Freak Show

Residents | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 31, 1995)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: East Side Digital
• ASIN: B000000PLX
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #552,895 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Everyone Comes to the Freak Show

2. Harry the Head

3. Herman the Human Mole

4. Wanda the Worm Woman

5. Jelly Jack the Boneless Boy

6. Benny the Bouncing Bump

7. Mickey the Mumbling Midget

8. Lillie

9. Nobody Laughs When They Leave

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hunt down the enhanced version if you can, February 6, 2008

By 

Bill M. "bill_m1" (MA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Freak Show (Audio CD)

The Residents have released several different versions of "Freak Show" over the years. Most recently was the CD+DVD release from Ralph America (the site that officially handles their releases for North America). A few years ago there was also a 2-disc special edition set. There was even a comic book. But the "enhanced" version listed here refers to the multi-media CD. For those who don't know, that means it's an audio CD that additionally works as a CD-ROM for your computer, complete with interactive programs you can play.

If you're reading this review, then chances are you're already familiar with the music of The Residents. So I won't go into much detail of the Freak Show album itself. It's a concept album that looks at the human side and thoughts of several side-show attractions.

While most musicians are on the technophobic side, The Residents have always happily indulged in new technology and incorporated it into their work. In fact, the enhanced "Freak Show" CD was one of the very first multi-media CDs. Included in the multi-media part are the videos for "Harry the Head" and "Jelly Jack" (both released in high-quality on the "Icky Flix" DVD), plus a fun interactive part that lets you walk around and explore the different trailers of all the Freak Show stars. At this time, this walk feature has NOT been released on any other version, not even the DVD.

In this age of high-speed internet, DVDs, Flash video, and video sharing sites like YouTube, it seems that the multi-media CD has become a bit of a dated "90s" thing. And of course, graphics are always getting better and better. But to put this in the proper perspective, the enhanced version of "Freak Show" was incredibly creative and years ahead of its time.