Like clowns or Santa's elves, there is a conflict to The Residents that is both sinister and childlike all mixed up in one. The sinister, thankfully, is really more of a facade than a reality with The Residents, unlike the afore mentioned atrocities. Over the years The Residents have released a number of twisted albums, and King & Eye: RMX and WB: RMX are this year's offering. As implied by the titles, the two albums are remixes. And much like The Residents' career, one is essential and the other... isn't.

We'll start with the unessential, King & Eye: RMX. The original cd was The Residents covering Elvis. I haven't heard much off of it, but what I have wasn't great. And what other people have said is that the entire cd is rather uninspiring. So to have King & Eye remixed would be a good idea. Maybe it would turn out helluva lot better.

Unfortunately, that is not the case. The Residents got it remixed by Paralyzer. That was the first mistake. A band like The Residents need to do any sort of tinkering themselves. The second mistake was releasing it. King & Eye: RMX is boring as hell when listened to as a whole, assuming you can make it all the way through. Sampling a track here and there isn't too bad. I could see, perhaps, putting one on a mix cd sometime. This release is really only for fans of the band who are completests and don't already own the original or are uber-completests who have to own every single bloody thing.

WB: RMX on the other hand is outstanding. Unlike the other cd there is no former cd released to compare these remixes to. The story about it is interesting, however. Of course, how much of it is true is up for debate. It's the official story from The Residents camp, but how much you can believe them I don't know. The story goes like this.