MOP tapes

In the 1970s and early 1980s, The Residents recorded numerous pieces of music which never found a home on any of their completed studio albums. These pieces were compiled by the group from 1978 until the early 1980s, into a series of four reels known as the MOP tapes.
While most of the outtakes compiled on these tapes have seen release in the years since, the complete contents of the four reels remain unknown to the public.
== History ==
Described as a "sub-archive" within The Residents' archive, the MOP tapes are a series of four reels containing mostly instrumental studio outtakes compiled by the group beginning in 1978, and ending around the time they began to embrace digital recording technology in the early 1980s.Fingerprince pREServed edition liner notes, 2018 The tapes were named "MOP" as they were used to "mop up" after the completion of an album, collecting any useful odds and ends into one convenient reel.
The first of these tapes, labelled "MOP1", is the only one of the four to be labelled with the date it was compiled (7/11/78) and is described by the Mysterious Archivist in the liner notes of the Fingerprince pREServed edition as containing "around a dozen mainly instrumental pieces dating back as far as 1976".
The second tape, "MOP2", was compiled some time after the release of Not Available in October 1978, as it is known to include at least three unused pieces of music from the demo reel which was later used to create that album.
The last MOP tape, "MOP4", was likely assembled around 1982 or 1983, although other, similar compilation tapes are known to exist in the archives dating from before and after the four reels labelled "MOP" (such as "Edit '73" and "A Sorded Residents").
A fifth, hitherto "missing" MOP tape was supposedly discovered in a sealed "annex" to the main storage space in The Residents' basement archive in January 2023, the day after the group's 50th Anniversary secret show at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. This tape contains material dating from the Residents Play The Beatles sessions in 1977 through to the end of The Mole Trilogy in 1985.
==Release==
The first selection of tracks originating from the MOP tapes to be released to the public was on the Residue of The Residents compilation album in 1983, which featured four pieces originating from these reels - "Saint Nix" dating from around the time of the Richard Nixon resignation in 1974 (with a newly recorded vocal), "The Sleeper" from the late 1970s, "Boy In Love" from the early 1980s, and "Jailhouse Rock", dating from 1982.
A number of additional tracks confirmed as being from the MOP tapes would later appear on the pREServed series of reissues (particularly Fingerprince, Duck Stab!/Buster & Glen, Eskimo and Not Available), beginning in 2018. The liner notes for these releases offered further information about the previously little-known MOP tapes, including how many of the tapes are in existence, and the date the first was compiled.
Selected tracks from the "missing" MOP tape supposedly found in The Residents' archive in January 2023 were released as a limited edition vinyl compilation, Leftovers Again?! AGAIN?!, for Record Store Day in April 2024.Leftovers Again?! AGAIN?! liner notes, 2024
Richard Anderson of Cherry Red Records has stated that the group have considered creating a stand-alone pREServed set derived from the MOP tapes (possibly as a vinyl-only release) but were "hesitant", considering that much of the material has now been issued on other releases."Yes, there was talk of doing a separate MOP tapes set, but I know they're hesitant as most of it came out on various pREServed sets. Perhaps they'll do a vinyl thing, but I know they're also digging through multitrack tapes to see what else they can find." - Richard Anderson, The Residents Facebook group, January 15th 2020
==The MOP tapes==
*MOP1 (1978)
*MOP2 (1978?)
*MOP3 (19??)
*MOP4 (1982?)
==Contents==
The following is a list of tracks which have been confirmed by The Residents or their representatives to have featured on the four original MOP tapes (specified where known).
====1974====
*"Saint Nix" (instrumental)Residue of The Residents liner notes, 1983"I know they have the original 'Saint Nix' instrumental, but no version with the original vocal." - Richard Anderson, The Residents Facebook group, October 21st 2019
*"Ho Ho Bumped His Toe" (MOP2)Not Available pREServed edition liner notes, 2019
*"Little A (An Authentic Folk Song)" (MOP2)
*"Asonarose" (MOP2)
====1976====
*"Entrance To Crypt" (MOP1)
*"Piano Dittie" (MOP1)
*"Clumsy Climb" (MOP1)
*"You Yesyesyes" (Oh Mummy! Mix) (MOP1)
====1978====
*"Guylum Bardot '78" (MOP1)Duck Stab!/Buster & Glen pREServed edition liner notes, 2018
*"Soulful Sax" (MOP1)
*"Ow Boutthat" (MOP1)
*"When Johnny Comes Marching" (MOP1)
*"Unlisted" (MOP1)
*"Heart In SF"Eskimo pREServed edition liner notes, 2019
====1979====
*"The Sleeper" (instrumental)
*"Middle East Dance (From 'ICE2')"
*"Kenya"
*"Scottish Rhapsody"
====1981====
*"Boy In Love"
====1982====
*"God Song" (Studio Rehearsal) (MOP4)
*"Jailhouse Rock"
==See also==
*Residue of The Residents
*pREServed
*Leftovers Again?! AGAIN?!
*Edit '73
*X Is For Xtra
*A Sorded Residents
== External links and references ==
* Residue of The Residents at Discogs
* Fingerprince pREServed edition at Discogs
* Duck Stab!/Buster & Glen pREServed edition at Discogs
* Eskimo pREServed edition at Discogs
* Commercial Album pREServed edition at Discogs
*Not Available pREServed edition at Discogs
Category:MOP tapes
Category:PREServed
Category:Residue of The Residents