The Third Reich 'N' Roll
Liner Notes
First CD Release
"Why do The Residents hate The Beatles?"
That was a popular question several years ago when Ralph
Records released The Residents' first album, Meet the
Residents. Not everyone appreciated seeing their
Beatle-Gods treated so non-seriously. The real Beatles,
obviously being more intelligent than their fans, thought
it was hilarious. Capitol Records, predictably, thought the
cover should be changed, so it was.
Then there was the second album, Not Available. Produced in
total secrecy, the album is a conceptualization of the
theory of obscurity, as applied to phonetic organisation,
as originally put forth by the Bavarian avantguardist,
N. Senada, with whom The Residents worked in the late
1960's. According to the theory of obscurity, the album was
not to be released. However, in 1978, four years later
after completion, the LP was released to fulfill
contractual obligations.
In a more traditional vein, The Residents announce the
release of their third LP, The Third Reich 'n' Roll.
Already people are speculating whether The Residents are
hinting that Rock 'n' Roll has brain-washed the youth of
the world. When confronted with this possibility, they
replied, "Well, it may be true or it may not, but we just
wanted to kick out the jams and get it on."
The Third Reich 'n' Roll consists of two suites, Swastikas
on Parade and Hitler was a Vegetarian. Both are
semi-phonetic interpretations of top fourty hits from the
sixties. "Our roots", say The Residents, a bright orange
carrot clutched lovingly in their extended hands.
Album credits
The Residents play all the instruments except for
additional vocals by Zeibak and Peggy Honeydew, and some
fancy guitar by Gary from Beserkely. Produced by The
Residents 1974-75.
Important Message: The Residents freely admit that the
riffs, words, and even sometime the arrangements found on
The Third Reich 'N' Roll were shamelessly lifted from their
memory of top forty radio of the sixties. We, as the parent
company, support The Residents in their tribute to the
thousands of little power-mad minds of the music industry
who have helped make us what we are today, with an open Eye
on what we can made them tomorrow. -- The
CrypticCorporation / Ralph Records
Euro Ralph Re-Release CD Release
When The Third Reich 'n' Roll first came out in 1976, it
was the third album-length project of The Residents.
Actually, this re-release is the third product on Euro
Ralph. Due to legal problems in Germany, the original cover
with swastikas being part of the cover-art, led to a
situation where this masterpiece was not for sale legally
in Germany. The de-swastikafied CENSORED LP version of the
Third Reich 'n' Roll for the German market is now a
collector's item and proves that the cover problem has been
around for quite a while. Euro Ralph feels the time has
come to bring this issue to an end and as a result you hold
the third artwork for the Third Reich 'n' Roll in your
hands. Since the layout had to be adjusted to DIGIPAK sizes
Euro Ralph took the opportunity to change the front
illustration of the cover which is now 100% swastika-free.
More than that, we have put effort into the sound too. The
original tapes have been digitally reworked by Tony Janssen
and yes, they do sound better. Anyway, we hope you enjoy
our product. Euro Ralph, autumn 1993
ESD Classic Series CD Re-Release
The Residents third album was released in 1976. The
love/hate relationship the Eyeball-Ones have with pop music
has, perhaps, never been better stated than in this
scathingly satirical look at '60's bubble-gum rock somehow
twisted into shocking '70's bubble-gum avant-guard. With a
swift kick in the balls, The Residents leave rock and roll
as fodder for tomorrows' dough-brains.
