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Best Left Unspoken... Volume One

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Best Left Unspoken... Volume One: Pollex Christi And Other Selections is a compilation album by The Residents, featuring their 1997 interpretation of their late mentor N. Senada's composition "Pollex Christi", alongside an assortment of other obscure instrumentals, including previously unreleased outtakes from the Animal Lover and Tweedles! sessions. The latter of which was itself unreleased at the time.

The first in the Best Left Unspoken... trilogy of instrumental compilations, the album was released in a limited, numbered edition of 1000 copies in tri-panel digipaks via Ralph America in 2006, as part of the eL Ralpho Archive series of releases. It was followed by Best Left Unspoken... Volume Two in 2007.

Tracks 13-14 are mislabelled on the packaging. The correct titles are listed here.

Background

Release

Since the late 1980s, The Residents have issued various short limited-edition instrumental works. For Elsie (1987), Pollex Christi (1997), High Horses (2001). These releases, all limited to less than 1500 copies, had become rarities among Residents collectors, with Pollex Christi, in particular, being incredible sought after.

As a way to capitalise on this, The Cryptic Corporation began compiling these releases into a trilogy of compilation albums, with unrelated instrumental bonus tracks from either rare or unreleased projects.

The trilogy was announced on August 21st, 2006, with pre-sales for the first edition going up on that day, with the official release on September 13th. The second volume of the trilogy was released in 2007.

Songs

Daydreams In Space (1985)

A mashup of two recordings presumably made for part two of The American Composers Series, before Hank Williams and John Philip Sousa were decided upon. The song is a mashup of two recordings; the first is a cover of Space Is The Place by Sun Ra, and the second is an unnamed Barry White tribute. [1] The version presented here is an abridged edit of the piece, which initially appeared on the various artists album, Wavelength Infinity. The full version is exclusively available on the outtakes compilation Daydream B-Liver.

Mr. Skull's New Year's Eve Song (1989)

Piece composed by Mr. Skull for performance at The Residents' Cube NYE concert on December 31st, 1989. It first appeared on the Stranger Than Supper outtakes compilation.

Tired Old Man (1986 - 1994)

This track is a mysterious excerpt from Part Three Of The Mole Trilogy. The Residents themselves seem to have forgotten the context behind these recordings. Statements from The Cryptic Corporation indicate it was recorded between the late 80s and the early 90s. The whole 16-minute suite, which this is a short excerpt from, was released through The Residents' web-store in 2011 but is currently unavailable for purchase.

Dream Wheel (1997)

Excerpt from the soundtrack to 'I Murdered Mommy!', a planned CD-ROM release by The Residents, abandoned early in its development due to lack of public interest in the format. The incomplete Mommy soundtrack was released on CD in 2004.

Pollex Christi (1997)

'Pollex Christi' is a 1997 EP featuring The Residents performing one of N. Senada's early compositions with his life partner, Max Steinway.

Hidden Hand / Pickle (2002)

Two outtakes from The Residents' 2002 album Demons Dance Alone. 'The Hidden Hand' featured Nolan Cook and Carla Fabrizo and was included on the album's deluxe edition, while 'Pickle' was included as menu screen music for their Golden Goat DVD. Unlike other pieces on this album, Pickle features vocals sampled from Wolverines and a new recording of The Shoe Salesman.

In The Out Hole (2002)

Written and recorded for inclusion on The Kettles Of Fish DVD box-set.

The Mad Gasser / Dead Men / Jack's Lament (2004)

These are three songs from The Residents' Animal Lover album. 'Dead Men' is an early version of the track that eventually appeared on the album, but the other went unused. Carla Fabrizio and Nolan Cook play on all three tracks.

Haeckel's Tale Main Theme (2005)

A rejected theme for the John McNaughton film, Haeckel's Tale, released as part 12 of the horror anthology series, The Masters of Horror. The Residents created the soundtrack with Carla Fabrizio. It was eventually fully released through The Residents' web-store as part of the compilation album 'Film and Video Series - Volume 2'. It is currently available on a CD with Strange Culture and The Rivers of Hades. The track presented here is an excerpt from the 9-minute long fifth part of the suite, dubbed The Graveyard.

The Rubber Robber / In An Ugly Mood (2006)

These are three outtakes from The Residents' then soon to be released album, Tweedles!, recorded in a mysterious Romanian studio.

Track listing

All songs written by The Residents except where noted

  1. Pollex Christi Part 1 (Ft. M. Steinway) (Senada) (5:09)
  2. Pollex Christi Part 2 (Ft. M. Steinway) (Senada) (5:19)
  3. Pollex Christi Part 3 (Ft. M. Steinway) (Senada) (2:54)
  4. Pollex Christi Part 4 (Ft. M. Steinway) (Senada) (2:16)
  5. Pollex Christi Part 5 (Ft. M. Steinway) (Senada) (3:30)
  6. Haeckel's Tale Main Theme (Ft. C. Fabrizio, Abridged Edit) (4:49)
  7. The Mad Gasser (2:59)
  8. Tired Old Man (0:59)
  9. Hidden Hand (1:48)
  10. Pickle (7:04)
    1. The Shoe Salesman
    2. Wolverines
  11. Dead Men (Early Version) (2:24)
  12. Mr. Skull's New Year's Eve Song (6:30)
  13. Daydreams In Space (Abridged Edit) (5:15)
  14. Dream Wheel (3:53)
  15. The Rubber Robber (4:14)
  16. In The Out Hole (3:52)
  17. In An Ugly Mood (1:44)
  18. Jack's Lament (2:18)

Liner notes

Pollex Christi (1997)

Pollex Christi ("The Big Toe [or Thumb] of Christ") is a work by the often mysterious N. Senada, which had never been recorded until The Residents created this album. It is one of Senada's "blueprints" and was created circa 1936-37, just before he fled Germany for northern Canada.

A "blueprint" is a set of instructions on how to construct music out of existing works. Essentially, Senada steals bits from other people's compositions and has the performer assemble them into a "house of bricks," much as some of the composers being plagiarized used existing folk music to build their own works. The difference is that not one note of Senada's composition is original.

Pollex Christi is deliberately very difficult to play, because Senada wanted mistakes. "They introduce unimaginable variations into the music," he said. "If the audience wants perfectly played music, let them listen to angels. Human music should stumble along most pitifully."

Released originally in 1997 as a limited edition CD by Ralph America. With guest: M. Steinway

Credits

Guest Performers

  • M. Steinway on 'Pollex Christi', 1997
  • C. Fabrizio on 'Haeckel's Tale Main Theme', 'Hidden Hand', 'Dead Men' & 'Jack's Lament', 2002 - 2004
  • N. Cook on 'The Mad Gasser', 'Hidden Hand', 'Dead Men' & 'Jack's Lament', 2002 - 2004

See also

The Mysterious N. Senada
(1907 - 1993)

Compositions
Pollex Christi (1936-1937) · Cantaten und Symphonen mit Eine Poem (1969?) · Cantaten und Symphonen for der Saxophonen und Violinen with P.C. Lithman (1971?) · Cantaten to der Dyin Prunen with P.C. Lithman (1971?)

Music theory
Theory of Phonetic Organization {Meet The Residents) · Theory of Obscurity (Not Available)

Work with The Residents
The W***** B*** Album (1971) · A Live Radio Broadcast (1971) · B.S. (1971) · 1-10 (With A Touch of 11) (1972) · Vileness Fats (1972-1976) · Eskimo (1979) · Pollex Christi (1997)

Live appearances
Philip Lithman and N. Senada live appearances (ca. 1971) · The Boarding House performance with Residents, Uninc. (1971) · Philip's Wedding with Residents, Uninc. (1971) · Chris' Party with Residents, Uninc. (1972) · Oh Mummy! Oh Daddy! with The Residents (1976) · Snakey Wake performance (1987)

Related articles
Max Steinway · Hardy Fox · Philip "Snakefinger" Lithman · The Delta Nudes · Residents, Uninc. · "Eloise" · "Kamakazi Lady" · Andrew Hook · O for Obscurity, Or, The Story of N.

  1. ↑ Daydream B Liver liner notes, 1991
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