Customer Reviews

Guy Noir: Radio Private Eye

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

 

 

I love GK's Lake Woebegon stuff, but this tape is even funnier! I've worn mine out by listening to it so many times, and am now having to order a new one! These stories are such a cheesy take-off on the old mysteries from radio's golden years, and it is totally hysterical that Pete gets killed in each episode. (I wonder if the creators of South Park got the idea to kill Kenny in each episode by listening to Pete get killed in each Guy Noir episode?!?!)

I'd give this five stars, but I don't like Garrison's "singing" at the beginning of each side of the tape -- although he has a nice speaking voice, his singing voice is awful, and the songs are too long (they're only 3-4 minutes at most, but that's 3-4 minutes too long!)

Guy Noir is sort of a Philip Marlowe/Sam Spade kind of a guy. His friend of 30 years, Pete, might pass for Miles Archer, Spade's late, lamented partner in "The Maltese Falcon." Each skit involves Guy confronting Pete over some incongruous issue. The duo devise deliciously alliterative dialog, but become belligerent, and the burgeoning bellicosity soon embroils them in a gun battle. They invariably wind up killing each other. Cliche's from the golden age of radio drama abound as the two "friends" deal with all sorts of modern day issues. My first thought upon listening to the first episode was "Dr. Phil meets Philip Marlowe."

The first two or three episodes had me laughing out loud, but the longer I listened, the less funny it became. Don't listen to the episodes straight through. Listen to them one at a time, and give yourself a couple of weeks between episodes.

I love PHC and Guy Noir. Does anyone remember (or know where I can get) the St. Patrick's Day show he recorded in Dublin, Ireland? The Guy Noir skit on that broadcast was high-larious.

This particular collection is a 9-track running joke. It has its standout moments with fantastic feats of alliteration in a couple tracks and the old fashioned sound effects are fun . . . but, as another post here says, it gets less funny as it goes along.

The essence of comedy is brevity and most of these skits take too long. I recall the Guy Noir skits I heard on the radio being shorter, much more varied and having a bigger cast with more fantastic stories. Most of these tracks just drag on as if by taking longer to get to the punchline the same old shtick will become funnier; mostly, it doesn't work. Unless you're a real die-hard fan completing your PHC collection, this CD is a monotonous disappointment.

The Guy Noir episodes are simply hilarious. Keillor and his crew have absolutely outdone themselves. After getting this tape as a gift several years ago, I ran out and bought everything else Keillor I could find. While I do enjoy much of Keillor's other works, nothing comes close to the Guy Noir series.

You'd think that after listening to this tape 2 or 3 times that one would tire of it. Quite the contrary. Every time I hear this tape I like it more. My only lament is that it isn't available on CD. Actually, I'm purchasing my 4th copy since I've lent the last three to friends who keep on conveniently forgetting to return them.

I saw other reviewer's fault the performance for having the same endings... they just didn't get it. It's the fact that practically all the episodes come to the same conclusion that makes it so funny. In fact I've laughed so hard that I came down with a case of Loon throat...

This first collection of "Guy Noir" routines, lifted from A Praire Home Companion, are very funny. Garrison Keillor and his merry band of actors give a sense of the old time radio drama? with these. The sound effects are excellent and the theme is pretty cool. Both series are great. I wish they'd lift more of them to create a few more series.

I laughed until I cried at the second Guy Noir book on CD. This one has some great moments too, but is not as consistently funny as the second. I still would recommend it to Garrison Keillor fans - he is a genius at comedy and anything else he chooses to do.

I did receive the correct product and it's pretty good. The stories all share the same predictable plot, but Keillor and company's tongue-twister-type dialogue keep things interesting.

Buy this album! It will bring you back to a time before Garrison Keillor and Prarie Home Companion descended as completely into self-absorption and self-parody as they are today.

A time ago Keillor described New York performance artists as "raging narcissists." He was right, but did not know how he was predicting his own aesthetic future.

And you'll see it so clearly here. For one thing, Keillor shares the Guy Noir stage with someone other than a sound effects man: the character of Pete is essential to understanding Guy Noir's psyche. We can guess that Pete was phased out so that Noir, as portrayed today, is more of a loner. But it might also have had to do with the fact that Pete pretty consistently upstaged Guy - you be the judge.

But what really matters, of course, is the quality of the comedy here, and it's just great. Word plays, tongue twisters, great plots - it's bright, original, funny and deliciously ironic. You'll love it!

My Mom loved this audio book as a Christmas gift and had made it a Christmas Keepsake to pull out for the holidays to enjoy.

I have played this tape so often that it's worn out. I have some of his other tapes but this one is by far my favorite. I especially like the rendition of Lida Rose. Also, if you admire alliteration and all that amusement, you'll absolutely adore it!