The Way We Were is a live album by The Residents, released in 2005 on Ralph America. It features a recording of a Melbourne performance from the group's 2005 Australian tour, a 33rd anniversary show also entitled The Way We Were.
A remixed version of the album was issued by The Cryptic Corporation in 2012, re-titled Triple Dub-Ya: The Way We Were Melbourne.
History[]
The Way We Were features a recording of a performance in Melbourne during their five-date 2005 Australian tour of the same name. The Way We Were performances were in celebration of the group's 33rd anniversary; the last time they had traveled to Australia had been almost 20 years prior, in 1986 with their 13th Anniversary Show.
As such, The Way We Were featured many of the same songs heard previously in the 13th Anniversary Show, along with newer material the band has produced since.
Release[]
The album was released shortly after the end of the short tour in a limited edition of 1000 hand-numbered digipack sets, which also included a bonus DVD, featuring 27 minutes of footage from the tour, and an additional 15 minutes of animation used in the performance, titled "Lots Of Knots".
In 2012, The Cryptic Corporation issued an abridged version of the album under the new title of 'Triple Dub-Ya: The Way We Were Melbourne'. This version cuts about 8 minutes from the recording, including the songs 'The Way We Were', 'Ober', and 'The Way We Were Goodnight'.
Track listing[]
The Way We Were bonus DVD, 2005
The Way We Were (2005)[]
CD
- The Way We Were (1:57)
- Lizard Lady (1:57)
- Hello Skinny (3:10)
- Picnic In The Jungle (5:11)
- Commercial Album Suite (5:42)
- Coming Of The Crow / Eva's Warning (3:51)
- Would We Be Alive (4:10)
- Perfect Goat / Golden Goat (2:15)
- The Sleeper (2:45)
- Their Early Years (5:26)
- Jelly Jack (3:25)
- Deadwood (4:18)
- They Are The Meat / Mr. Misery (5:29)
- Burn Baby Burn (4:28)
- Mr. Wonderful (3:53)
- Betty's Body (5:49)
- Ober (2:46)
- Teddy Bear (4:38)
- Ship Of Fools (3:45)
- The Way We Were Goodnight (1:37)
DVD
- Picnic In The Jungle (5:29)
- The Sleeper (5:19)
- Eva's Warning (4:47)
- Jelly Jack / Deadwood (8:08)
- Ship Of Fools (3:48)
- Lots Of Knots (14:45)
Triple Dub-Ya: The Way We Were Melbourne (2012)[]
- Rocking In The '70's (10:34)
- Rocking In The '80's (13:34)
- Easter Woman
- Amber
- Die In Terror
- The Coming Of The Crow
- Eva's Warning
- Would We Be Alive
- Rocking In The '90's (17:56)
- Golden Goat
- The Sleeper
- Their Early Years
- Jelly Jack
- Deadwood
- Rocking In The '00's (18:19)
- They Are The Meat / Mr. Misery
- Burn Baby Burn
- Mr. Wonderful
- Betty's Body
- Rocking In The Encore (7:40)
- Teddy Bear
- Ship Of Fools
Liner notes[]
The Way We Were (2005)[]
"Memories, like the corners of my mind..."
As Barbra Streisand sang so sweetly, back in 1973.
While Barbra's memories were rummaging around the fallow corners of her mind in the early '70's, The Residents had their own business to take care of. After their first release Santa Dog was set adrift in late in 1972, the group anxiously awaited the vast acclaim certain to shove down upon the brilliant creators of that double set of 45 RPM records. Patiently, they sat by the phone... and waited... and waited... and waited... and waited some more. Not only did the phone not ring, but several of the Santa Dog records were actually returned unopened. Including one personally addressed to their favorite politician, then-president Richard Nixon. Disappointed, but not discouraged, the group immediately launched into another recording project, one destined to become their first album, Meet The Residents.
Recording music quickly became an addiction, and for a while, every year produced another title. But after ten years of life in the studio, The Residents began to feel the need of a new challenge, a new mode of creativity to explore. So not unlike flies unconsciously drawn to the odor of fresh feces, the group soon found itself sucked into the world of live performance.
A few years later, during their second tour, in the thirteenth year of their career, the group was unexpectedly invited to Australia and New Zealand for a month of shows stretching from Perth to Christchurch. This 13th Anniversary Show was a sensation and eventually charmed the entire world with its curiously odd mixture of performance art and music. Performing mostly in the dark, and accompanied by a hero of inflatable white giraffes, what was there not to love?
But, despite glowing review and sold out shows, The Residents were never invited back to Australia. They were, of course, asked to play other exotic places from Russia to Portugal, from Oslo to Tel Aviv... But they were never invited back to Australia. Not for 20 years. A lot can happen in twenty years. Children become adults, records turn into MP3s and Osama Bin Laden becomes the New Improved Hitler.
Finally, late in 2004, when The Residents were asked to perform in Australia again, they said "no." By this time they no longer relished a reprise Down Under. It was too far away and they had other things to do; creating a performance for a single festival taking place in three cities was too much work for too little reward. But one of the things that had happened during that 20 year gap was that The Residents had unexpectedly become the godfathers of the avant garde rock world, and the performers for this Aussie festival, an event devoted to new and unusual music, were musicians who had grown up listening to The Residents... children who had become adults.
With this in mind, The Residents began to feel they had an obligation to go back to Australia, this time touting their 33rd Anniversary while swearing that they would certainly return again... for their 53rd Anniversary Show. So the group decided it would be most fun to play some of the same material they had played in Australia 20 years earlier, as well as newer material, some of which was, well, maybe only 19 years old. But, joking aside, The Residents did agree to go to Australia and perform, as much for the other performers as for the audience.
Only five performances were scheduled. For normal tours, it takes at least five shows just to work out the bugs, so The Residents accepted the offer knowing that this tour would be buggy as a swamp in the summer... And it was. And even though it was taken from an audience mix, they somehow managed to get the performance recorded... And somehow managed to get those recordings assembled into a full-length CD of the show. You can absolutely rest assured that the disc you are holding in your hands has every song that was played, with edits occurring only when the performance was purely visual. It's true... we swear. To compensate for the lack of visual information available for these performances - which were definitely more "happenings" than concerts - a bonus DVD is included to give you, the listener and viewer, a small taste of The Way We Were, The Residents 33rd Anniversary Show. And, as an even more special bonus feature, a 14-minute video is included showing some of the computer graphic "knots" that The Residents designed as stage projections. The soundtrack for this projection video is taken from* the pre-show music that The Residents prepared for the Demons Dance Alone tour.
Finally, many people have asked if The 33rd Anniversary Show in Australia was a warmup for another world tour, like The 13th Anniversary Show. When this question was put to The Residents, they paused, looked at each other knowingly, and walked away. One of them seemed to be singing something that sounded a little like "Memories, like the crud in my duck blind..." But I could be mistaken.
*Due to pressing error this segment was not included. The Residents' website confirmed the missing part.
Credits[]
- Vid Collage: The Residents
- Performed By: The Residents
- With Guests: M. Harvey, C. Fabrizio & N. Cook
- Sound: Kevin Ink
- Album Remix: The Cryptic Corporation
- Camera: Ryan Long & Rajendra Serber
- Production Assistant: Ryan Long
- Picture & Sound Recorded Live in: Australia, March 2005 "What Is Music? Festival"
- Thanks To: Paulie Kraynak, Paul Curtis, & The Great Staff at What Is Music?
- Produced By: The Cryptic Corporation
Release History[]
| Year | Label | Format | Region | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Ralph America | CD | USA | Titled 'The Way We Were' |
| 2012 | Cryptic Corporation | Abridged version, Re-Titled 'Triple Dub-Ya: The Way We Were Melbourne' |