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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[]

Live album[]

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)[]

The Mole Show: Live at the Roxy (1998)[]

  1. Voices of the Air (3:09)
  2. The Secret Seed (2:08)
  3. Narration (0:42)
  4. The Ultimate Disaster (4:37)
  5. Narration (0:11)
  6. God of Darkness (2:41)
  7. Narration (0:17)
  8. Marching to the Sea (2:43)
  9. The Observer (1:22)
  10. The New Hymn (4:23)
  11. Another Land (3:32)
  12. Narration (0:12)
  13. Call of the Wild (3:16)
  14. Don't Tread On Me (2:51)
  15. Final Confrontation (3:34)
  16. Narration (1:58)
  17. Satisfaction (Jagger/Richards) (2:21)
  18. Happy Home (3:12)

Birdsong and Hayabusa Landings reissue (2011)[]

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
(1982-1983)

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"

Dates
America (October - April 1982)
Santa Monica, April 10th 1982 · San Francisco, October 26th 1982 · San Francisco, October 27th 1982 · Los Angeles, October 29th 1982 · Los Angeles, October 30th 1982 · Pasadena, October 31st 1982
Europe (May - July 1983)
Hannover, May 23rd 1983 · Vienna, May 25th 1983 · Vienna, May 26th 1983 · Munich, May 27th 1983 · Frankfurt, May 28th 1983 · Dusseldorf, May 29th 1983 · Berlin, May 30th 1983 · Copenhagen, June 1st 1983 · Hamburg, June 2nd 1983 · Bochum, June 3rd 1983 · Utrecht, June 4th 1983 · Brussels, June 5th 1983 · Utrecht, June 6th 1983 · Paris, June 7th 1983 · Lyon, June 8th 1983 · Bologna, June 12th 1983 · Milan, June 13th 1983 · Firenze, June 14th 1983 · Barcelona, June 17th 1983 · Valencia, June 18th 1983 · Madrid, June 19th 1983 · Madrid, June 20th 1983 · Madrid, June 21st 1983 · Bordeaux, June 23rd 1983 · Poitiers, June 24th 1983 · Birmingham, June 27th 1983 · London, June 28th 1983 · Liverpool, June 29th 1983 · Edinburgh, June 30th 1983 · Leicester, May 28th 1983
The Uncle Sam Mole Show
Washington, D.C., October 7th 1983

Personnel
The Residents · Penn Jillette · Kathleen French · Carol LeMaitre · Sarah McLennan · Chris Van Ralte · Nessie Lessons · Scott Fraser · Philip Perkins · Dan Gillham · Laurence Campling · Raoul N.D Seimbote · Eric Knorr · Leigh Barbier · Sheenah Spece · Paul Young · Mara Mikialian · Bill Gerber · Evan Medow · Tom Timony · Diane Flynn · Sally Lewis

Related releases
Mark of the Mole · The Tunes of Two Cities · Intermission EP · Mole Show (Live at the Roxy) · Mole Show VHS · Assorted Secrets · PAL TV LP · Set Designs from The Mole Show portfolio · Mole Show: Live In Holland · Mole Show DVD bag set · Mole Box: The Complete Mole Trilogy pREServed · Mole Dance 82

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