''The Tunes of Two Cities'' is the ninth studio album by American

art rock Art rock is a subgenre of rock music that generally reflects a challenging or avant-garde approach to rock, or which makes use of modernist, experimental, or unconventional elements. Art rock aspires to elevate rock from entertainment to an ar ...

group

The Residents The Residents are an American art collective and art rock band best known for their avant-garde music and multimedia works. Since their first official release, ''Meet the Residents'' (1974), they have released over 60 albums, numerous music vid ...

, released in 1982. It is part two of the ''Mole Trilogy''. Rather than forwarding the story of the battle between the Mole People and the Chubs, the record's concept is to display the differences between the two cultures through their music. The music of the Chubs is light

cocktail A cocktail is a mixed drink, usually alcoholic beverage, alcoholic. Most commonly, a cocktail is a combination of one or more liquor, spirits mixed with other ingredients, such as juices, flavored syrups, tonic water, Shrub (drink), shrubs, and ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

, while that of the Moles tends toward industrial

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' d ...

s. A major feature of this album is that it was one of the first to use the

E-mu Emulator The Emulator is a series of digital sampling synthesizers using floppy-disk storage that was manufactured by E-mu Systems from 1981 until 2002. Although it was not the first commercial sampler, the Emulator was innovative in its integratio ...

, one of the earliest commercial digital

samplers Sampler may refer to: * Sampler (signal), a digital signal processing device that converts a continuous signal to a discrete signal * Sampler (needlework), a handstitched piece of embroidery used to demonstrate skill in needlework * Sampler (surna ...

. The Chub track "Mousetrap" bears a noticeable resemblance to

Stan Kenton Stanley Newcomb Kenton (December 15, 1911 – August 25, 1979) was an American popular music and jazz artist. As a pianist, composer, arranger and band leader, he led an innovative and influential jazz orchestra for almost four decades. Though ...

's "Eager Beaver." In one 1998 interview, band spokesman Homer Flynn acknowledged that the band listened to jazz and

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...

artists including Kenton, as well as

Charles Mingus Charles Mingus Jr. (April 22, 1922 – January 5, 1979) was an American jazz Double bass, upright bassist, composer, bandleader, pianist, and author. A major proponent of collective Musical improvisation, improvisation, he is considered one of ...

and

Sun Ra Le Sony'r Ra (born Herman Poole Blount, May 22, 1914 – May 30, 1993), better known as Sun Ra, was an American jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, and poet known for his experimental music, "cosmic" philosophy, prolific ou ...

.Homer Flynn Interview
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Track listing

The 1988 CD release contains three extra tracks that were excluded from the album due to space constraints. These tracks are sequenced between "Praise for the Curse" and "The Secret Seed", restoring the alternation between "Mole" and "Chub" songs. *Open Up – 2:18 *Anvil Forest – 2:22 *Scent of Mint – 2:27

2019 pREServed edition (''Mole Box'')

A deluxe box set pertaining to the entire Mole Trilogy concept was released in 2019. It contained newly remastered editions of '' Mark of the Mole'', ''The Tunes of Two Cities'' and '' The Big Bubble'', as well as recordings of the Mole Show and a sixth disc of miscellaneous recordings related to the project. Disc Two is shown here for its relevance.

Personnel

The Residents: Performance

Snakefinger Philip Charles Lithman (17 June 1949 – 1 July 1987), who performed under the stage name Snakefinger, was an English musician, singer and songwriter. A multi-instrumentalist, he was best known for his guitar and violin work and his collab ...

: Guitar Nessie Lessons: Vocals Norman Salant: Saxophone

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tunes of Two Cities, The The Residents albums 1982 albums 1980s concept albums Ralph Records albums