Not Available (album)

Not Available is the second studio album (released as the fourth) by the Residents. It was originally recorded as a follow up to 1974's Meet the Residents. However, following the Theory of Obscurity, it was immediately locked away in a bank vault with no plans to issue it until the members of the band had completely forgotten about its existence. It did surface in 1978 due to continued delays on the Eskimo record and the Cryptic Corporation's desire to have some sort of the Residents' release,[2] as the re-release of the single "Satisfaction" that same year had garnered some attention in Europe. The album itself is a dense concept album featuring a more musical and cohesive approach than that found on most of the Residents' albums from the 1970s.

This article is about The Residents' album. For the term, see N/A.
Not Available
Studio album by
The Residents
ReleasedOctober 1978
Recorded1974
GenreExperimental music, avant-prog, rock opera
Length35:21 (Original LP)
42:26 (2011 Reissue)
LabelRalph
The Residents chronology
The Residents Radio Special
(1977)		 Not Available
(1978)		 Duck Stab/Buster & Glen
(1978)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]

History

In 1978, the official word was that the Residents had stated that Not Available could never be released. The group claimed that they had recorded the album in secrecy as a way of exercising their Theory of Obscurity to its fullest and, in strict accordance with the Theory, the work could never be released until its creators no longer recalled its existence. However, the reissued album's liner notes state that the album was an exercise in group therapy and that the Residents did not want to release it because they felt it was too personally revealing.

In October, 2010 the Residents' Ralph Records label announced that a special extended version of Not Available would be released on vinyl and on CD in January, 2011.[3]

Track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Part One: Edweena"9:29
2."Part Two: the Making of a Soul"9:59
3."Part Three: Ship's a'Going Down"6:34
4."Part Four: Never Known Questions"7:00
5."Epilogue"2:21
Total length:35:21

The 1987 CD reissue features the tracks the Residents recorded for their collaboration with Renaldo and the Loaf, Title in Limbo.

  1. "Intro: Version"
  2. "The Shoe Salesman"
  3. "Crashing"
  4. "Monkey and Bunny"
  5. "Mahogany Wood"
  6. "The Sailor Song"

The 2011 CD/LP reissue omits the 1987 bonus tracks but extends "Edweena", "Ship's a'Going Down", and "Never Known Questions" by a combined seven minutes:

No.TitleLength
1."Part One: Edweena"10:55
2."Part Two: The Making of a Soul"10:03
3."Part Three: Ship's A'Going Down"10:10
4."Part Four: Never Known Questions"8:54
5."Epilogue"2:21
Total length:42:26

Personnel

Composed By, Arranged By, Recorded By, Producer: The Residents

Vocals: R. Paulsen, S. Lewis

References
  1. Allmusic review
  2. Archived April 27, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  3. "Home". Residents.com. Archived from the original on 2012-03-01. Retrieved 2012-03-03.
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