Customer Reviews

Boom Dot Bust

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

There are a lot of expectations of a Firesign Theatre recording. If an album is accessible and funny on it's face, some fans will object that it's not deep enough and accuse the guys of selling out. If most of the humor is contained deeply layered references and double or triple meanings people complain that they just don't get it. Hopefully, these things never come into consideration during the creation of a new Firesign CD - ideally, the guys make the CD for themselves and not for us because that is when they are at their absolute best!

Coming from a guy who liked "Fighting Clowns", let me say that Boom Dot Bust is great. There is more than enough on the surface to laugh at and plenty of layers to peel away over subsequent listenings. An incredibly long list of satirical targets get blasted - Hollywood, the Internet, politics, pop culture, class and ethnicity, political correctness...just to name a few.

If you were looking for the guys to do some kind of sequel of an old album or to offer up a nice linear, easily digested piece of ear candy - well, this isn't it. On the other hand, if you expect a Firesign Theatre album to be surreal, if you expect to be challenged, if you expect the guys to make you work a little, if you expect them to break new ground, and if you expect just enough ear candy carry you through the first couple of listenings and into the meat of the material, then get this CD!

"Boom Dot Bust" is wonderful--and totally unexpected. After waiting 20 years for a new creation ("The Three Faces of Al" was good, but Nick Danger was not new) I felt let down by "Give Me Imortality..." which was funny but pretty shallow. I was thinking "you can't catch lightning in a bottle twice" when "BDB" arrived. It was like finding a Firesign record from 1975 that I hadn't heard before. It has everything I love about Firesign: layer-upon-layer of delightful word-play, satire, and verbal slapstick. Just like "Bozos" you can listen over and over, with repeated pleasures-of-discovery. The 4 or 5 have recaptured their old magic. I hope they sell enough copies to encourage more new releases. My wife and kids don't understand any of it, though I've tried and tried to explain my "Uh Clem" license plate. If you enjoyed any classic Firesign, you'll enjoy "Boom Dot Bust."

Jumpin' Jujubees, Porgie, how're we going to get out of here? With the help of The Firesign Theater, that's how. I've been a lifelong fan and I'd long given up hope that we'd hear from the 4 or 5 again; the reunion tour album was a joy, but it didn't tell me anything new. Then ... "Immortality" and now "Boom Dot Bust" right on its heels. Wow.

"Immortality" was wonderful, very linear and upfront, and more topical than TFT at their very best. But who didn't have the broadest of smiles at the latest appearance of Ralph Spoilsport (like BeBop says, 'that Ralph, he's always with us!'), and the Where It's Happy news team brought back happy memories of "Everything You Know is Wrong", Bill Bland and other great creations. And I'd love to have a whole disc of Doctor Winquedinque!

But BDB is magnificent - dense, layered, with a cream-filled centre and a lovely finish. It's imported - from southern Indiana! The 'Kane' parody is brilliant, and I've shamelessly appropriated the line, 'because Evil never dies ... but copyrights EXPIRE!'

On the all-time scale, I'd rate "Pliers", "Bozos" and "Not Insane" as TFT's greatest achievement, but BDB comes very, very close.

Long live the 4 or 5! Live long, prosper, and make many, many more albums! Get on the road and perform here in Toronto. And don't take off your shoes! Jobs is on the way!

First off, let me say to the uninitiated, the Firesign Theatre are very funny. Definitely one of the most unsung comedy teams ever. Why? Well, first, their primary medium was the comedy album, a dying artform, and they revolutionized it. Second, the laughs require some degree of patience and intelligence: literary references, outrageous word-play, and surrealist humor pepper the landscape of their albums (though they're also adept at funny voices and TV riffs). Plus, they're constructed as movies-for-your-mind, massive radio drama/comedy. The Firesign can and will transport their listeners everywhere, from the eye of a tornado to the Academy Awards. And they'll have you laughing in wonderment all the way. "Boom Dot Bust" is deeper, less instantly accessible than their previous "Give Me Immortality...," but it is quite rewarding and hilarious on it's own terms. Set in the mythical Mid-western town of "Billville," it skewers several aspects of contemporary American life and values while framing the album with the tale of the four dishonest heads of the town (Mayor P'Nisnose, Coach Swat, Developer Sprawl, & Doc Infermo) try to go global with internet rip-offs and various other schemes. Their plans are undone by the arrival of a giant twister and the rebelling citizens of neighboring Elmertown. All four members play several roles each. Highlights: a great Martha Stewart/daytime family-values talk show bit, a take-off on Asian action heroes, and a jab at the numerous long-distance calling services. Let's hope their earlier '60s and '70s work comes back into print! Long live Firesign!

It's quite simple: if you are a fan of the Firesign Theatre at their most surreal, a la "Don't crush that Dwarf" and "Everything You Know is Wrong", you'll love this; it's brilliant. If, on the other hand, you are scratching your head, wondering what all this brouhaha is all about, well, this record won't help you much. It's deep, shallow, funny, silly and poignant. Fireheads, strap on your eyeball hats and enjoy the ride!

I was about to write that I'm so happy to see Firesign back from the Shadows after last year's Give Me Immortality Or Give Me Death and contributing yet another new work to the Holy Grid, but when I opened up the album I saw all these guys named Bill instead. Dr. Guillermo Infermo, William C. P'nisnose, Coach Bill Swat, W. "Bill" Sprawl?

Wait a minute! Billville, Armenians, Giant Bozos and Dwarves, it's all coming back to me like the hot kiss at the end of a wet pickle. These Bills are Firesign! Phil Austin, Peter Bergman, David Ossman and Phil Proctor. And this time they're not overdue!

Tighten your wigs and let the air out of your shoes so you can get down to some serious listening. Move into a smarthouse. Glue your books together--use George W. Bush Sweat. Watch Bottom Fiedler Films production of Kane! Go inside the Money Bubble and invest. Whose cellphone is that ringing? Mine! No, yours! Oh, mine!

Sounds idiosyncratic? Of course it is. That's what's so cool about Firesign's work. Every one of their albums is a wonderful audio world to explore. And unlike most comedy albums, the more you listen the more you get out of it. I'd tell you more, but I need another four listenings to really get it down.

Look out, here comes a tornado from the Governor's preserve! Grab your Devilmaster and get over to Elmertown where it's safe! And get the album already, it's more fun than a barrel of schnooks!

This CD is a welcome new addition to FT's available material (hint, hint guys: get the old classics released on CD!). As documented elsewhere, the sound is dense. I've only listened to it in the car, so I know I'm missing some.

There are a lot of great moments on this CD (the Elmers are coming unglued!)... but....... it lacks an overall feel to it, a theme. That's not to say there isn't a premise, it just doesn't proceed like Immortality did. Picky picky, yep.

Bottom line: do yourself a favor and get this, and listen a time or three, but clamor for Dwarfs et al on CD.

BOOM DOT BUST surpasses all expectations as the Firesign scores another hit album. While some sections are totally insane and others are downright unintelligable, all of the precious minutes the listener spends on BOOM DOT BUST are hilarious.

Though not as overtly paranoid as "Give me immortality or give me death", you can always count on the Firesign Theatre to provide lots of unique and oblique things to say to your friends. In just a short time I've started using "Hey that's my phone! And yeah, I'm gonna answer it!" and "I got the fiddlers agin". Their new album is a welcome trip down Tomato Alley to meet some new characters. Each has their own story to tell about the town where everyone is born to be Bill. And yeah, they're gonna tell it like it was. But ya better bunker down and be prepared for alliterative puns and other ways to play with your words. You can almost tell how good an album from the 4 or 5 crazee guys is GOING to be by how perplexed you are the first time you hear it. I was a-mighty bamboozled myself. One weekend of near-constant repeat and a worn down CD player later, this stuff is pretty damn funny. Pick it up if you can, have someone help ya out if you got the fiddlers. And remember what my fave character, Doc Imfermo always sez: "We're doomed."

Boom Dot Bust is a hysterically funny album. Keep that firmly in mind, because it's so much more than just a comedy album that any discussion of its wonders tends to sound way too serious.

Firesign Theatre fans, rejoice! You're going to love this one. But note (and anyone who is not familiar with Firesign's earlier work, be reassured) that the new album breaks new ground, and does not rely on knowledge of the group's earlier work. Whether you're discovering the group for the first time, or delighted to know that they're together again, Boom Dot Bust works beautifully. As usual, the more you hear it, the funnier it gets. The Four Or Five Crazee Guys are way beyond "back" -- they're ahead of us, again as usual.

The audio production is superb. I can't wait to hear the DVD 5.1 surround sound mix, but even in stereo it's clear that repeated listenings will be an increasing pleasure to the ear as well as the mind. It will take a quite a few to catch all the loose diamonds in this rich mix!

So, what's it all about, Mr. & Mrs. John Q. Smith of Anytown, USA?

In their latest release, Boom Dot Bust, The Firesign Theatre performs open-chest surgery on the heartbasket of America.

What their incision reveals is a treasure chest: stories, people, puns, thoughts, giggles, ideas, jokes, words, bellylaughs, phrases, satires, songs, commentary and audio images which fascinate and delight the mind, as a hoard of jewels dazzles the eyes. The concepts flash and course before your astonished attention so fast, the mental experience is, at first, a little like watching films as complex and fast-moving as "The Phantom Menace," "What Dreams May Come" and "His Girl Friday" all at the same time, on the same screen.

But don't be put off -- not for a second. Find the time, adjust your attitude, leave plenty of room to double up, and listen. There are laughs in every layer, and there are lots of layers. Share it with your friends. Send a copy to your mayor.

Sure, it's all about the Midwest -- in one sense. But the sun never sets on the shadow of the Stars And Stripes falling on the US Plus logo. In this latest album, the Firesigns have exposed the innards of American culture to the rest of the globe, ribbing open the cage that surrounds our heartbasket. It's as much about any US town as it is regional, and it's a ruthlessly, hilariously clear picture of the roots of America's cultural influence. Boom Dot Bust is a mature masterpiece.

You'll hear people you've met somewhere, voices you've heard somewhere, using the word-power of Bill Burroughs possessed by Bill Shakespeare, or vice versa. There's not a single unbroadcastable word, but it's still like South Park possessed by John Dos Passos. You'll be left with mental images that suggest Norman Rockwell possessed by Hieronymous Bosch.

What you'll be encountering, of course, are the insights, honesty, audio mastery and comic genius of The Firesign Theatre, possessed by themselves. Phil Austin, Peter Bergman, David Ossman and Phil Proctor helped mold an American generation. As the millennium turns, they've given us a Boom Dot Bust of Uncle Sam more detailed than anything in the National Gallery.

And a helluva lot funnier!