The Commercial Album
(1980)

The Commercial Album is another manifestation of The Residents' whimsical relationship with pop music and their interest in music about music. The album is a collection of forty one-minute commercial songs -- their very own personal Top 40, or perhaps a collection of one-minute jingles: the music of commercials.

The Residents teamed up with several artists, including their old friend Snakefinger, who not only provided guitar, but sings on Ups & Downs. The band also recruited Chris Cutler, who had worked with them on Eskimo, and Fred Frith. The liner credits also mention "Special Secret Appearances" by "?": these were Lene Lovich, who sang Picnic Boy, and Andy Partridge of XTC, who plays and sings on Margaret Freeman.

Working from September, 1979, to July, 1980, The Residents used a number of ideas which had cropped up during the recording of Eskimo but were inappropriate for that project. They would record the songs without worrying about the one-minute time limit, then cut them down to size.

[The Commercial Single] The Commercial Album was the first Residential album to be licenced overseas, and was heavily promoted by the licencees. PRE Records in England even put out The Commercial Single, which included two songs which had been left off of the album because The Residents felt that they didn't quite fit in. Phonogram and Celluloid Records financed a series of four short videos called One Minute Movies, featuring the songs Moisture, The Act of Being Polite, Perfect Love, and Simple Song. In 1982, Maurice Béjart choreographed at least some of the songs for his ballet troupe (some video exists of the group dancing to Love Leaks Out). Meanwhile, in North America, the Cryptic Corporation bought forty one-minute commercial slots on KFRC-AM radio in San Francisco, and broadcast the entire album in bite-sized chunks. This stunt was criticized by some as payola, though the time purchased was quite definately commercial time, and did not contribute toward any air time based rankings.

The promotions worked and the album sold quite well. Nevertheless, the New Wave music press, which had been so lavish in its praise of the albums from Fingerprince to Eskimo, decided that the recording was not at all interesting. Suddenly, The Residents were no longer the darlings of the alternative music world. This sudden reversal by the press, combined with some internal frictions, led the band into a period of frustration which cumulated with their famous Mole Trilogy.

The ESD Classic Series re-release includes ten bonus tracks, called the Bonus Babies. These include the two extra works from the Commercial Single, as well as various other songs from the same period.

The Commercial Album (1980)

The Commercial Album

The Commercial Album
(1980)