residents performed The Mole Show twice at the Roxy Theater in Los Angeles, California. These performances followed two shows at the same venue the previous evening.
A bootleg cassette, Live at the Roxy, 30 Oct. 1982, comprising parts of a supposedly fan-made soundboard recording from both the October 30th shows, began circulating later in the year. It has been said that The Cryptic Corporation purchased the recordings from the bootlegger, and released them officially in April 1983 as the live album Mole Show.
In 1998 the Mole Show album was remastered and reissued on CD in an expanded format by Bomba Records, exclusively for the Japanese market, retitled The Mole Show: Live at the Roxy. In 2019, a new remaster by Scott Colburn was included in the pREServed nine CD box set Mole Box.
Set list[]
- Voices of the Air
- The Secret Seed
- The Ultimate Disaster
- God of Darkness
- Migration
- Smack Your Lips (Clap Your Teeth)
- Another Land
- The New Machine
- Song of the Wild
- Final Confrontation
- Satisfaction
- Happy Home
Live album[]
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This article is about the 1983 live album Mole Show. You may be looking for the live tour, 1984 video, or 2009 DVD bag set of the same name. |
Mole Show (also known as The Mole Show: Live At The Roxy) is a 1983 live album by The Residents, recorded at two Mole Show performances on October 30th 1982 at The Roxy Theatre in Los Angeles.
This album blends together the best portions from both shows to make a full Mole Show concert, fitting within the constraints of a single LP.
History[]
These concerts were not originally meant to be released, but were recorded without the band's consent and originally released as a bootleg cassette entitled Live at the Roxy, 30 Oct. 1982. The Cryptic Corporation, impressed with the quality of the recording, acquired the master tapes from the bootlegger ("rumored" to be Tom Timony) and reissued it as The Residents' first official live album in 1983.
Release[]
Because of its original nature as a bootleg, the packaging for the LP was meant to look like it was made by a fan. The original cover art for the album features a simple, iconic black and white image of the "classic eyeball", taken from a Mole Show European program, glued over a cardboard sleeve. Inside was a paper sheet insert with a listing of all the people involved in the show's production. it was also released in a limited edition of 1800 picture discs.
The album was remastered and reissued on CD in 1998 on Bomba Records as The Mole Show: Live At The Roxy (differentiating it from the 1989 release of Mole Show: Live In Holland), exclusively for the Japanese market. It came with new cover art, a digitally augmented photograph of the outside of a French theatre (not the Roxy), displaying a poster promoting the show. The CD came with a small booklet with liner notes in Japanese, and a track listing in which "Song of the Wild" is erroneously titled "Call of the Wild".
In 2011, another remaster was issued by Birdsong and Hayabusa Landings, again as a Japan exclusive. But the new cover art made by Bomba was not brought back, with the original "classic eyeball" image being used instead. This release came with new notes about the show, and as a bonus track, it included Part 3 of The Residents Radio Special.
It was remastered yet again by Scott Colburn as part of The Residents' ongoing pREServed series of expanded reissues of their catalog of albums, and was released on Cherry Red/MVD on April 5th 2019 as the fourth disc of the comprehensive six disc Mole Box set.
Track listing[]
All tracks composed by The Residents unless otherwise noted.
Mole Show (1983)[]
Side A (22:13)[]
Side B (28:00)[]
- Another Land
- The New Machine
- Song of the Wild
- Final Confrontation
- "We Had To Borrow Money From Our Parents..."
- Satisfaction
- Happy Home
The Mole Show: Live at the Roxy (1998)[]
- Voices of the Air (3:09)
- The Secret Seed (2:08)
- Narration (0:42)
- The Ultimate Disaster (4:37)
- Narration (0:11)
- God of Darkness (2:41)
- Narration (0:17)
- Marching to the Sea (2:43)
- The Observer (1:22)
- The New Hymn (4:23)
- Another Land (3:32)
- Narration (0:12)
- Call of the Wild (3:16)
- Don't Tread On Me (2:51)
- Final Confrontation (3:34)
- Narration (1:58)
- Satisfaction (Jagger/Richards) (2:21)
- Happy Home (3:12)
Birdsong and Hayabusa Landings reissue (2011)[]
- Voices of the Air
- The Secret Seed
- Narration
- The Ultimate Disaster
- Narration
- God of Darkness
- Narration
- Marching to the Sea
- The Observer
- The New Hymn
- Another Land
- Narration
- Call of the Wild
- Don't Tread On Me
- Final Confrontation
- Narration
- Satisfaction (Jagger/Richards)
- Happy Home
- Ralph Records 1977 Radio Special Part 3 (from Eat Exuding Oinks!
Credits[]
- Written & Directed by The Residents
- Music Written & Played by The Residents
- Narrator: Penn Jillette
- Choreographer: Kathleen French
- Dancers: Kathleen French, Carlo Werner Lamaitre, Sarah McLennan Walker, Chris Van Ralte
- Vocalist: Nessie Lessons
- Sound: Scott Fraser
- Lighting Designer: Philip Perkins
- Lighting Director: Dan Gillham
- Stage Manager: Laurence Campling
- Backdrop Movers: Raoul N.D. Seimbote, Eric Knorr
- Artistic Direction: The Residents
- Sets & Props: Laurence Campling, Leigh Barbier, Homer Flynn, Hardy Fox
- Costumes: Sheenah Timony
- Tour Manager: Paul Young
- Publicist: Mara Mikialian
- Manager: Bill Gerber / Lookout Management
- Legal Matters: Evan Medow
- Business: Siegel & Feldstein
- Security: Thomas Timony
- Merchandising: Diane Flynn
- Merchandising Asst.: Ray Paulsen, Sally Lewis, Gary Mikialian, Nancy Baddock
- Thanks to: Sharon Berosini, Adam Gordon, Gary & Nicole Panter, Mark Mothersbaugh and his friend Anna, John Kennedy, Ken Friedman, Doug Sanberg, Graeme Whiffler, Eric Feldman, Helen Hall, Lou Stathis, Elliot Roberts, Elmer Valentine, Jay Clem, Rob and Rodney from BGP, Kevin and everyone at E-MU Systems, Steven Banks, Joshua Brody, Andy Hewitt, Videowest, Ralph Records
Liner notes[]
Mole Box (2019)[]
Narrated by Penn Jillette, and originally recorded and released, so the story goes, by bootleggers, this album is a very-friendly condensation of two concerts (early and late shows) given by The Residents at The Roxy Theatre in Los Angeles on October 30th, 1982, the fourth date on a brief, five night Californian Mole Show tour.
Release history[]
Year | Label | Format | Region | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1983 | Ralph Records | LP | US | No track listing. |
1998 | Bomba Records | CD | JP | Remaster |
2011 | Birdsong & Hayabusa Landings | Remaster, features excerpt from the 1977 Radio Special. | ||
2019 | MVD, New Ralph Too, Cherry Red | US, EU | Remaster, as part of The Mole Box. |
See also[]
External links and references[]
- The Mole Show at The Residents Historical
- The Mole Show at RZWeb (archived via archive.org)
- The Mole Show Live at the Roxy at RZWeb (archived via archive.org)
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The Mole Show (1982-1983) Set list |