Customer Reviews

Commercial Album

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This album was originally released in 1980 and it is the best album of that decade, as it satirically typifies the shady border between art and commerce which was the crux of that time. We have 40 one minute songs covering a range of dark subjects (Death of children. . .Mental illness in loved ones. . .Inner thoughts of serial killers. . .etc) all set to deliciously loopy, childlike melodies. In a warped kind of way, it chronicles the transition in popular music from angry punk to hyperkinetic, polyrhythmic new wave. Heavy on electronic keyboards, think of it as Commercial jingles from some Dostoyevskian Underground.

As stated in the liner notes: "POINT ONE: Pop music is mostly a repetition of two types of musical and lyrical phrases: the verse and the chorus. POINT TWO: These elements repeat an average of three times in a "top-40" radio hit. POINT THREE: Cut out the fat and a pop song is only one minute long. POINT FOUR: One minute is also the length of most commercials, and therefore, their corresponding jingles. POINT FIVE: Jingles are the music of America. CONCLUSION: This compact disc is terrific in shuffle play. To convert the jingles to pop music, program each song to repeat three times."

The story goes that depressed by their failure to get airplay for their constructions, the Residents made an album of 40 40 second tunes for which they could buy air time

This is them. Who knows if the story is true, but this album has enough ideas on it to give the average band 2-3 albums
(well its got more ideas than the average band gets in a life time, but you get the idea)
Quirky, avant-pop, slightly more placid than their usual ventures, and the vocal style is restrained :)

As you probably know, this is a CD of 40 songs, each exactly one-minute in length. It's a great one to have just for the fun of the concept. The difference between this album and the pop songs they are supposedly (but aren't really)parodying is that most of these songs BEG to be longer, whereas if they really were pop songs they wouldn't.

However, it is not the best Residents CD. This album came out at the tail end of their creative peak, and after a dozen or so songs, the album starts to sound like channel flipping. "Here's a sound, here's a chord, here's a weird instrument".

That said, it's a lot of fun. Who is that on the cover? Streisand and... Travolta, maybe? Listen for an Andy Partridge vocal about halfway through....

This is the Residents at their peak. You can hear the late masterful Snakefinger (the only truly identifiable member) on lead guitar throughout. One word of caution: If you become a residents fan you'll never be able to pick up girls again.

Especially in their early days, the Residents did a lot of satire and commentary on popular music, while setting out their own unique sound as an alternative to the pop they love to hate.

Rather than being a set of twisted Residents "pop" songs distilled down to a minute, this album sounds more to me like many little sketches of songs. Only a few of the best of them are really ready to end after a minute. Most of the other good ones leave you wondering where it would have gone given more time. There are also a number of songs on here that aren't that exciting or interesting.

In the 90's release "Our Finest Flowers", the Residents did a twisted retrospective of their own work. Lyrics, melodies, characters and sounds from their long career were all put into the blender, and out came a very tasty and interesting mix of music. On that cd, you'll hear many melodies and lyrics which were lifted and mutated from the Commerical Album. Which says to me, they saw a lot of unrealized promise in these short song sketches.

Bottom line, a very important album for a serious Residents fan, but not a great departure point.

The Residents are one of the most unique acts in rock history, even though classifying them as a rock group is misleading, as they incorporate many things into their arsenal. They are also very mysterious and ambiguous, as they have never been identified by name, even in this day and age. This is one of their most unique albums (in a career of unique work). It has 40 songs on it, all around one minute a piece. They are designed to emulate commercials (hence the title), and for the most part, each song is actually very good and tuneful. In the liner notes, the Residents say to program your CD player to play each tune to repeat three times like a pop song, and it actually works. They do sound like pop songs when you repeat the tracks. This is one of the most unique, interesting, and fascinating albums I own. I only have two Residents album (this one and God in Three Persons), but I find myself really attached to this one. If you are really adventurous, try this album out. Try to get the edition with 50 (!) songs on it. The original album had 40, but for one of the reissues, the Residents decide to add an additional 10 songs to make it an even 50 (and one of the tracks was a cover of Jailhouse Rock). A fascinating bit of music.

The Residents tied Throbbing Gristle ("Greatest Hits")for the Most Ironic LP Title Of All Time when they released the "Commercial Album", as they have spent the better part of 20-odd years willfully avoiding any endeavour that might be interpreted as "commercial". In spite of this dedication to dada deconstruction, they've managed to create some haunting and beautiful moments, many to be found on this collection of 40 1-minute pieces. The very concept of distilling song structure to a 60 second "commercial" length is genius enough, but anticipating the co-opting of pop music with product plugs is downright visionary. (Case in point: Moby reportedly licensed EVERY SONG on his 1999 "Play" album for use in TV commercials!)The usual "Ralph Records" suspects ably assist (Snakefinger, Fred Frith, etc.)plus special guests like New Wave nutball Lene Lovich (in top form on the riotous "Picnic Boy"). A twisted masterpiece.

Why 5 stars???

there are few reasons why

a)because these four masked guys are making such a strange and unlistenable music that they must be genious (or stupid)

b) because 40 tracks on 1 cd is a really brave idea

c)because nobody made a music so chaotic and creepy that after a few hours of listening you feel a need to jump out of the window and kill yourself (really, i am serious)

d)Because it is a great concept album about the emptiness of a modern commercial radio music

e)because Residents are really at heights of their power here

Anyway - ths is a shocking album.even in the times music so scary and brutal like Death Metal or Doom Metal Residents are sounding much more creepy - eventhough they are not using distorted guitars and growling vocals - their instruments are some mini synth toys,wooden sticks,industrial barrels and stuff like that...an album so paranoic and brutal that it is surely a masterpiece!!!

This album is a wonderful idea that was executed brilliantly. The idea of a one minute constraint on the songs brought out the best in the Residents writing and playing of these Bite-sized nuggets of weirdness ans wonder. Some are creepy, some are ethereal and some are highly amusing and funny but all of them are very original and ear catching. This is musical candy in the best sense of the word. This is what experimental music is ,or should be,all about.