Commercial Album

Commercial Album is the seventh studio album by The Residents, released on October 29th 1980 on Ralph Records.
Another manifestation of The Residents' whimsical relationship with pop music and their interest in music about music, Commercial Album is a collection of forty one-minute long "commercial" songs.
== History ==
Commercial Album was conceived and recorded by The Residents between September 21st and November 8th 1979,Faceless Forever (Pg 53) or September 1979 and July 1980.The Cryptic Guide to The Residents The album pares down the concept and structure of the average "commercial" pop song, reducing it to a one-minute "jingle". These "jingles" are, in turn, designed to be repeated three times to form a complete pop song. Commercial Album contains forty such sixty-second vignettes, representing The Residents' own "personal top 40". 
The group used a number of ideas in the composition of Commercial Album which had cropped up during the recording of Eskimo, but which were not appropriate for that project. The new concept meant that some songs of average length had to be stripped back to their basics for the final release. The longer, original version of "Ups and Downs" can be found on the Residue of The Residents compilation. The first track recorded was "Less Not More" and the last was "Loss of Innocence."
During the recording of Commercial Album, The Residents teamed up with several artists, including their old friend Snakefinger, who not only provided guitar, but sings on "Ups and Downs". The band also recruited Chris Cutler, who had worked with them on Eskimo, and Fred Frith.
The liner credits also mention "Special Secret Appearances by ?"; the secret guests included Lene Lovich, who sang "Picnic Boy", Andy Partridge of XTC, who plays and sings on "Margaret Freeman", and Nessie Lessons, the wife of The Residents' engineer Hardy Fox, who appears on several tracks. Many years later, it was revealed that David Byrne of Talking Heads performed backing vocals on "Suburban Bathers", and producer Brian Eno performed synthesizer on "The Coming of the Crow".
== Cover art ==
The album's cover art, designed by Sammi Selmo and executed by Ralph Records' in-house design wing Porno Graphics, features the faces of then-popular celebrities John Travolta and Barbra Streisand, with an image of four blue-eyed Residents superimposed on top, positioned so that their eyeball masks cover the eyes of Travolta and Streisand. 
The back cover art features the album's track listing arranged in a grid, in a manner resembling popular singles charts such as the Billboard Hot 100. The font used on the front cover and at the top of the back cover is Eurostile Extended Black; derivatives of the Eurostile font family are widely available, and have occasionally been used on later reissues and related releases. 
== Release ==
Prior to the album's release, The Cryptic Corporation bought forty one-minute commercial slots on KFRC-AM, the most popular top 40 radio station in San Francisco at that time, and used them to broadcast the full contents of Commercial Album over a three day period. A special mono mix of the album was created specifically for this purpose, making it the first Residents album to be mixed in mono since their debut, Meet The Residents, in 1974.
According to Cryptic treasurer and spokesperson Jay Clem, "the conception, execution and marketing of the LP was intended to be more commercial than anything we've done so far. When it came time to make the choice of a station for the world premiere, we really only had one choice, since KFRC is the top-rated Top 40 station in the market and is a consistent national award-winner. Because the album has 40 cuts we wanted to premiere on a Top 40 station, and we have also pressed 40,000 copies of the album."Billboard magazine, November 15th 1980, pg 23
Commercial Album was released in the US on October 29th 1980 by Ralph Records, in three variations. The first, limited to 15,000 copies, features an incorrect track listing on the back cover, with tracks 8 - 14 listed in a different order, perhaps a remnant of an earlier track listing. The second US pressing, limited to 20,000 copies, corrected the incorrect track listing.Commercial Album was the first Residents album, after the 1979 compilation Nibbles, to be licensed for international release. In the UK it was released by PRE Records, who also issued the Commercial Single 7" EP, featuring two songs ("Shut Up Shut Up" and "And I Was Alone") which were excluded from the final track listing of the album. In Australia the LP was released by Missing Link Records, who had previously released Nibbles there, and in New Zealand the LP was issued by RTC.
The French pressing was released by Celluloid in January 1981, and contained the same sleeve error as the earlier American pressing, but came with an additional 7" single containing "Shut Up Shut Up" and "And I Was Alone". Later Celluloid pressings, which corrected the incorrect track listing, did not come with the bonus single.
The German edition was released by Charisma Records, and featured an extensive fourteen page biography on The Residents written by Alfred Hilsberg. Both the British and German pressings featured the incorrect track listing on the sleeve. While the UK LP featured the correct track listing on the album's labels, the German pressing has no track listing on the label at all, just "1-20" (20:00) and "21-40" (20:00). 
Charisma also released the album on cassette, making this the first Residents album to be publicly released on that format. The track listing on the cassette is correct, but "Suburban Bathers" is misspelt "Suburdan Bathers". The album was also issued on cassette in Australia by 7 Records & Tapes, and in France by Vogue (featuring the same spelling error as the German cassette).
Phonogram and Celluloid Records financed a short film directed by The Residents with Graeme Whifler entitled One Minute Movies, featuring the tracks "Moisture", "The Act of Being Polite", "Perfect Love", and "The Simple Song". The advent of MTV in the years following the release of the film meant that these clips received a great deal of rotation when MTV was first on the air, due in no small part to a lack of available music videos at the time.
The international releases and promotional campaigns were successful, and Commercial Album ultimately sold well, however the album received a lukewarm reception in the New Wave music press, which had been lavish in its praise of the group's albums from Fingerprince to Eskimo. This, combined with some internal frictions, led The Residents into a period of frustration which would culminate in the conception of the epic Mole Trilogy project the following year.
=== Reissues ===
The LP was reissued for The Residents' 13th Anniversary in 1985. Three years later it would be repressed for the Residents Classic Series, on black vinyl and a special limited green vinyl edition. The LPs were pressed by Ralph Records, while East Side Digital and Torso (in Holland) released an expanded version of the album on CD.
The CD version of the "Classic Series" edition included ten "bonus babies": "Diskomo", "Shut Up Shut Up" and "And I Was Alone" from The Commercial Single, "Theme for an American TV Show", a cover of the Ramones' "We're A Happy Family" from the Miniatures compilation, "The Sleeper", "Boy In Love" and "Jailhouse Rock" from Residue of The Residents, and the later singles "This Is A Man's Man's Man's World" and "Hit The Road Jack".
Ralph sub-label T.E.C. Tones released the album on cassette in the US in 1990. The CD was reissued in 1994 as part of the now rare box set In Memoriam Torso.
Euro Ralph released a newly remastered CD edition of the album in Europe in 1995 in a limited quantity of 5,000 copies. Two years later, this remaster was released in the US by East Side Digital, and in Japan by Bomba Records. The Japanese release of this remaster came with a 16 page booklet.
In 2004, Mute reissued the CD in a deluxe hardbook case with a 24 page booklet, with slightly updated cover art. This version boasts itself as being the "25th Anniversary Repress", despite in fact being released on the albums 24th anniversary. This was the first release to credit Andy Partridge, Lene Lovich and Nessie Lessons as collaborators on the album.
A second remastered version of the album was released by Birdsong/Hayabusa Landings in Japan in 2010, for the album's 30th anniversary. This edition was remastered by Soichiro Nakamura and contained the same bonus tracks as the 1988 Classic Series CD. MVD Audio reissued the CD once again in 2015, in a version largely the same as the earlier pressings.
The Spotify digital version incorrectly lists the album as having been released in 1979; this error is possibly a result of the Mute "25th Anniversary Repress" issued in 2004.
==== pREServed CD edition (2019) ====
Released alongside Eskimo in January 2019, Commercial Album was the seventh installment in The Residents' pREServed series of expanded and remastered editions of their albums. A two-disc set, it contains the additional tracks from The Commercial Single, as well as other songs featured on previous CD reissues of the album. 
It also includes a considerable amount of previously unheard material, such as the instrumental outtakes "Kraftwerk" and "Cosmetics for Reality", 1982 live studio rehearsals, new versions of Commercial Album songs recorded by The Residents in 2004 for Commercial DVD, and live versions dating from 1986 to 2015. 
A vocal version of "Cosmetics for Reality" was issued on the limited edition Record Store Day vinyl compilation Leftovers Again?! in 2021. Further pREServed releases related to Commercial Album are expected for release at an unknown time in the future; these are expected to include the mono mix of Commercial Album created for airing the tracks in radio commercial time slots,I know there are plans afoot for some mail order only obscure vinyl too, but The Residents were slightly unsure what the demand would be, so this all bodes well. The complete '1-10 (With A Touch Of 11)' tape, the complete 'German Slide' tape, the complete 'Commercial Album' commercials tape (which I think is a mono mix of the album too) and so on..." - Richard Anderson, The Residents Facebook group, March 19th 2019 and a collection of "multi-track explorations" derived from the original master tapes."I was sent a bunch of Commercial Album multitrack explorations this week. Fantastic sounding stuff... as I understand it they were so pleased with how the pREServed stuff was received that they've dug out the multitracks of the 70s albums and begun playing around with those. That's how both Eskimo DeConstructed and X Is For Xtra came about, I think." - Richard Anderson, Ralph Records Facebook page, October 6th 2020
==== "Classic Series" vinyl edition (2023) ====
Commercial Album was released as the seventh instalment in Psychofon Records' collector vinyl "Classic Series", in a special pop-up gatefold edition of 200 copies on transparent/rainbow splatter vinyl, in October 2023 via the Psychofon website. 
This edition features a gatefold cover with a pop-up design in the center; the package is housed within a green "Classic Series" branded tote bag.
=== Commercial DVD ===
In 2004, The Residents expanded upon the concept of the short film One Minute Movies by commissioning independent filmmakers and video artists to create additional videos for each song on Commercial Album; the resulting collection was released on DVD by Mute, titled Commercial DVD, in conjunction with the "25th Anniversary" hardbook CD issued by the label.
== Track listing ==
All tracks composed by The Residents unless otherwise noted.
=== Original release (1980) ===
==== Side A (20:59) ====
# Easter Woman (1:03)
# Perfect Love (1:03)
# Picnic Boy (1:01)
# End of Home (1:04)
# Amber (1:02)
# Japanese Watercolor (1:02)
# Secrets (1:03)
# Die in Terror (1:03)
# Red Rider (1:02)
# My Second Wife (1:02)
# Floyd (1:03)
# Suburban Bathers (1:04)
# Dimples and Toes (1:03)
# The Nameless Souls (1:04)
# Love Leaks Out (1:04)
# Act of Being Polite (1:03)
# Medicine Man (1:04)
# Tragic Bells (1:03)
# Loss of Innocence (1:04)
# The Simple Song (1:02)
==== Side B (21:12) ====
# Ups and Downs (1:04)
# Possessions (1:03)
# Give It to Someone Else (1:03)
# Phantom (1:04)
# Less Not More (1:03)
# My Work Is So Behind (1:04)
# Birds in the Trees (1:04)
#Handful of Desire (1:04)
# Moisture (1:04)
# Love Is... (1:03)
# Troubled Man (1:04)
# La La (1:04)
# Loneliness (1:04)
# Nice Old Man (1:04)
# The Talk of Creatures (1:04)
# Fingertips (1:04)
# In Between Dreams (1:03)
# Margaret Freeman (1:03)
# The Coming of the Crow (1:04)
# When We Were Young (1:02)
=== "Classic Series" CD reissue (1988) ===
# Easter Woman (1:06)
# Perfect Love (1:05)
# Picnic Boy (1:03)
# End of Home (1:06)
# Amber (1:04)
# Japanese Watercolor (1:04)
# Secrets (1:05)
# Die in Terror (1:05)
# Red Rider (1:04)
# My Second Wife (1:04)
# Floyd (1:05)
# Suburban Bathers (1:05)
# Dimples and Toes (1:06)
# The Nameless Souls (1:06)
# Love Leaks Out (1:05)
# Act of Being Polite (1:05)
# Medicine Man (1:06)
# Tragic Bells (1:05)
# Loss of Innocence (1:06)
# The Simple Song (1:04)
# Ups and Downs (1:06)
# Possessions (1:06)
# Give It to Someone Else (1:05)
# Phantom (1:06)
# Less Not More (1:05)
# My Work Is So Behind (1:06)
# Birds in the Trees (1:06)
# Handful of Desire (1:06)
# Moisture (1:05)
# Love Is... (1:05)
# Troubled Man (1:06)
# La La (1:06)
# Loneliness (1:06)
# Nice Old Man (1:06)
# The Talk of Creatures (1:05)
# Fingertips (1:06)
# In Between Dreams (1:06)
# Margaret Freeman (1:05)
# The Coming of the Crow (1:06)
# When We Were Young (1:13)
# Shut Up Shut Up (1:04)
# And I Was Alone (1:05)
# Theme For An American TV Show (1:27)
# We're A Happy Family (Ramones) (1:11)
# The Sleeper (2:58)
# Boy In Love (2:57)
# Diskomo (*Residue Edit) (4:35)
# Jailhouse Rock (Leiber/Stoller) (*1982 Residue version) (3:08)
# This Is A Man's Man's Man's World (Brown) (*1984 Single Version) (3:44)
# Hit The Road Jack (Mayfield) (*Original 1986 Single Version) (4:04)
=== pREServed CD edition (2019) ===
(*) indicates tracks which are previously unreleased.
==== Disc 1 - Commercial Album + Bonus Tracks ====
# Easter Woman (1:03)
# Perfect Love (1:03)
# Picnic Boy (1:03)
# End of Home (1:03)
# Amber (1:02)
# Japanese Watercolor (1:03)
# Secrets (1:03)
# Die in Terror (1:02)
# Red Rider (1:02)
# My Second Wife (1:02)
# Floyd (1:03)
# Suburban Bathers (1:03)
# Dimples and Toes (1:03)
# The Nameless Souls (1:04)
# Love Leaks Out (1:02)
# Act of Being Polite (1:03)
# Medicine Man (1:03)
# Tragic Bells (1:03)
# Loss of Innocence (1:02)
# The Simple Song (1:03)
# Ups and Downs (1:03)
# Possessions (1:03)
# Give It to Someone Else (1:03)
# Phantom (1:03)
# Less Not More (1:03)
# My Work Is So Behind (1:03)
# Birds in the Trees (1:03)
# Handful of Desire (1:03)
# Moisture (1:03)
# Love Is... (1:03)
# Troubled Man (1:03)
# La La (1:03)
# Loneliness (1:03)
# Nice Old Man (1:03)
# The Talk of Creatures (1:03)
# Fingertips (1:03)
# In Between Dreams (1:03)
# Margaret Freeman (1:03)
# The Coming of the Crow (1:03)
# When We Were Young (1:09)
# Shut Up, Shut Up (1:02)
# And I Was Alone (1:04)
# Electronic Elaborate Waste (1:02) (*)
# Kraftwerk (1:03) (*)
# Cosmetics for Reality (1:06) (*)
# Rosco's Righteous Rodent (1:01) (*)
# Pretty Baby (1:04) (*)
# Tuxedos (1:08) (*)
# No Longer Unused (1:03) (*)
# Instant Hostility (3:04) (*)
# Elevator Lady (2:37) (*)
# We're A Happy Family (Ramones) (1:10)
# Commercial Commercials Suite (3:07) [Unlisted, CD only]
==== Disc 2 - Bonus Tracks ====
# Shut Up, Shut Up (Residue Version) (1:12)
# And I Was Alone (Alternate) (1:03) (*)
# Ups and Downs (Residue Version) (3:07)
# Boy In Love (2:55)
# Die In Terror (1982 Rehearsal) (1:28) (*)
# Give It To Someone Else (1982 Rehearsal) (0:53) (*)
# Love Leaks Out (1982 Rehearsal) (1:09) (*)
# The Talk of Creatures (1982 Rehearsal) (1:04) (*)
# Easter Woman (Live 1986) (2:30)
# Amber (Live 1986) (1:45)
# Red Rider (Live 1986) (1:32)
# Die In Terror (Live 1986) (1:26)
# The Coming of the Crow (Live 1986) (1:45)
# Moisture (Icky Flix Version) (1:05) (*)
# Act of Being Polite (Icky Flix Version) (1:03) (*)
# Perfect Love (Icky Flix Version) (1:06) (*)
# Simple Song (Icky Flix Version) (1:04) (*)
# Red Rider (Commercial DVD Version) (1:09) (*)
# Moisture (Commercial DVD Version) (1:10) (*)
# Commercial Album Suite (Live 2005) (5:48)
# Give It To Someone Else (Live 2013) (3:04)
# Easter Woman (Live 2015) (2:34) (*)
# My Second Wife (Live 2015) (2:28) (*)
# Loss of Innocence (Live 2015) (2:18) (*)
=== pREServed vinyl edition (2023) ===
(*) indicates tracks which are previously unreleased.
==== Disc 1 - Commercial Album ====
=====Side A=====
# Easter Woman (1:03)
# Perfect Love (1:03)
# Picnic Boy (1:03)
# End of Home (1:03)
# Amber (1:02)
# Japanese Watercolor (1:03)
# Secrets (1:03)
# Die in Terror (1:02)
# Red Rider (1:02)
# My Second Wife (1:02)
# Floyd (1:03)
# Suburban Bathers (1:03)
# Dimples and Toes (1:03)
# The Nameless Souls (1:04)
# Love Leaks Out (1:02)
# Act of Being Polite (1:03)
# Medicine Man (1:03)
# Tragic Bells (1:03)
# Loss of Innocence (1:02)
# The Simple Song (1:03)
=====Side B=====
# Ups and Downs (1:03)
# Possessions (1:03)
# Give It to Someone Else (1:03)
# Phantom (1:03)
# Less Not More (1:03)
# My Work Is So Behind (1:03)
# Birds in the Trees (1:03)
# Handful of Desire (1:03)
# Moisture (1:03)
# Love Is... (1:03)
# Troubled Man (1:03)
# La La (1:03)
# Loneliness (1:03)
# Nice Old Man (1:03)
# The Talk of Creatures (1:03)
# Fingertips (1:03)
# In Between Dreams (1:03)
# Margaret Freeman (1:03)
# The Coming of the Crow (1:03)
# When We Were Young (1:09)
==== Disc 2 - COMS 1-3 RDX Suite ====
=====Side C=====
# COMS 1-3 RDX Suite Pt 1 (16:14) (*)
## End of Home
## Floyd
## Picnic Boy
## Act of Being Polite
## Amber
## Suburban Bathers
## Loss of Innocence
## Perfect Love
## Secrets
## The Simple Song
## The Nameless Souls
## Japanese Watercolor
## Easter Woman
## My Second Wife
## Dimples and Toes
## Love Leaks Out
## Tragic Bells
=====Side D=====
# COMS 1-3 RDX Suite Pt 2 (16:40) (*)
## Possessions
## Phantom
## Loneliness
## Moisture
## Nice Old Man
## Troubled Man
## In Between Dreams
## Less Not More
## The Talk of Creatures
## Margaret Freeman
## Ups and Downs
## Margaret Freeman
## Fingertips
## Give It To Someone Else
## The Coming of the Crow
## My Work Is So Behind
## Birds in the Trees
## When We Were Young
== Liner notes ==
=== "Classic Series" CD reissue (1987) ===
* Point one: Pop music is mostly a repetition of two types of musical and lyrical phrases, the verse and the chorus.
* Point two: These elements usually repeat three times in a three minute song, the type usually found on top-40 radio.
* Point three: Cut out the fat and a pop song is only one minute long. Then record albums can hold their own top-40, twenty minutes per side.
* Point four: One minute is also the length of most commercials, and therefore their corresponding jingles.
* Point five: Jingles are the music of America.
* Conclusion: This compact disc is terrific in shuffle play. To convert the jingles to pop music, program each song to repeat three times.
== Credits ==
* Written & Produced By: The Residents
* Extra Hard Working Guest Musician: Fred Frith (Guitar and Bass)
* Special Appearances: Chris Cutler (Drums), Don Jackovich, Sandy Sandwich (Guitar and vocals on "Margaret Freeman"), Mud's Sis & Snakefinger (Guitar, violin, vocals)
* Special Secret Appearances: Nessie Lessons,The Residents - Heaven? Credits Lene Lovich2004 Mute Re-issue Credits, Don Preston, David Byrne & Brian Eno2018 'pREServed' Liner notes
* Cover Design & Art Direction: Pore Know Graphics
== Release history ==
Year	Label 	Format 	Region 	Notes
1980	Ralph Records 	LP 	USA 	Three variations.
1980	PRE Records 	LP 	UK 	Incorrect track listing on sleeve
1980	Charisma Records 	LP 	Germany 	Incorrect track listing on sleeve, no track listing on label.
1980	Charisma Records 	Cassette	Germany 	Suburban Bathers misspelt.
1980	Missing Link 	LP 	Australia 	
1980	7 Records & Tapes 	Cassette	Australia 	
1980	RTC 	LP 	New Zealand	
1981	Celluloid 	LP+7" 	France 	Incorrect track listing on sleeve, contains additional 7".
1981	Celluloid 	LP 	France 	Correct track listing on sleeve. No 7"
1981	Vogue 	Cassette	France 	Suburban Bathers misspelt.
1985	Ralph Records 	LP 	USA 	13th Anniversary Re-Press.
1988	Ralph Records 	LP 	USA 	
1988	East Side Digital 	CD 	USA 	Contains 10 bonus tracks.
1988	Torso 	LP 	Holland 	
1988	Torso 	CD 	Holland 	Contains 10 bonus tracks.
1990	T.E.C. Tones 	Cassette	USA 	10th Anniversary Re-Press.
1994	Euro Ralph 	CD 	EU 	As part of the Memoriam Torso box set.
1995	Euro Ralph 	CD 	EU 	Remastered version
1997	East Side Digital 	CD 	USA 	Remastered version
1997	Bomba Records 	CD 	Japan 	Remastered version, comes with 16 page booklet.
2004	Mute 	CD 	Europe 	24th Anniversary repress, mislabeled as 25th. 32 page booklet.
2010	Birdsong/Hayabusa Landings	CD 	Japan 	30th Anniversary remaster. Same bonus tracks as 1988.
2015	MVD Audio 	CD 	USA 	
2019	New Ralph Too, Cherry Red 	2xCD 	UK, USA, EU	pREServed CD edition
2023	New Ralph Too, Cherry Red 	2xLP 	UK, USA, EU	pREServed vinyl edition
2023	Psychofon Records 	LP 	EU 	Classic Series collectors vinyl edition of 200 copies on transparent rainbow splatter vinyl, with pop-up gatefold cover
== See also ==
* Commercial Single
*One Minute Movies
* Commercial DVD
*"Cosmetics for Reality"
*"Kraftwerk"
*Lene Lovich
*Andy Partridge
*David Byrne
*Brian Eno
== Buy Or Die! ==
=== Listen online ===
* Commercial Album on Spotify
* Commercial Album pREServed edition on Spotify
== External links and references ==
* Commercial Album at The Residents Historical
* Commercial Album at RZWeb
* Commercial Album on Discogs
* Commercial Album pREServed edition on Cherry Red Records
Category:Albums
Category:Commercial Album
Category:PREServed
Category:1980
Category:Residents Classic Series