Best Left Unspoken... Volume Two

***Best Left Unspoken... Volume Two: High Horses and Other Selections*** is a compilation album by The Residents, featuring their 2001 limited edition EP *High Horses* alongside an assortment of other obscure instrumentals, including two previously unreleased tracks, "Sour Smell" and "Two Testes", from the River of Crime and Animal Lover sessions, respectively

The second in the Best Left Unspoken... trilogy of instrumental compilations, it was released in a limited, numbered edition of 1000 copies in tri-panel digipaks via Ralph America in 2007, as part of the eL Ralpho Archive series of releases. It was preceded by *Best Left Unspoken... Volume One* in 2006, and followed by *Best Left Unspoken... Volume Three* later in the year.

## Background

### Compilation

Between 1987 - 2001, The Residents issued the short limited-edition instrumental works, For Elsie (1987), Pollex Christi (1997) & High Horses (2001). These releases, all limited to less than 1500 copies, had become rarities among Residents collectors. To give this material more life, The Residents set to compiling album length compilations based on these EPs, retitled the *Best Left Unspoken* trilogy, featuring additional rare instrumentals.

Since *High Horses* was released in 2001, the compilation focus heavily on the 2000s.

## Track listing

1. High Horses Part 1 (Ft. Combo de Mecanico) (2:30)
2. High Horses Part 2 (Ft. Combo de Mecanico) (1:35)
3. High Horses Part 3 (Ft. Combo de Mecanico) (2:33)
4. High Horses Part 4 (Ft. Combo de Mecanico) (2:40)
5. High Horses Part 5 (Ft. Combo de Mecanico) (4:52)
6. High Horses Part 6 (Ft. Combo de Mecanico) (4:19)
7. God In 3 Person's Over (9:56)
8. Prelude For A Toddler (Safety Is A Cootie Wootie - Part 1) (3:40)
9. Angakok (Excerpt) (5:36)
10. Day 2 (Ft. N. Cook) (2:52)
11. Sour Smell (4:52)
12. Ninth Rain (3:14)
13. Twinkle 2000 (2:37)
14. Bijou (Ft. N. Cook) (8:21)
15. Two Testes (3:23)
16. Icky Flix Theme (1:41)

## Liner notes

#### High Horses (2001)

You know how it is. You've all been there. A warm Sunday afternoon in 1970. San Francisco's Golden Gate Park lures you with its rich green eucalyptus trees. Over there, the children's playground. Slides, swings, monkey bars... A little further away, a merry-go-round is spinning. Its magnificent sound, a madman's mechanical Gamelan, tells you there is only one thing to do: Ride this ancient carousel. Anyway, the acid hasn't really kicked in yet, so why not?

Released originally in 2001 as a limited-edition CD by Ralph America. With guests: Combo de Mechanico

#### God In 3 Person's Over (1988)

Written as a sketch for an overture of a proposed God In 3 Persons "opera", instead it became the "over" as in the final time spent working on the God In 3 Persons projects. Released on the UWEB CD Buckaroo Blues in 1988.

#### Prelude For A Toddler (Safety Is A Cootie Wootie - Part 1) (1984)

The entire three track Safety Is A Cootie Wootie was released as part of the 1998 Residue Deux's bonus tracks.

#### Angakok (excerpt) (1991)

This was the opening section of a mini-opera project. It appeared on Roosevelt, released by Euro Ralph as part of Huddled Masses in 1987, and on Ralph America's Roosevelt 2.0 in 2000.

#### Day 2 (2003)

The 12 Days Of Brumalia was an internet event presented by The Residents and Residents.com. For 12 days, starting on December, 25th, a new song was posted daily on Residents.com along with an illustration and a quote. On the 13th day The Residents presented the epic musical work The Feast Of Epiphany (Best Left Unspoken Volume 3). Ralph America collected the audio tracks for a CD release in the summer of 2004. With guest: N. Cook

#### Sour Smell (2006)

An unreleased track from the River Of Crime sessions.

#### Ninth Rain (2000)

Another internet event from Residents.com was a monthly series of download pieces. Ninth Rain was one month's selection, a gamelan inspired piece that was supposedly recorded during the ninth consecutive day of rain in the winter 1999/2000. All the pieces later saw the light of day as a limited-edition CD from Ralph America named Dot.Com.

#### Twinkle 2000 (2000)

A request from Bomba Records in Japan to release Diskomo/Goosebump on CD led to The Residents creating new (in 2000) versions of both Diskomo and Twinkle from Goosebump to fill out the release. With guests: I. Barbier, N. Cook

#### Bijou (2004)

This B-side from a 12" vinyl single of Baby Skeletons And Dogs was released by Euro Ralph and included with the WB:RMX vinyl release. It simply chronicles a trip to the cinema. With guest: N. Cook

#### Two Testes (2004)

Yet another unreleased track from the Animal Lover sessions.

#### Icky Flix Theme (2001)

The opening music from the Icky Flix DVD.

## Credits

* Written & Performed by: The Residents
* Compiled & Produced by: The Cryptic Corporation
* N. Cook: on 'Day 2', 'Twinkle 2000' & 'Bijou'
* I. Barbier: on 'Twinkle 2000'

## See also

* *High Horses*
* Combo de Mecanico
* Best Left Unspoken...
* *Best Left Unspoken... Volume One*
* *Best Left Unspoken... Volume Three*
* eL Ralpho Archives

## External links and references

* *Best Left Unspoken... Volume Two* at Discogs