Customer Reviews

Great White North

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This album was one of the defining moments of Canadian culture, and the listening of it makes one hearken back to one's halcyon days of youth. The only Canadians with living memories of the 80s who will not appreciate this album are those who are too 'cool' to recognize themselves through any means other than a mirror. It is Canadiana at its raw finest, especially the brothers fondness for beer and donuts. The two highlights of the CD are of course "Take Off," where Geddy Lee from Rush deadpans his way through the McKenzie Brothers' 'hit single' and the resulting dialogue, and the purely Canadian version of "Twelve Days of Christmas." In this latter the boys delightfully request every Canadian stereotyped staple (from toques to turtlenecks), to be capped with the inevitable "Beer . . . in-n-n-n a tree." That being said, even when it was initially released this was a long listen between highlights. The jokes are older now and SCTV is now safely in the vaults (except for on the Comedy Network). If you remember the "Great White North" with fondness then this is an excellent reminiscence purchase, but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who doesn't already know the jokes. Finally, in the used CD I picked up, there were no liner notes allowing me to follow along with "You Are Our Guest." That was very disappointing.

5 regular stars is like 40 metric stars, eh

Rick Moranis & Dave Thomas created the McKenzie Brothers on the brilliant SCTV and took them to the big screen in the hillarious Strange Brew. They also released this record and it is one of the best comedy albums of all time ranking up there with Richard Pryor's & George Carlin's releases. Bits like "Coffee Sandwich", "Peter's Donuts", "The Beer Hunter" and "Twelve Days Of Christmas" are down right side-splitting. The album even has a "hit song" with "Take Off" (it actually got to #12 on the charts in '82) that includes backing vocals by Geddy Lee of Rush. Every time you play this album, you will bust a gut laughing, whether it's the first or one-thousandth time.

A lot of people outside Canada have now forgotten about Bob & Doug McKenzie, but their brand of Canadian hick humour hasn't lost any of its appeal. Originally started by Dave Thomas and Rick Moranis as a reaction to a requirement for more Canadian content in a production, they ultimately went on to star in the hilariously stupid _Strange Brew_.

On this CD you'll find comedy pieces on a number of topics: The Beerhunter, their Christmas song, Doug conducting church services, Bob as principal of a school, and more. The best way to describe them is that they're so stupid they're hilarious.

While many Canadians are no doubt appalled to the degree that Bob & Doug actually impacted the typical viewpoint of Canada held in the States, the fact remains that their parody of the content laws is an indelible part of Canadian culture. Get this CD while you can.

Good day eh? Bob & Doug McKenzie from SCTV and their famous character skecth played by Rick Moranis & Dave Thomas. These guys very first CD album debut called "Great White North" is a laughing and hilarious comedy routine landmark in history between brothers drinking beer and cooking back-bacon to go with every performance. From Bob & Doug's storytelling and to their christmas carols montage of the "Twelve Days of Christmas" in these tracks included here.

The classic comedy album from the SCTV team is now on CD. This is really funny stuff, but some of the jokes don't really work on CD. There are many specific references to the vinyl LP format. But overall, this is a fun album from a classic comedy team. G'day!

When I went to Camp Sumner in Ely, Minnesota we had to watch a video about the Great White North and believe it or not, part of the soundtrack to that informational film was "Take Off". Several years later, after having watched STRANGE BREW, I discovered that the McKenzie's had made this quirky little ablum and had to get my hands on a copy. It's worth every penny. I mean, where else can you get a comedy album that talks about beer, Star Wars, doughnuts, black holes, the flip side of an album, and includes a hit song largely sung by Geddy Lee? There just isn't anything like it. If you like silly, witty, yet stupid humor, this one's for you (and I don't mean the beer).

I must have listened to this a thousand times and never tired of it. To hear it again after how long? 24 years or so! Wow! Great memories :)

If you remember this bit, you will enjoy this CD very much. All of the comedy "skits" are funny and it will make you laugh. The highlight is Geddy Lee from Rush singing Take Off and doing the "theme chant."

What a cool album, eh