Tweedles!

Tweedles! is the 29th studio album by The Residents, released on Mute Records Halloween 2006. It is a character study of a manipulative sex addict.
== History ==
After returning to the US from their Way We Were tour in Australia, The Residents were shocked to discover that their studios needed an immediate seismic upgrade to prevent it being damaged by earthquakes. As a result, they were unable to use the space until fall of 2006.Official News BOG, March 2007 At the same time, a young fan in Romania invited the group to us his newly built state-of-the-art recording studio. In need of a studio, and having never visited the country before, they took the opportunity to check out the Romanian studio, intending to record only a couple of songs there.
The Residents boarded a jet for Bucharest in early 2006, with no advance ideas as to what would be recorded when they arrived. The group thus felt it appropriate to record the entire trip, beginning with the take-off of the jet. However, once they were on the plane, ideas began to occur to the group, and they began developing an outline for an album. Part of the recording had apparently been made in The Residents' home studios in 2005Official News BOG, October 2006#Tweedles coming in two product versions, which formed the basis of the eventual studio recordings. 
The Residents brought with them their regular cast of collaborators, Carla Fabrizio and guitarist Nolan Cook. Molly Harvey, who had been providing vocals for the group for the past 12 years, had relocated to Atlanta, Georgia with her then boyfriend. Since The Residents were at the time so dedicated to working locally, Harvey and The Residents ceased to collaborate.Q&A: Molly Harvey talks about time with experimental rockers the Residents and remembers Hardy Fox She was replaced by Gerri Lawlor, a 37 year old voice actress best known for her role in the Sims game series as the female citizens. 
The recording studio was located in a town named Hunedoara, 400 kilometres away from Bucharest, in the area of Romania known as Transylvania; historically the home of Count Vlad III, later fictionalized in Bram Stoker's novel Dracula. By the time they arrived in Budapest they had developed a rough outline for a concept album about an emotional vampire - "a man who devoured the romantic emotions of others as a source of power".
The Residents "fell in love" with Hunedoara, finding it to be an "often chaotic, but uniquely immersive experience". Their field recordings of local street musicians, church bells and a small traveling circus found their way into the electronic music pieces they were producing; the "Fellini-esque" circus in particular had fascinated the group.
There, The Residents recorded two instrumental demo albums, Music To Eat Bricks By and Tabasco, which provided the basis for the two projects recorded in the studio, Tweedles, and The River of Crime.
The group's product manager at Mute Records also happened to be Romanian, and had connections with classical musicians operating out of Bucharest; as a result, The Film Orchestra of Bucharest produced interpretations of a number of the group's newly-composed electronic pieces, which were then included in the final album.
== Concept ==
Tweedles! is a narrative concept album that tells the story of a sexual predator from a first-person perspective. The character is shown contemplating his internal conflicts, lack of empathy, and romantic idealism that he ultimately cannot attain. Toward the end of the album, it is revealed that Tweedles is the name of a clown alter-ego the narrator would have created if he had succeeded in becoming an entertainer.
== Release ==
Tweedles! was announced on June 1st 2006, as the group's second major release of the year, with an initial release date of October 2nd. 
The album was ultimately released on October 31st 2006 through Mute Records (although promotional copies had been sent out the previous month). The CD was accompanied by a two-part book: the first half consists of the album's spoken lines, and the second half contains the lyrics. A month before the album released, Ralph America released a compilation album of instrumental works titled 'Best Left Unspoken...', containing two tracks listed as outtakes from Tweedles, The Rubber Robber & In An Ugly Mood.
The album was followed in 2010 by an early instrumental version titled Tabasco: Tweedles Instrumental, which was issued through their online digital music store Robot Selling Device. The group re-issued the instrumental album in 2015 with new artwork on their official Bandcamp page. Another demo album titled 'Music To Eat Bricks By', released in 2019 contained a demo version of 'Almost Perfect' titled 'In The Pen Again.' 
== Reception ==
=== Contemporary ===
Reviewing the album a year after its release,Mark Prindle, "The Rich Bunnell Honorary 'What's New?' Page", Mark's Record Reviews, October 5th 2007 (archived via archive.org) freelance music reviewer Mark Prindle claimed that Tweedles! "could be [The Residents'] best 'comeback era' CD yet", describing it as "their most musically inventive release probably since the '70s", while also feeling that the album could have been better without the "aurally unpleasant '80s throwback" of the God In Three Persons-esque backing vocals "intruding every few minutes".Mark Prindle, "Tweedles!", Mark's Record Reviews, October 5th 2007
== Track listing ==
# Dreams (3:54)
# Almost Perfect (4:05)
# Mark of the Male (2:14)
# Life (3:37)
# Isolation (4:21)
# Stop Signs (6:05)
# Elevation (4:55)
# Forgiveness (1:28)
# Insincere (2:07)
# The Perfect Lover (3:32)
# Brown Cow (5:18)
# Sometimes (3:06)
# Ugly (At The End) (3:19)
# Keep Talkin' (3:41)
# Shame On Me (6:50)
# Susie Smiles (2:37)
== Credits ==
* Composed & Performed By The Residents
* With Guests: Carla Fabrizio, Nolan Cook, Gerri Lawlor & The Film Orchestra of Bucharest
* Recorded By: The Artists & Kevin Ink, 2006
* Published By: Pale Pachyderm Publishing, BMI / Warner Chappell, BMI
* Project Manager for Mute: Robert Schilling
* Thanks To: Olivier Cormier Otano
* Produced By: The Cryptic Corporation
== See also ==
*Tabasco: Tweedles Instrumental
* Music To Eat Bricks By
* Ten Little Piggies
== External links and references ==
* Tweedles! at The Residents Historical
* Tweedles! on Discogs
Category:Albums
Category:Tweedles!
Category:2006
Category:Out Of Print Releases