Big Bubble [Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered]

Residents | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 1, 2000)
• Original Release Date: 1985
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
• Label: East Side Digital
• ASIN: B000044U2U
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #802,689 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Sorry

2. Hop a Little

3. Go Where Ya Wanna Go

4. Gotta Gotta Get

5. Cry for the Fire

6. Die-Stay-Go

7. Vinegar

8. Firefly

9. Big Bubble

10. Fear for the Future

11. Kula Bocca Says So

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars The least accessible of all Residents recordings, December 16, 1999

By 

David Fields (Lincoln, Nebraska United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Big Bubble (Audio CD)

The Big Bubble has an intersting, if not original, concept: a musical group makes recordings in their native language in defiance of the law, and become a hit. Is this a dream the Residents have for themselves? This is a part of the entire Mole legend that the Residents dreamed up, and have used in four previous recordings (Mark of the Mole, The Mole Show Live, The Tale of Two Cities, Intermission) However, as a whole, the Big Bubble is not a success. Using some of the most unlistenable singing the Residents ever released, and some of the most unlistenable music. I say this from the angle of a long-time (since 1978) Residents fan.

There are some interesting cuts, especially Cry for Fire (which can be best described as bad sex followed by an incredible orgasm) but get this only if you are a die hard - gotta have it all fan.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great Musical Ideas, But . . ., January 13, 2003

By 

James Lopez (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Big Bubble (Audio CD)

The Residents are a great band/art project, and this album is full of great musical ideas; unfortunately, it falls short of what it probably could have been. On the plus side, it is a dark, very sparse release with plenty of experimentation and great guitar work by Snakefinger. What probably ruins it the most is that most of the songs feature extremely annoying vocals; they are almost unlistenable, but this quality is more the product of being irritating than anything truly extreme or disturbing. This, combined with the fact that many of the songs are difficult to distinguish from one another, ruins what the album could have been. Perhaps this was the aim of the Residents with the Big Bubble, but it is guaranteed to be a difficult listen even for fans of their other work. It had potential, but the lack of memorable tracks as well as the annoying vocals certainly detract from this. All fans of the Residents should have it for their collection, but it may not be the most enjoyable to listen to.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sugar Melts and Goes Away...But Vinegar Lasts Forever, October 8, 2007

By 

Music Fan "noisefreek" (New Mexico) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Big Bubble (Audio CD)

This is part four Of The Residents Mole Trilogy, which is the tale of two very different races having to live together. The original LP of this album had an album cover picturing the eyeball folks, but if you peeled that off, underneath is another album cover, picturing four leisure-suited nerds (who are not the Residents). Even the LP label had a label on it. Now, the music on the disc is like nothing else. It is sung in the non-language of Mohelmot, which is garbled gibberish and the music is dramatic throughout even though the vocals are either very happy or extremely evil sounding. Truly scarier than any heavy metal vocals at times, trust me. At first, I didnt know what to think. Now it is one of my most listened to albums. However, like most residents albums, it takes a while to get used to. If you like annoying vocals, this is for you. Let me break the album down for you.

1. Sorry - Probably the weakest track on the album, nothing much on this 1
2. Hop A Little - Incredibly bizzare, it starts off with the lead singer happily speaking something almost like a scat, and then his demonic screams come in.

3. Go Where Ya Wanna Go - interesting garbled nonsense.

4. Gotta Gotta Get - Towards the end of the tune, the singer goes crazy. Very Weird and cool.

5. Cry For The Fire - Probably the best track here. really weird. Especially at 1:39 into the song when he begins to chant. The guitar by Snakefinger is awesome throughout. Hardy Fox's keyboard playing is great too.

6. Die Stay Go - More gibberish. Very funny.

7. Vinegar - A great track. The gibberish here is extremely good. The music towards the end sounds like "Constantinople" from Duckstab except faster.

8. Firefly - Even more weird gibberish, this time there are sort of lyrics.

9. The Big Bubble - The Big Bubble's Theme Song. This song should be a #1 hit.

10. Fear For The Future - The only instrumental on this album. Keyboard and guitar.

11. Kulla Bocca Says So - still gives me the goosebumps. At about 2:20 into the song you can here the singer smoking a joint. How can they smoke with the eyeball for a head?

The story of the album is this:
The Chubs are a happy race of people that live above ground (think your average mainstream type people), then there are the moles, a group of strange people that live underground (think underground artists). A storm comes and the Moles homes are destroyed and they have to live above ground. Soon the chubs and the Moles become disenchanted with each others races. A War breaks out. While all this is happening, a group of humans are becoming, known as a "Cross". a cross between mole and chub. Soon the language of the Moles (Mohelmot) is outlawed. A Pop group suddenly forms, known as "The Big Bubble". The lead singer, Ramsey Whiten was raised in a cross ghetto. His band becomes famous for their theme song "Cry For The Fire" sung in mohelmot. Ramsey is arrested, but released almost immediatley because of a huge public outcry. Ramsey is then fueled by fame, and thinks of himself as the new Messiah, representing beliefs of reactionary moles known as "Zinkenites". The Zinkenites wished to create a new Mole nation. But it turns out Ramsey was just a naive kid, manipulated by a Zinkenite politician named Kulla Bocca secretly pursuing a life of wealth and power. That was the end of the story. The project was never finished, and just like "Vileness Fats", the ending is forever a mystery. Rumor has it that the Mole Trilogy is based on what was going on with Residents at the time. Rumor also has it that the Residents are The Cryptic Corporation, which consists of Homer Flynn, Hardy Fox, John Kennedy and Jay Clem. Jay Clem and John Kennedy left around the time of The Big Bubble. Supposedly one of them earned a large sum of family money from the mining of aluminum. Also, if you'll notice "Kulla Bocca" is an anagram for "Alcoa Buck". We may never know what the answers are to The Big Bubble. It's definetley a great purchase if you like weird music to the extreme.