80 Aching Orphans is a retrospective box set from Cherry Red Records. It contains 80 tracks across four CDs that span the first 45 years of The Residents. Included are singles, fan favorites, album highlights, live recordings, and material never before available on CD.

It is packaged in a hardbound book with 48 pages of photos and notes for every song. Cherry Red offered early buyers a chance to purchase autographed copies, which were signed by Rez 1, A. Resident, R3, and R. Whatever.

It was released on Friday the 13th of October.

Disc 1:
Fire (Santa Dog)
Amber
Semolina
This is a Man's Man's Man's World
Diskomo (Edit)
Monkey And Bunny
Jello Jack The Boneless Boy
You Yesyesyes
Double Shot
Rushing Like A Banshee
On The Way (To Oklahoma)
Blue Rosebuds
From The Plains To Mexico (Italian Mix)
I'll Go Crazy
Almost Perfect
Eloise
Moisture
There's Blood On The Bunny (Thoreau Mix)
Shortnin' Bread
Burn Baby Burn
The Car Thief
Squeaky Wheels

Disc 2:
Kaw-Liga (Prairie Mix)
Yummy Yummy Yummy
In San Francisco
Constantinople
Jailhouse Rock
Where Is She?
Easter Woman (Live)
Insincere
Hard And Tenderly
Migration
Satisfaction
Kamikaze Lady
Burning Love (Live TV Version)
The Aging Musician
Six More Miles
The Simple Song
Safety Is A Cootie Wootie
Tourniquet Of Roses
The Angry Angakok

Disc 3:
A Maze Of Jigsaws
Beyond The Valley Of A Day In The Life
The Mad Sawmill Of Copenhagen, Germany
Jambalaya
Cry For The Fire
Smelly Tongues (Mono)
Santa Dog '78
Floating Down The Nile Pt2
The Marvels of Mayhem
Earth Vs The Flying Saucers
Hello Skinny
The Monkey Man
Mahogany Wood
Edweena (Extract)
Melon Collie Lassie
The Sleepwalker
The Knife Fight
Holy Kiss of Flesh (Edit)

Disc 4:
Loser Weed
Blue Tongues
Boots
Susie Smiles
Perfect Love
Hit The Road Jack (Remix)
Bach Is Dead
96 Tears
Ship's A'Going Down (Extract)
The Black Behind
I Hate Heaven
Semper Fidelis
Don't Be Cruel
Matchmaker
Would We Be Alive?
Daydream Believer
Shroud Of Flames
Catatonia
Pollex Christi Part 4
Hunters Concentrate
Life Would Be Wonderful (Live in Oslo)

Who Are the Orphans (and Why Do They Ache?)

For devotees of the ocular orbs, listening to the music on this set will no doubt become a gay gallop down memory lane, but the producers, rather than sticking exclusively to the obvious Constantinoples, Hello Skinnys and Festival of Deaths, have also uncovered some neglected gems buried deep in The Residents' vast trove of eccentricity. Unique live recordings, performances from TV appearances and special remixes also populate this set, bringing new but familiar sounds to the ears of long time listeners. But this box set is also meant to appear to the newly initiated, as well as those intrigued enough to nibble the edges of the unknown - and that's where the Aching Orphans come in.

The "songs" contained on these four discs bounce around like ping-pong balls flying from the paddles of Eighty Aching Octopi. You see, while The Residents didn't invent the concept album, they've certainly pushed and mangled the conceit to new depths. But what happens to odd and compelling fragments, once separated from their musical kin? Well duh... they become orphans. And, longing for the companionship of their deserted brothers, sisters, and mutant offspring, they ache.

Feel free to relish their pain.


-- Homer Flynn / The Cryptic Corporation