Not Available
{{about|the album|the term|N/A}}
{{more citations needed|date=March 2024}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2025}}
{{Infobox album
| name = Not Available
| type = Studio
| artist = the Residents
| cover = Not_Available.jpg
| released = 1978
| recorded = 1974
| genre = Rock opera, experimental music
| length = 35:23 (original LP)
42:26 (2011 reissue)
| label = Ralph
| prev_title = Fingerprince
| prev_year = 1977
| next_title = Duck Stab/Buster & Glen
| next_year = 1978
}}
Not Available is the fourth studio album by the American band the Residents, released in 1978.{{cite news |last1=Kelp |first1=Larry |title=Residents: They're unknown—but not unloved |work=Oakland Tribune |date=27 Nov 1979 |page=C1}} The album was allegedly meant to only be released once its creators completely forgot about its existence (adhering to their "Theory of Obscurity," in which an artist's purest work is created without an audience); however, due to ongoing delays in the release of Eskimo, Not Available was released to supply the demand for new Residents material, given their unexpected critical and commercial success following the release of the Duck Stab EP.
History
It is said that the lyrics and themes of Not Available arose from personal tensions within the group, and that the project began as a private psychodrama before being adapted into a possible operetta. While the project never took off theatrically, it was still molded into a sort of concept album, taking use of assorted musical ideas, some of them recorded for the group's unfinished film project, Vileness Fats.Liner notes for the Cherry Red 2018 edition of Not Available. It is unknown if further overdubs were added onto the album predating its release in 1978, though the pREServed single “Not Available (Work In Progress)” would indicate that additional overdubs and edits were made.
It is possible that the album was shelved not to fulfill the "Theory of Obscurity," but because it was simply too personally revealing.Liner notes for the MVD 2011 edition of Not Available.
Music
The music on Not Available is fairly different from any other music the Residents recorded in the time period it was supposedly conceived in, both in compositional skill and audio quality. Fans have theorized that the music could have been recorded at a later period.
The album is split into four parts and an epilogue, with the Residents' characteristic use of drum machines, classical percussion, cartoonish vocals, grand piano and horns, as well as notably the use of string synthesizers. The lyrics and plot of Not Available are told in a densely surrealistic manner, notably making use of a Greek chorus and a particular piano composition that is presented as a theme for one of the album's characters - the full recording was released in 2010 as "Available Piece."
A 2011 reissue of the album extended its duration by approximately seven minutes, allegedly its original length. A mix of the album's multitrack tapes (originally titled X is for Xtra) was released in 2019 on a deluxe edition of the album.
Critical reception
{{music ratings
|rev1 = AllMusic
|rev1score = {{Rating|3.5|5}}[{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r47813|pure_url=yes}} AllMusic review]
|rev2 = The Rolling Stone Album Guide
|rev2score = {{rating|3.5|5}}{{cite book |title=The Rolling Stone Album Guide |date=1992 |publisher=Random House |page=587}}
|rev3 = Spin Alternative Record Guide
|rev3score = 6/10{{cite book |title=Spin Alternative Record Guide |date=1995 |publisher=Vintage Books |pages=332, 333}}
}}
The Spin Alternative Record Guide labeled the album "free-form avant-gardism."
Track listing
{{Track listing
| total_length = 19:28
| title1 = Part One: Edweena
| length1 = 9:29
| title2 = Part Two: The Making of a Soul
| length2 = 9:59
| all_writing = The Residents
| headline = Side one
}}{{Track listing
| total_length = 15:55
| length3 = 6:34
| length4 = 7:00
| length5 = 2:21
| title3 = Part Three: Ship's a'Going Down
| title4 = Part Four: Never Known Questions
| title5 = Epilogue
| headline = Side two
}}
= 1987 CD bonus tracks =
Tracks 6-11 taken from Title in Limbo, a 1983 album made in collaboration with Renaldo and the Loaf.
{{Track listing
| title6 = Intro: Version
| title7 = The Shoe Salesman
| title8 = Crashing
| title9 = Monkey and Bunny
| title10 = Mahogany Wood
| title11 = The Sailor Song
| length6 = 1:23
| length7 = 4:10
| length8 = 1:41
| length9 = 5:00
| length10 = 4:14
| length11 = 6:05
| total_length = 57:54
}}
= 2011 extended edition =
{{Track listing
|total_length = 42:26
|title1 = Part One: Edweena
|length1 = 10:55
|title2 = Part Two: The Making of a Soul
|length2 = 10:03
|title3 = Part Three: Ship's A'Going Down
|length3 = 10:10
|title4 = Part Four: Never Known Questions
|length4 = 8:54
|title5 = Epilogue
|length5 = 2:21
}}
= 2018 pREServed edition =
{{Track listing
| title1 = Part One: Edweena
| total_length = 46:14
| length7 = 4:14
| length6 = 2:36
| length5 = 2:35
| length4 = 6:59
| length3 = 6:33
| length2 = 9:52
| title8 = Mourning Glories {{small|(live 2014)}}
| length1 = 9:27
| title7 = Ship's a'Going Down {{small|(live 1986)}}
| title6 = Ship's a'Going Down {{small|(1982 rehearsal)}}
| title5 = Epilogue
| title4 = Part Four: Never Known Questions
| title3 = Part Three: Ship's a'Going Down
| title2 = Part Two: The Making of a Soul
| headline = Disc One
| length8 = 3:58
}}{{Track listing
| title1 = Mehico Ron Devoo
| title11 = Slow Texture
| title4 = Solome and Goiter
| title5 = New Mexico Dream
| title6 = Ho Ho Bumped his Toe
| title7 = Where to Begin?
| title8 = Fairly Well
| title9 = Love Sprong
| title10 = Ah Spare us, Gus
| title12 = Tennessee Williams
| title2 = Theme from X (with Roman Overtones)
| title13 = Little A (An Authentic Folk Song)
| title14 = Asonarose
| title15 = Anaconda Montana
| title16 = Tune of the Unknown
| title17 = Soundtrack Music Piece 17
| title18 = O Solo Meow
| title19 = Mehico Ron Devoo Finale
| title3 = Theme from X (pt. 2)
| length19 = 2:31
| length1 = 3:04
| length8 = 4:09
| total_length = 1:04:51
| length2 = 2:29
| length3 = 1:44
| length4 = 1:47
| length5 = 5:09
| length6 = 0:49
| length7 = 4:22
| length9 = 2:47
| length18 = 3:35
| length10 = 2:09
| length11 = 2:17
| length12 = 2:06
| length13 = 2:19
| length14 = 2:30
| length15 = 2:53
| length16 = 1:31
| length17 = 1:54
| headline = Disc Two - X is for Xtra (A Conclusion)
}}
After 10 minutes of silence following track 19, an unlisted track plays lasting 4:46.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.progarchives.com/album.asp?id=8246 Not Available on Prog Archives]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20081220213822/http://residents.com/historical/page0/page7/page7.html Official Not Available page]
{{The Residents}}
{{Authority control}}