Not Available [Original recording remastered]

Residents, Residents | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 9, 1997)
• Original Release Date: 1978
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: East Side Digital
• ASIN: B000000PM5
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #414,241 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Edweena

2. The Making Of A Soul

3. Ship's A' Going Down

4. Never Known Questions

5. Epilogue

6. Intro : Version

7. The Shoe Salesman

8. Crashing

9. Monkey & Bunny

10. Mahogany Wood

11. The Sailor Song

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars morning glories open only after noon begins, May 9, 2000

By 

Richard Cody "witer of fine and not so fine p... (Big Sur, The Golden State) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Not Available (Audio CD)

It is difficult, if not impossible, to capture a musical experience with words. Nowhere is this truer than with "The Residents" in general and "Not Available" in particular. Melancholy, mysterious, eerie, strange. These are a few of the words that come to mind as I sit here trying to describe the music on this disc.

Not available, as another reviewer commented, is a story about nothing. Or is it? It may have meaning so obscure that it simply appears to be missing. I'm not sure. After repeated listenings and a study of the lyrics I have come to think that the narrative (or non-narrative)has, at it's core, something to do with identity. Again, I'm not sure.

It may be that the combination of weird, atonal music and nonsense lyrics is more akin to a musical koan than a story. Like the Zen puzzles (what is the sound of one hand clapping?)the music of "Not Available" intentionally defies logic - the intent being to snap the chains of conditioned thinking.

Whatever it is or isn't, "Not Available" is a unique album and well worth however many pennies they are asking if you are interested in music unlike any you have heard before. The copy I own also includes selections from "Title in Limbo", a joint effort between "The Residents" and "Renaldo & The Loaf". This material deserves a review of its own. Weird and wonderful!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Quick brain, drain the main..., April 9, 1999

By 

Rick Cuevas (San Francisco Bay Area) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Not Available (Audio CD)

"Not Available", like most Residents albums, really knows how to press those "Timothy Leary" buttons. This album was a nifty companion to me at times that I would sketch artwork. Not for the faint of heart or mind. Open your mind to the humor, the horror, and the strangeness of this truly original piece of work. Grinding creepiness is a hallmark of these fine fellows. A must have for any true Residents fan! Get it...get it?

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 20% More Available from "Not Available"!, January 12, 2011

By 

Mark Twain "Sam" (Florida, MO USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Not Available (Audio CD)

What's different about this CD than all the other pressings that have preceded it?

THAT'S the question. We all know that this is a Residents classic, and to this reviewer's ears, the best record they have put out in their 30+ year career. (Perhaps that's because it is the first Residents record I ever bought, way way back when it was released. But I digress.)

So what IS different? This CD adds over 7 minutes of material that has been removed from every other pressing. That's EVERY other release. To Residents fans, this is like Beatles fans finding a third side to "Abbey Road." (Before you go ranting in the comments section, telling me how ridiculous that analogy is; it's a JOKE, Beatles fans! A JOKE! Tee hee?) And YES, you can tell the difference. Especially in "The Making of a Soul," and "Never Known Questions." It is a remarkable version to hear. The other pressings' running time was a little over 35 minutes. THIS CD's running time is over 42. That's 20% more music. You read that correctly: 20% MORE!

But it does beg the question; what else are we missing from OTHER Residents classics? Are there more songs on FINGERPRINCE (their second best record in this reviewer's opinion)? Perhaps a fourth side? Why haven't they released "Meet the Residents" in its original mono, for example, with ITS original running time??
[12/7/11 update: The Residents DID, in fact, finally put out "Meet the Residents" on CD with its original running time. I don't think it's mono, but who cares? They finally restored what had been cut from the first pressing of 1,000 on vinyl. Is is possible that they read this review???? Ummm.... no. I highly doubt it. By the way... their new CD "Coochie Break" is fantastic!]

I'm glad the Residents, Ralph, and MVD are doing this. This reviewer, for one, thinks that the Residents are making a HUGE mistake by making their music available only by download (and through Amazon... though they ARE CD-Rs, or DVD-Rs as is the case with "Randy's Ghost Stories.") Residents fans are, mostly, people of a certain age (...ahem). The generation that wants a tangible product to listen to. We're not really into the whole "download-only" thing. When we could no longer get good ol' LPs, then CDs sufficed for years and years. And now the Residents tell us they're not releasing actual product anymore, but only downloads via their website. Perhaps that's why I'm so pleased with the job MVD Audio/Ralph did with re-releasing this seminal Residents album. [12/7/11 another update: they now have a store where you can buy CD-Rs, and I'm not too happy with the way they're releasing their new Ralph America limited editions, which the band said were not going to manufacture anymore. Guess what? The limited editions are baaaaack. And this reviewer is flabbergasted at they way they're being sold. Who ever thought that one day, The Residents would be concerned about making as much money for the LE CDs as possible? Are they, gulp, closet Capitalists?]

Please, please keep the new CDs coming! And the extra 7 minutes that had been originally edited out make this a double (or is it triple?) dip well worth shelling out for. And the sound quality itself is outstanding. Take note, MVD and Residents. Take note.

To sum it up: An absolutely essential release for every Residents fan. And without going into a review of the actual songs, compositions, lyrics, music (believe me; I'm well aware that other people, people much more qualified than I, have already done that), I do NOT consider it hyperbole to call this one of the most important records of the avant-guarde/no wave/new wave (or just plain alternative to top 40). Without overstating its impact on THIS reviewer, "Not Available" changed my life. So having seven extra minutes, to me, is a no-brainer as to whether or not to buy yet another CD pressing. I hope you take a chance. To paraphrase someone whom I have no idea, who originated the quote: Yes, the Residents [and esp "Not Available"] are an acquired taste. But it's a taste well worth acquiring.