Assorted Secrets

This recording was not intended for release. **THEY HATE IT!!!**

* Cassette release, 1984
* CD reissue, 2000

***Assorted Secrets*** is a compilation of live rehearsal recordings by The Residents, originally released only on cassette on Ralph Records in 1984, and later reissued on CD as a numbered limited edition in 2000.

*Assorted Secrets* features a recording of an April 1982 live rehearsal of the group's debut tour The Mole Show, and live-in-the-studio rehearsals dating from Fall 1981 to May 1983, including songs which had been earmarked for an earlier tour concept which did not eventuate.

## History

Following the financial disaster of The Mole Show tour and near disintegration of The Residents and The Cryptic Corporation in 1983, Ralph Records needed to raise funds in a hurry. In order to do this, they released this collection of existing material on cassette, as well as licensing collections to other labels such as with *Ralph Before 84*.

*Assorted Secrets* is a rather unique collection for its time though, as it is made up of unreleased recordings of the group rehearsing live, including a number of live-in-studio rehearsals, which supposedly were recorded secretly by an unidentified "wretch", and later reclaimed by The Residents.

The first side is an early test performance of The Mole Show recorded live at The House on April 10th 1982*,* and the second consists of studio rehearsals dating between Fall 1981 and May 1983. Tracks 2 through 8 were recorded sometime between Fall 1981 and Spring 1982 in anticipation of a then-planned 10th Anniversary show, whilst tracks 9 through 11 were recorded on May 5th 1983, in preparation for The European Mole Show.

## Release

The Residents weren't exactly proud of these recordings nor of the release as a whole, so shortly after its release in October 1984, *Assorted Secrets* was pulled from the Ralph catalog. As with most hard to find and out of print releases by The Residents, something of a myth grew around the recordings, and demand for a reprint continued to grow over the years, with The Residents outright refusing.

However, fifteen years after its initial release, *Assorted Secrets* was reissued as a limited edition CD through Ralph America. The re-issue was covered in text reading ***"The One That Won't Go Away!"***, ***"They Hate It!!!"***, ***"You Shouldn't Listen To This..."***, and ***"Don't play this for your friends...".*** The CD featured an extended and alternate take on the original, with an unreleased instrumental take of "God Song" being included as the album's opening track, and three tracks ("Constantinople", "Smack Your Lips" and "Happy Home") being swapped out for alternate takes.

### Recording date inconsistencies

Conflicting recording dates for this album have appeared on both releases. On the original cassette it is stated that the rehearsals featured on tracks 2-8 were recorded in Fall 1981, however the later CD pressing claims these tracks were recorded between January and March 1982.

The 1982 dates were later supported by the liner notes accompanying several releases in the pREServed series of remastered and expanded reissues of The Residents' catalog, which featured recordings from these sessions.

## Reception

### Retrospective

In a positive review in March 2010, freelance music reviewer Mark Prindle described *Assorted Secrets* as "a very solid primer of The Residents' early records up through *Mark of the Mole*", despite "lots of annoyingly high-pitched synthesizer noises".

## Track listing

### Original cassette release (1984)

**Side One: *Mark of The Mole* Live (33:23)**

1. Mark of the Mole (33:23)
	1. Voices of The Air
	2. The Ultimate Disaster
	3. Migration
	4. Another Land
	5. The New Machine
	6. Final Confrontation

**Side Two: Studio Rehearsals (27:59)**

1. The Letter (2:14)
2. Ship's A'Going Down (2:35)
3. Bach Is Dead (1:27)
4. Birthday Boy (3:44)
5. Constantinople (2:29)
6. Die In Terror (2:14)
7. Give It To Someone Else (0:57)
8. Smack Your Lips (4:13)
9. Song of the Wild (3:34)
10. Happy Home (4:32)

### Ralph America CD reissue (2000)

1. God Song (1:33)
2. The Letter (2:13)
3. Ship's A Goin' Down (2:32)
4. Bach Is Dead (1:20)
5. Birthday Boy (3:41)
6. Constantinople (Take 2) (2:10)
7. Die In Terror (2:17)
8. Give It To Someone Else (0:58)
9. Festival of Death (9:23)
10. Smack Your Lips (4:03)
11. Song of the Wild (3:32)
12. Happy Home (2:14)
13. Mark of the Mole Part 1 (14:43)
	1. Voices of The Air
	2. The Ultimate Disaster
	3. Migration
14. Mark of the Mole Part 2 (10:44)
	1. Another Land
	2. The New Machine
15. Mark of the Mole Part 3 (Final Confrontation) (8:13)

## Additional recordings

As part of the pREServed series, various additional tracks recorded during these sessions have since been released.

### 1982 Rehearsals

1. The Letter (2nd Take)
2. Walter Westinghouse
3. Die In Terror (second take)
4. Give It To Something Else (second take)
5. Love Leaks Out
6. The Talk of Creatures
7. Eskimo Suite (second take)
8. Diskomo
9. The Talk Of Creatures (second take, available on bootlegs)
10. Give It To Someone Else (Third take, 'Sketches For A Live Show' email downloads)
11. Birthday Boy (Second take, 'Sketches For A Live Show' email downloads)
12. Ship's A Going Down (Second take, 'Sketches For A Live Show' email downloads)
13. Constantinople (Third take, 'Sketches For A Live Show' email downloads)

### Res Dance '82

1. God Song
2. Voices of The Air
3. The Secret Seed
4. The Ultimate Disaster
5. God of Darkness
6. Migration
7. Smack Your Lips
8. Another Land
9. The New Machine
10. Final Confrontation
11. Satisfaction
12. Happy Home

## Credits

* **Mark of The Mole** **Recorded live before an audience in Santa Monica April 10th, 1982 by**: Scott Fraser

***Additional credits featured on later versions***

* **Produced by**: The Cryptic Corporation

## See also

* The Mole Show
* The 10th Anniversary Show
* Eskimo Live
* *Mole Box*
* *PAL TV LP*

## External links and references

* *Assorted Secrets* at The Residents Historical
* *Assorted Secrets* at RZWeb
* *Assorted Secrets* at Discogs

1. ↑ *Not Available* pREServed edition liner notes, 2019
2. ↑ Mark Prindle, "The 'What's New?' Page", Mark's Record Reviews, March 13th 2010 (archived via archive.org)
3. ↑ Mark Prindle, "Assorted Secrets", Mark's Record Reviews, March 13th 2010

**Cast of Characters**
Mohelmot · Chubs (Innisfree · The Scientist) · The ObserverDarkness · The Evil DisposerCross (Zinkenites · Kula Bocca · The Big Bubble · Frankie DuVall)
**Part One: *Mark of the Mole* (1981)**
(video game · novel)
**Side A: Hole-Workers at the Mercy of Nature**
"Voices of the Air" · "The Ultimate Disaster" · "Migration"
**Side B: Hole-Workers vs. Man and Machine**
"Another Land" · "The New Machine" · "Final Confrontation"
**Part Two: *The Tunes of Two Cities* (1982)**
(*The Comix of Two Cities*)
**Side A:** "Serenade For Missy" · "A Maze Of Jigsaws" · "Mousetrap" · "God Of Darkness" · "Smack Your Lips (Clap Your Teeth)" · "Praise For The Curse"
**Side B:** "The Secret Seed" · "Smokebeams" · "Mourning The Undead" · "Song Of The Wild" · "The Evil Disposer" · "Happy Home (Excerpt From Act II of "Innisfree")"
***Intermission: Extraneous Music From The Residents' Mole Show* (1982)**
**Side A:** "Lights Out (Prelude)" · "Shorty's Lament (Intermission)"
**Side B:** "The Moles Are Coming (Intermission)" · "Would We Be Alive? (Intermission)" · "The New Hymn (Recessional)"
**The Mole Show (1982-1983)**(*Mole Dance 82* · *Live At The Roxy* · *La Edad de Oro* · Uncle Sam Mole Show · VHS · *Live In Holland* · DVD bag set)
**Part Three: ???**
"Now It Is Too Late" · "Going Nowhere" · "Tired Old Man" · "Marching To The We" · *Mole Suite*
**Part Four: *The Big Bubble* (1985)**(fictional band · Black Shroud Records)
**Side A:** "Sorry" · "Hop A Little" · "Go Where Ya Wanna Go" · "Gotta Gotta Get" · "Cry For The Fire"
**Side B:** "Die-Stay-Go" · "Vinegar" · "Firefly" · "The Big Bubble" · "Fear for the Future" · "Kula Bocca Says So"
**Part Five: ???**
**Part Six: ???**
**Related works**
"Open Up" · "Anvil Forest" · The 10th Anniversary Show (***Assorted Secrets***) · *PAL TV LP* · The 13th Anniversary Show · *Mole Box: The Complete Mole Trilogy pREServed* ("From MOM1" · "Untitled" · "Jingle Bell" · "Another Another Land")
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