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This article is about the 1989 live album. You may be looking for a similarly named tour, 1983 live album, or 2009 DVD bag set. |
Mole Show: Live In Holland is a live album by The Residents, recorded on the group's Mole Show tour on June 4th 1983 at the Muziekcentrum (Music Centre) in Utrecht and released by the group in 1989 on Torso.
The album features narration from the group's friend and occasional collaborator Penn Jillette.
History[]
When The Residents first discovered the E-mu Emulators, they knew their careers and lives would be changed forever. The machine's sampling ability would allow the group to create music using instruments they'd previously only dreamed of being able to play. They could sample trumpets and play them perfectly, and could sample a vacuum cleaner to turn it into a musical instrument. The world was their oyster.
After some testing with the emulators, the group also discovered that this made is astronomically easy to perform their tricky studio material live. Once they realized this, they began planning what would be their first world tour.
Flash forward a year, and the mysterious foursome found themselves in a cramped van, touring their Mole Show across Europe. They'd devised a complicated and flashy show to let the the world know what they were capable of, and were about to perform it on a show that would also be recorded for the Dutch radio station VPRO. The result is the following concert, performed with the band at their top game.
Release[]
Despite the excellence of this recording, after it was broadcast on radio, it went mostly unreleased for six years. Although excerpts were included on the Mole Show VHS in 1984, and excerpts from those excerpts were included in the PAL TV LP in 1985, which acted as the European soundtrack album to the VHS.
Eventually, the full concert was finally released in 1989 by Dutch record label Torso, with East Side Digital handling the American distribution. The only real difference between the radio broadcast and the album is that Penn Jillette's bits in Esperanto have been almost entirely cut. The album cover incorrectly claims that the show was recorded June 6th 1983, when in reality, The Residents performed in Holland on the 4th.
The album has never been fully reissued since its original release, remaining out of print for over thirty years; however, this show's "Marching to the Sea" was included in Kettles of Fish on the Outskirts of Town, and PAL TV LP was reissued in 2019.
Ticket for the show, which shows a June 4th date.
The CD comes with a small booklet including illustrations from the Mole Show backdrops. The packaging refers to The Residents' fan club UWEB, with the phrases "Who is UWEB?" and "Where is UWEB?" written on the liner notes and back cover respectively.
Reception[]
Retrospective[]
In March 2010,[1] freelance music reviewer Mark Prindle described Mole Show: Live in Holland as "a downright hooter", recommending it to listeners who "like [Mark of the Mole] and also enjoy the work of Penn Jillette", whose narration "ranges from the touching... to the bizarre... to the absolutely hilarious".[2]
Track listing[]
- Voices Of The Air (3:05)
- The Secret Seed (2:10)
- Narration (1:33)
- The Ultimate Disaster (5:12)
- Narration (0:56)
- God Of Darkness (2:33)
- Narration (1:12)
- Migration (7:54)
- Narration (0:41)
- Smack Your Lips (3:55)
- Narration (0:58)
- Another Land (4:20)
- Narration (0:58)
- The New Machine (7:01)
- Narration (0:57)
- Call Of The Wild (3:20)
- Final Confrontation (7:38)
- Narration (2:00)
- Satisfaction (3:00)
- Happy Home (4:18)
Credits[]
- Written & Performed By The Residents
- Presented By: The Music Centre, Utrecht, The Netherlands
- Recorded By: NOS for VPRO Radio.
- Mixed At: VARA Studio 8
- Mixed By: Gert de Bruyn, Richard Zeilstra & The Residents
- Recording Supervised By: Richard Zeilstra
- Produced By: The Cryptic Corporation
- Designed By: Pornographics & Rex Ray
- All songs published by: Pale Pachyderm Publishing
- (C) + (P): The Cryptic Corporation
See also[]
External links and references[]
- ↑ Mark Prindle, "The 'What's New?' Page", Mark's Record Reviews, March 13th 2010 (archived via archive.org)
- ↑ Mark Prindle, "Mole Show: Live In Holland June 6th 1983", Mark's Record Reviews, March 13th 2010
