Not Available

One of their best 10/10

Nice on time

This is one those albums that is almost impossible to make any form of rational review of.Not Available is my first Residents record having been fascinated for years by their bizarre image and secretive existence. As far as I know little is known of who the band really are which fuels the fascination.Musically it sits in a Beefheartian / Can world, leftfield in the extreme, with none of the 'normal' song structure types observed. As someone says it's a movement, a mini opera of sorts, but goodness only knows what on earth is going on at its heart. Either way it's a beautiful avant garde curiosity which is certainly well worthy of investigation by those who like having their musical mind expanded.

Questa edizione (MVD) contiene circa 7 minuti (totale minuti 42:28) in più rispetto a quella originale (totale minuti 35:35). Non sono bonus tracks; i brani sono sempre 5 ed inglobano le parti tagliate (di qualità, ripeto, di qualità). Opinione personale: credo che gli autori le abbiano tagliate perché appesantivano ciò che avevano in mente (la versione definitiva). Infine, se amate Not Available, consiglio certamente l’acquisto di questa versione dopo aver acquistato l’”originale”.Nel retro della custodia trovate questa scritta: "Special edition! - Contains 7 minutes edited out of the original version!"

77年発表。74年にセカンドアルバムとして録音されながら77年まで放置されていた。アルバム名の由来もその辺からも来ているのか？？誰にも聴かれることのない音楽として制作された作品であった。無名性・匿名性をアイデンティティとしている彼らが「無名理論」と共にこのアルバムで「曖昧理論」実践したということであろう。長引く「エスキモー」の完成延期に痺れを切らしたレコード会社側が発売を強行してしまったらしい。レジデンツのアルバムの中でも極めて美しい音楽であると同時に難解なモノであると思う。私はこのアルバムを解説・歌詞カード抜きの輸入盤で購入し後悔している。何とも理解しがたい。。しかしどうしても惹きつけられるものがあるアルバムで定期的に聴くことになるアルバムです。初心者の方にはおススメできるアルバムではい為、聴きやすいアルバムからという方々には、Third Reich 'n' Roll(ASIN: B007EVQ9FI)、Duck Stab / Buster & Glen(ASIN: B008I5CUKM)、The Commercial Album(ASIN: B00QR1JX5Y)　あたりをお勧めしますが、レジデンツを聴き進めていくうちには避けては通れないアルバムであることは間違いありません。これが最高傑作では？と思うことも出てくるアルバムです。現行のCDの殆どにはボートラとしてTitle in Limboからセレクトされた6曲が入っているようです。英語ができる方以外は、本盤、エスキモー、ミート・ザ・レジデンツあたりは日本盤を購入されることをお勧めします。輸入盤買っても、今はネットで調べればある程度情報は手に入れられるとは思いますが。。私は日本盤買いなおそうか迷ってます・・・1. Edweena2. Making of a Soul3. Ship’s A’going Down4. Never Known Questions5. Epilogue6. Intro Version7. The Shoe Salesman8. Crashing9. Monkey & Bunny10. Mahogany Wood11. The Sailor Song

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.

WOW recorded in 1974????, really sounding ahead of its time like 50 years and one of my favorite Resident albums, I mean just take a look at that freaky album cover of Edweena,that gives you an idea of how this album will sound like,like out of this world. Then amongst the weird acoustic and electronic music and melodies that also sound gloomy and sad at times with muzaky electro-soft-bass-beats here and there for a change of pace without warning and abruptly all 4 members of the Residents may sing or talk as a vocal quartet sounding very hypnotic and STRANGE. Also at times each Resident may sound like a farmer or an old lady. AND DOES IT EVER GET WEIRD when that Resident guy sounding like old lady starts to sing quite sadly to a weird electronic beat and muzik, sounding like some strange carnival music or something more unexplainable. And I love the way the music gets a bit angry in Part 3 where we see all 4 Residents in full throttle weirdness with a variety of voices that suddenly and abruptly cuts into the music once again.Then all their different types of voices sound sad again with,''Ships a going down,down,down,down,down,down,down,down,down".

Not Available was reportedly recorded in 1974 following (fictional?) musicologist N. Senada's "Theory of Obscurity", which maintains that an artist's best work is done free from the influence of an audience. In order to accomplish this, the Residents worked on the album under the premise that it would never be released until they completely forgot about its existence. It was finally made available to the public in 1978 to fill a gap in their release schedule. Even though that violated their original plan, the fact remained that the album was completed with the Theory of Obscurity in mind, and nothing would change that unless the previously-recorded sounds were altered. This 2011 reissue is remastered and restores approximately seven minutes originally cut from the LP.I am not going to speak about the audible specifics of the work, as it is of my opinion that a piece of music should be listened to with as few presuppositions as possible in order to appreciate it in its purest form. Even vocals in known languages should be solely analyzed as instruments, because one tends to let the "meaning" of words bog down their experience of the sounds. However, because I understand that one does not have the time to hear every album in existence, and because I truly feel that Not Available is a monumental work of art, I will spoil a small bit of details about the content in the hope that I can convince the reader that a listen is well worth their time:1. It is probably unlike anything else that you have ever heard in the past, or will hear in the future.2. It is able to evoke a wide variety of the most intense emotions known to humankind in the listener.That is all I will say. I hope that you will enjoy Not Available as much as I do.

This is a good, clean version of this early Rz historical document. The original legend went that this was originally recorded under a philosophy of Obscurity, a kind of purist artistic vision that demanded art for art's sake, which included the creation of art that would never be released to the public. Various stories of the actual reason for release came through, from business needs to not wanting to reveal some personal in-fighting, but released it got, and this EuroRalph digipak release is a very listenable one. I used to have a release that included some bonus tracks from the amazing Rz - Renaldo and the Loaf collaboration, which I am thankful for because it gave me good reason to seek out _Title in Limbo_, but _Not Available_ itself was rather poorly put to disc and after a while became unlistenable. This release is a lot more listenable and clean in sound and includes some more info about the in-fighting legend and even some info about the performance aspect that was behind this recording. While this isn't the best the Rz has to offer, I've always been fond of "Ship's A'Going Down" as well as some of the other tracks within these tracks that never quite go named, though they should. This is also a good segue away from the plodding _Meet the Residents_ into their more synthesized and electronic work, which is where their art really started to take off. Well worth getting, if you're looking to make the effort.

My rating is for the pressing itself. The other Residents vinyl reissues have sounded great. However, ‘Not Available’ sounds like garbage.

Not for everyone, I find this album very enjoyable but you do have to be in a certain mood to listen to it. Not your stand every day music, there is much going on here, not for those who would squirm from the occasional atonal flights of fancy. For those who are fans of the Residents this is certainly a must have album. I have it in both CD and vinyl release and prefer the vinyl a bit more than the CD however that may also be due to the mastering and my system.

One of the Residents masterpieces (along with ESKIMO AND FINGERPRINCE).If you can't get into this one, you're probably not cut out for the Residents' weirdand wonderful musical universe!

"Not Available" ranks only second to Captain Beefheart's "Trout Mask Replica" in terms of being the most innovative and acoustically pleasing album of all time. The music is at time incredibly simple, and at other times incredibly complex but nothing every gets old. With a piece of music a normal band would take and loop several times over to make a full song, The Residents use only once, never allowing the sound to get stale. A must own album for any collector of musical history or lover of the avant-garde.

My opinion only: This is my first(and last) purchase of a Residents album. I've heard about them forever but never gave them a try. I did listen to this all the way thru but can't bring myself to give it a second listen. I don't get this at aaallllll. If u want to listen to something very cool, unique, and important while still being somewhat experimental then I suggest Pere Ubu's debut album The Modern Dance and turn it up. Just my thoughts....my opinion only.

Are you kidding? This might be the greatest album ever produced.