Those of you who are fans of old radio programs will want to experience the hilarious spoof of those hard-boiled private eye series provided by the wacky Firesign Theatre company. This 4-CD box set includes for the first time such legendary performances such as “Cut ‘Em Off at the Past,” “The Case of the Missing Shoe,” “The Three Faces of Al,” plus rare and unreleased skits with take-offs on commercials, too. I’d like to say these CDs would be perfect for a long driving trip, but there’s a risk you might be laughing so hard you might drive off the road listening to this stuff. I’ve been a fan of the Firesign Theatre since the Sixties. Their clever, entertaining, and twisted homages to Old Time Radio programs will delight you. Take a listen to the sample below. GRADE: A
This is on my list of must haves now. I love FT. An English professor introduced me to their work in 1971 and I have been a concert ever since. I still cannot pass the opportunity when someone says “Do you have the key?” I always answer, “No. Only half a key. I had to split it with the doorman.”
You’ll find hours of entertainment listening to the BOX OF DANGER, Scott. Great stuff!
Now I know you are a year or two younger than me. But I don’t remember radio programs like this at all. Did you listen to them in your childhood or come upon them later? I only remember music on the radio and a few talk shows.
I discovered Old Time Radio in my teens, Patti. Plenty of those old programs showed up on cassette tape collections that were fun to listen to. But the Firesign Theatre group’s spoofs of those old programs can be even more fun!
This is a must have for me, too. I remember Firesign Theater, but not Nick Danger. I may have heard some of these skits on Public Radio about the time I was in college, late Sixties. Could that be right? Regardless of the when, these are something I’ll seek out. Did you – as you so often do, find them at some amazing discount?
You can find the BOX OF DANGER for $32.14 on AMAZON.COM, Rick. You have to look at the “new” and “used” section. I bought my copy “new” for that $32.14 price. Hurry, there’s only nine copies left!
Back in college, we played DON’T CRUSH THAT DWARF, HAND ME THE PLIERS till the grooves melted.
Loved DON’T CRUSH THAT DWARF, Dan. I melted the grooves, too!
That’s pretty much what I did with Stan Freeberg’s History of the United States Volume 1. I had almost the whole thing memorized, and to this day know and use a lot of the lines in the right situation.
I love Stan Freeberg’s work, too, Rick. Very clever guy!
You can sit here in the waiting room or wait here in the sitting room.
Step in out of that starch and dry your mukluks by the door.
He stopped the car on a dime. Unofrtunately, the dime was in Rocky Rococo’s pocket.
Great stuff.
I love Rocky Rococo, Bob! Two guys in Madison, Wisconsin loved that skit so much they named their pizza place Rocky Rococo’s Pizza.
You had to ferret out the new dramatic radio in the ’70s, though it was rather easier to find then than it is now (even given a few continuing new drama/comedic skit projects)…my Next blogpost is going to be about the various comic podcasts I listen to, but y’all need to know about the WFMU revival of Firesign radio broadcasts, including much of the material that appeared on the DEAR FRIENDS album:
http://wfmu.org/playlists/FT
The hours are archived there, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed them.
Thanks for the link, Todd! I’ll check it out.
Dramatic radio in the ’70s: EARPLAY on NPR, THE NATIONAL RADIO THEATER OF CHICAGO mostly on public stations, various Firesign projects on Pacifica and occasionally syndicated, notably DEAR FRIENDS and NICK DANGER, THIRD EYE, Harry Shearer, et al, in THE CREDIBILITY GAP, THE CBS RADIO MYSTERY THEATER, THE GENERAL MILLS ADVENTURE THEATER, THE SEARS RADIO THEATER, Rod Serling’s ZERO HOUR, BOB AND RAY on NPR, STAR WARS also fwiww, and when you were lucky your local NPR station might also take some of the fine CBC imports of dramatic anthologies and the bodacious early years of the ZBS Foundation, most obviously with the charming THE FOURTH TOWER OF INVERNESS…and Christian radio chipped in, too, with the continuing UNSHACKLED…sigh.
Art Scott and Bill Crider have memorized all of BOB & RAY, Todd.
Of course, the BBC, much more than NPR or CBC or Pacifica today, continues to support the form…and we don’t have to depend on imports any longer, thanks to the web…
And I really enjoy those BBC broadcasts, Todd.
And, of course, Rocky Rocococo also played a role in the FT’s THE GIANT RAT OF SUMATRA, giving Holmes and co. problems…if my porous memory doesn’t fail me.
My favorite underappreciated FT is probably EAT OR BE EATEN.
Rocky Rococo pops up there in there in the Firesign Theatre universe, Todd. I’m pretty sure you’re right about THE GIANT RAT OF SUMATRA.