Originally released on vinyl as a double album, it may potentially have been intended to meet a contractual obligation as artists at that time were sometimes contracted to release a specific number of recordings, and double albums would usually count as two releases. Although the original release showed the running time for all four sides as exactly 16 minutes and 1 second the actual times vary, although the total time does add up to 64 minutes and 4 seconds. It certainly wasn't a farewell release to end his contract with RCA as Lou would release Coney Island Baby on that label the following year.
In response to claims the release was a joke, Lou has insisted in interviews that he was serious when he created the work - but that he was also very stoned. The fact that there was a quadraphonic version released suggests that the record label supported the release at the time. I have read reviews that have claimed the work is largely in the key of B but I am not musical and not able to confirm this claim.
Source: Blu-ray
Converted to: DVD-A MLP 24/96, DVD-V DTS 24/48 & Dolby Digital 24/48
