THE RESIDENTS – Mark Of The Mole (Ralph Records – RZ-8152 / LP-1981)

Label: Ralph Records – RZ-8152
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album / Country: US / Released: 1981

Style: Experimental

Recorded by Ralph Records/444 Grove Street/San Francisco, CA 94102

Manufactured By – Ralph Records

Copyright (c) – Cryptic Corporation

Published By – Pale Pachyderm Publishing

Mastered By – Leo Kulka / At – Sonic Arts

Pressed By – KM Records Inc. – KM-6911

Matrix / Runout (Runout A-side, etching): RZ 8152 A Re1

Matrix / Runout (Runout B-side, etching): RZ 8152 B Re1 KM-6911-B re1

A - Hole-Workers At The Mercies Of Nature ..................................................... 19:10

      1 - Voices Of The Air

    The Ultimate Disaster

      2 - Won't You Keep Us Working?

      3 - First Warning

      4 - Back To Normality?

      5 - The Sky Falls!

      6 - Why Are We Crying

      7 - The Tunnels Are Filling

      8 - It Never Stops

    Migration

      9 - March To The Sea

    10 - The Observer

    11 - Hole-Workers' New Hymn

B - Hole-Workers Vs Man And Machine ........................................................... 21:50

    Another Land

      1 - Rumors

      2 - Arrival

      3 - Deployment

      4 - Saturation

    The New Machine

      5 - Idea

      6 - Construction

      7 - Failure / Reconstruction

      8 - Success

    Final Confrontation

      9 - Driving The Moles Away

    10 - Don't Tread On Me

    11 - The Short War

    12 - Resolution?

Written-By, Performer – The Residents

This isn’t really an album you can just pick up and listen to a song at a time out of context without being really familiar with the album to begin with, but it is very interesting and worth listening to and paying attention.

For all my effluence about The Commercial Album, it was a bit of a flop. In response, The Residents decided they were going to do something “apocalyptic.” So, they created an album about an apocalypse, a disaster of biblical proportions. Inspired by tales of the Great Depression, they created the first album in what would become The Mole Trilogy: Mark of the Mole. A return to the storytelling, conceptual work of Not Available and Eskimo, Mark of the Mole tells the story of the Moles, a primitive people who toil in deep underground holes. One day, the sky falls and a massive storm floods their holes, forcing them to wander across a cruel, unforgiving land to the land of the lazy, decadent Chubs. There, the Moles are used as cheap labor until a Chub scientist comes up with a labor-saving machine. Out of work, the Chubs and the Moles end up breaking out in brutal, indecisive war.

Heady stuff. Deep stuff. We’re a long way from the twisted pop of Duck Stab! and Commercial Album. Mark of the Mole is a dark, oppressive album, of brutal, moody music. Unlike its antecedents Eskimo and “Six Things to a Cycle,” there’s not a whole lot of humor here. The cameo by Penn Jillette, of Penn & Teller fame, delivering a weather forecast at the start of the record might raise a chuckle just out of recognition. Instead, there’s a lot of lushly harsh synthesized tones that, much like Not Available provide as much to the story as the lyrics. There’s still some “strange voices,” but they’re restrained and applied to compelling—if anonymous—characters, and serve to drive the plot home. The music is hauntingly beautiful at time, such as the sad synthesized strings in the finale of “Another Land.”

Mark of the Mole is among the Residents' most successful, emotionally potent, gimmick-free offerings. By this time, the Residents had completely embraced keyboards/synthesizers as a key instrument, but instead of using them for goofy bloops and bleeps (as they did on the couple of albums prior to this), they use them to create a dark purple sky of doom and despair.

Here the Residents embark on their most ambitious project to date. A sprawling story about to races of people and the clash of cultures that happens when they are driven together through natural forces. The result is not only a near-perfect sonic depiction of the concept's subject matter (the plight of the Moles and their eventual migration to the land of the Chubs, where they are persecuted), but also a musically engaging affair that works on its own even without the concept. This album represents the beginnings of the Residents' experiments with electronics.      (Review by Richard J. Anderson)

Note:

Again, though, The Residents punctured the pretentiousness of the project on the Mole Show Tour, wherein Penn Jillette, as a narrator, explained the plot for what would likely be confused audiences (The Mole Show: Live in Holland). Said narration often consisted of joking commentary on the story and performance, but this was all part of the act. There’s enough audio/visual documentation of these shows to explain for the curious, but the album that it started the whole project, retains its power even in the context of The Residents later works in the vein, including the other album in the Mole Trilogy 'The Tunes Of Two Cities'…

See also:

http://www.gio80.com/mark-of-the-mole/

If you find it, buy this album!

THE RESIDENTS – The Tunes Of Two Cities (Ralph Rec. – RZ 8202 / LP-1982)

Label: Ralph Records – RZ 8202

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, 1st Pressing / Country: US Released: 1982

Style: Abstract, Experimental, Ambient

Locations recordings: P. del Scrappio, Sound Genesis of San Francisco.

Manufactured By – Ralph Records

Phonographic Copyright (p) – Cryptic Corporation

Copyright (c) – Cryptic Corporation

Published By – Pale Pachyderm Publishing

Cover – Poorknow Graphics

Mastered By – LKIKS / At – Sonic Arts

Matrix / Runout (Etchings Side A): RZ 8202 A Re2 LKIKS ▭◯▭

Matrix / Runout (Etchings Side B): RZ 8202 B Re2 LKIKS ▭◯▭

A1 - Serenade For Missy ....................................................................................... 3:20

A2 - A Maze Of Jigsaws ........................................................................................ 2:51

A3 - Mousetrap ...................................................................................................... 3:25

A4 - God Of Darkness ........................................................................................... 3:10

A5 - Smack Your Lips (Clap Your Teeth) ............................................................... 3:52

A6 - Praise For The Curse .................................................................................... 2:50

B1 - The Secret Seed ............................................................................................ 2:48

B2 - Smokebeams ................................................................................................. 2:44

B3 - Mourning The Undead ................................................................................... 3:05

B4 - Song Of The Wild .......................................................................................... 3:22

B5 - The Evil Disposer ........................................................................................... 3:17

B6 - Happy Home (Excerpt From Act II Of "Innisfree") ......................................... 4:50

Written-By, Performer – The Residents

+

Snakefinger (Philip Charles Lithman) – guitar

Norman Salant – saxophone

Nessie Lessons – vocals (on track B6)

The Tunes of Two Cities is an album by The Residents, released in 1982. It is part two of the Mole Trilogy. Rather than forwarding the story of the battle between the Mole People and the Chubs, the record's concept is to display the differences between the two cultures through their music. The music of the Chubs is light cocktail jazz, while that of the Moles tends toward industrial hymns. A major feature of this album is that it was one of the first to use the E-mu Emulator, one of the earliest commercial digital samplers.

The Chub track "Mousetrap" bears a noticeable resemblance to Stan Kenton's "Eager Beaver." In one interview, band spokesman Homer Flynn acknowledged that the band listened to jazz big band artists including Kenton, as well as Charles Mingus and Sun Ra.

I like what The Residents do with their music in that they turn convention on its head and break through barriers and nobody can argue that they are an acquired taste. I wonder though what was in their minds when releasing this saga about the two races, the Chubs and The Moles. To reiterate for the uninitiated, the Chubs are the swinging jazz lovers that have the high life above ground and do what they want and have a blast not giving a toss about the hapless Moles who are 'working down below' and are determined to find some solace in the high life above. In Part 1 the Moles were forced out of their flooded tunnels to the surface and an uprising occurred where a war broke out and devastation resulted; a war of racial intolerance.

On this next part in the saga 'The Tunes of Two Cities' we have the inimitable Snakefinger which for me was a breath of fresh air as I always loved his part in the band as guitarist and vocalist. The Tunes are from the two races; the Moles are dark, deep resonating tunes, and the Chubs are jazz fusion atonalities. A nice idea that works better than the other albums in the saga. The album opens with instrumentals 'Serenade for Missy', jazzy dissonance, and 'A Maze of Jigsaws' just plain weirdness from the Moles side. 'Mousetrap' is a piano and synth competition. It has the quirky whimsical jazzy humour that the Residents are only capable of. I began to realise that this was an instrumental album primarily with just a few moments of la la las and that suits me fine.

On with the album, and we have 'God of Darkness' which is more tribal native music from the intrepid Moles clan. It is similar to a lot of what we hear on the first part of the trilogy, complete with chants and odd repeated noises. The saving grace of jazz atonality follows with 'Smack Your Lips (Clap Your Teeth)', from the Chubs race, that have more musical sense for my tastes. Snakefinger's guitar is a highlight as always, just a weird phased sound and there's some cool little synth lines and horns to add to the soundscape. The pieces representing The Moles are certainly as droll as those off of 'Mark of the Mole'. 'Praise for the Curse' is dark and dreary synth burblings with a drum beat, 'The Secret Seed' is chimes that twinkle and clank over a bass drum rhythm and is too long and monotonus. The swinging jazz of the Chubs is wonderful such as 'Smokebeams' with its cool jazz flavour, lots of horns, trumpets and jazz time sigs.

'Mourning the Undead' is a clattering machine noise that drones on like being in a factory reminding me of 'New Machine' from the first album in the trilogy. This is highly strange but compelling as one out of the box among these tracks. It would make a great song to play in a factory; Residents capture the monotonous atmosphere perfectly. 'Song of the Wild' is a sad little tune with some interesting effects on the synths. The sounds are high pitched and unsettling. 'The Evil Disposer' returns to the native sounds of Moles with a lot of percussion and doomy factory like synths. Home [Excerpt from Act II of Innisfree]' is a bass drum and improvised music on horn synths, and repeated noises... Very original and intriguing album.

Review by AtomicCrimsonRush

See also:

http://www.gio80.com/the-tunes-of-two-cities/

If you find it, buy this album!

FRANCIOLI / BOVARD – Musique (2LP-1984 / Plainisphare – PL 1267/11-12)

Label: Plainisphare – PL 1267/11-12

Format: 2 × Vinyl, LP, Album / Country: Switzerland / Released: 1984

Style: Contemporary Jazz, Free Improvisation

Recorded live, Lausanne July 21, 1984, Switzerland.

Photo  Couverture – Alain  Doneri

Photo  Interieure – Philippe Ungricht

Graphisme – Oliver Clerc

PRISE  DE  SON  RADIO  ''L''

Matrix / Runout (Runout Groove Side A): PL 1267/11-A

Matrix / Runout (Runout Groove Side B): PL 1267/11-B

Matrix / Runout (Runout Groove Side A): PL 1267/12-C

Matrix / Runout (Runout Groove Side B): PL 1267/12-D

A - "Musique'' .................................................................................................... 27:00

B - "Musique'' .................................................................................................... 19:20

C - "Musique'' .................................................................................................... 19:00

D - "Musique'' .................................................................................................... 11:40

Composed By – Jean-Francois Bovard, Léon Francioli

Personnel:

ANDRÉ  JAUME  –  soprano saxophone / tenor saxophone / clarinet / bass clarinet

DANIEL  BOURQUIN  –  soprano saxophone / alto saxophone / baritone saxophone

DANIEL  MARGOT  –  oboe / cornet [cornet anglais]  / soprano saxophone

DIDIER  HATT  –  trumpet / bugle / tuba

MARIO  ALBERTI  –  trumpets / bugle

ANDRE  BERTHOLET  –  trumpet / bugle

JEAN-FRANÇOIS  BOVARD  –  trombone

RUNO  ERICKSSON  –  bass trombone

WALTER  HEYNA  –  cornet

LÉON  FRANCIOLI  –  contrabass / piano

OLIVER  CLERC  –  drums / percussion

RAOUL  ESMERODE  –  xylophone / drums / percussion

JACQUES  DITISHEIM  –  vibraphone / timbales / percussion

Francioli-Bovard ‎– "Musique" / 2LP (Plainisphare ‎– PL 1267/11-12 ) Switzerland 1984

Original Swiss pressing / _________ Out Of Stock __ / never on a CD.

E  N  J  O  Y  !!!

If you find it, buy this album!

[CM 4] F. LINDEMANN / J.L. BARBIER / O. MAGNENAT / O. CLERC ‎– Live In Montreux 75 (Evasion Disques / LP-1975)

Label: Evasion Disques – EB 100.819

Series: Living Now – 5, Collective Music – CM 4

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album / Country: Switzerland / Printed in France / Released: 1975

Style: Contemporary Jazz, Free Improvisation

Recorded live at Montreux Jazz Festival / 15 July 1975 in Casino Montreux.

Engineer – John Temperley

Photography By – Georgyves

Layout – François Lindemann

Producer – Gaston Schaeffer

Liner Notes – Demètre Iokimidis

Matrix / Runout: Face1: EB 100 819 A

Matrix / Runout: Face2: EB 100 819 B

A1 - For John Tchicai   (J.L. Barbier) .............................................................. 12:07

A2 - 4.3.74   (F. Lindemann) ........................................................................... 11:34

B1 - Tranquility   (O. Magnenat) ....................................................................... 2:50

B2 - Queen   (J.L. Barbier) ............................................................................... 8:05

B3 - Thursday Suite   (F. Lindemann) .............................................................. 7:02

Personnel:

François Lindemann – piano

Jean-Luc Barbier – alto saxophone, flute

Olivier Magnenat – bass

Olivier Clerc – drums, percussion

Rare Evasion Records: F. Lindemann / J.L. Barbier / O. Magnenat / O. Clerc ‎– Live In Montreux 75 / – Imprimerie De Saint-Michel, Ambazac – Printed in France

Phonographic Copyright (p) – Evasion Disques / ___ Out Of Stock __ / never on a CD. 

The improvising jazzman is constantly questioning a delicate balance, the balance that must exist betvveen the expected and the unexpected, between vwhat the listener can foresee and what the listener can be surprised by. The whole history of' jazz, as beset by triteness on one of its ends, by pure arbitrariness on he other, could be viewed as the vicissitudes of that halance.

The will to free themselves from harmonic, melodic and rhythrinc boundaries which informs most present day young jazzmen brings back the above-mentionned balance problem. The members of CM4 have coped with it by means of the musical inteqrity shown by their work in this record. The structures and articulations of For John Tchicai, for instance, stand out clearly through the rhythmic fluctuations, the transformations and overlappings of melodic lines and the passages where improvisers are let free. There is a rhythmic pattern gradually gaining shape under the alto recitative: it brings forth the rhythmic figures that allow the piano's affirmation when it soloes. These figures, developed through the bass solo, precede the return of the alto, which ends the piece with a niew recitative. The symmetry between end and beginning as well as the repeated and modified rhythmic patterns act as a framework both for the musicians' improvisation and the listeners'attention. Similar, though adapted to the character of each piece, features are to be found throughout the music in the record.

The evident admiration the members of the group have for leading American musiciens such as McCoy Tyner, John Coltrane, Jackie Mc Lean, Richard Davis and Elvin Jones, has stimulated the expression of their own musical personalities, while strengthening the quartet's cohesion. For balance befween individual and collective expression is yet another constant feature in the history of jazz.

_ By Demètre Ioakimidis (transl. by Gimelfarb)

If you find it, buy this album!