Commercial Album is the seventh studio album released by American experimental rock band the Residents in October 1980 by Ralph Records.
Background
The album is commonly considered a follow-up to their 1978 album
Duck Stab/Buster & Glen, in that it retains the former album's pop-oriented song structures. It contains 40 songs, each lasting exactly one minute and three seconds - a deliberate allusion and satire of Top 40 mainstream radio. The album's liner notes state that, to form a complete pop song, tracks from the album should be played three times in a row.
The album features a number of guest musicians, notably drummer Chris Cutler and guitarist Fred Frith of the recently disbanded Henry Cow. The credits mention Frith as an "Extra-Hard Working Guest Musician." Frith told author Cole Gagne that he recorded parts for around 25 tracks and was later told by a band member that he appeared on at least 15 of the released cuts, but that he could only identify himself on three tracks where he played bass.
As a promotional stunt, the Residents purchased 40 one-minute advertising slots on San Francisco's most popular Top 40 radio station at the time, KFRC, such that the station played each track on the album over the course of three days. This prompted an editorial in Billboard magazine questioning whether the act was Payola.
Track listing
All tracks last exactly one minute, but with a three-second pause between songs making each last around 1:03. On the original LP, "Die in Terror" is incorrectly printed as track 14, between "The Nameless Souls" and "Love Leaks Out".
1988 CD bonus tracks
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Tracks 41 and 42 are outtakes from the album, released separately as the Commercial Single.
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Track 44 was recorded for the 1980 Morgan Fisher project Miniatures.
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Tracks 45–48 were previously released on the 1983 compilation Residue.
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Track 49 was previously released as a single in 1984.
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Track 50 was previously released as a single in 1987.
2019 pREServed edition bonus tracks
After a small bit of silence, an unlisted track plays, a "concentrate" mix of the advertisements that were aired in promotion of the album on KFRC.
Personnel
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Guest musicians:
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Special Appearances
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Chris Cutler – drums on "Love Leaks Out",
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Don Jackovich – drums on "Love Leaks Out"
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Sandy Sandwich (Andy Partridge) – vocals and guitar on "Margaret Freeman"
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Mud's Sis (Lene Lovich) – special appearance
[The Residents - Commercial Album Mute, (2004) Track Credits]
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Snakefinger – "special appearance" on "Moisture",
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Secret Special Appearances
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Nessie Lessons – vocals on "Amber"
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Brian Eno – synthesizer on "The Coming of the Crow"
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David Byrne – backing vocals on "Suburban Bathers"
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Cover design and art direction by Pore Know Graphics
