Customer Reviews

Shoes For Industry! The Best Of The Firesign Theatre

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Make no mistake about it: the Firesign Theatre are brilliant. Then you may ask, why do you rate this CD only two stars? Well, they're so brilliant that it does them quite an injustice to clip excerpts of their classic albums (which were all conceived to be whole, full-length pieces) and construct a "greatest hits" from them. Taken as small pieces, these cuts, while still very funny, aren't quite as amazing as they would be if heard within the context of the album from whence they came. Until recently, nearly all of the Firesign's classic LPs/CDs were out-of-print and this collection was the best you could do if you wanted to hear stuff from their "golden" age. But now, the first four albums ("Waiting for the Electrician...," "How Can You Be In Two Places At Once...," "Don't Crush That Dwarf...," and "I Think We're All Bozos On This Bus")have been re-released on CD by Sony Legacy and the other titles from their '70s heyday ("Not Insane," "Tale of the Giant Rat of Sumatra," "Everything You Know Is Wrong," & "In the Next World, You're On Your Own") - not previously available on CD - have been re-released exclusively through laugh.com. Get those instead. They're all great and, to re-iterate, these mere "pieces" make much more sense when heard along with the "greater puzzle." The only cuts this collection offers which are not available anywhere else are some bits from their now-out-of-print collection of bits from their old, live radio show, "Dear Friends," and a couple of things from their "solo" albums (recordings consisting of only one or two of the members). So, unless your a real completist, pass this title by and acquire the complete, uncut albums from this site or laugh.com.

This is a great collection and I especially enjoyed the detailed booklet. For those who have never heard Firesign before this is an excellent choice, and even for serious Firesign fans this set will probably have something you haven't heard before. To truly appreciate Firesign Theatre, however, it is absolutely essential to listen to the entire albums - especially "Don't Crush That Dwarf, Hand Me The Pliers," "How Can You Be In Two Places At Once When You're Not Anywhere At All," and "Everything You Know Is Wrong." While this set has some of the high points from those albums (actually 3/4 of "...Two Places..."), it relies too much on cuts from "Dear Friends" which are funny at times but can't stand up to the mutlilayered maddness of their greatest moments. I would have prefered "Clockwork Films" from "Everything you Know..." and "Path of Science" from "Bozos" to some of the "Dear Friends" stuff. On the other hand the cleverly edited version of "Police Street", the singles (2) and cuts from solo albums are certainly worth having (although "TV or not TV" has parts I like better than what is presented here.) This CD got me listening to the original albums again, and what do you know, I heard more things I hadn't noticed before particularly cross references among the albums. Let's hope more are reissued soon - Rhino, you got 'em, we'll get 'em, and that's my story.

These "bleeding chunks" from the classic Firesign albums of the late 60's - early 70's give an acid-tinged taste (but alas, only that) of one of comedy's greatest national treasures. Imagine James Joyce as the fifth Marx brother and you'll have an idea of the fast n' furious wordplay and whacked-out satirical perspective this legendary quartet dishes out.

Their multi-layered albums are not only listenable after dozens of playings -- they can actually reveal new depths, uncover laughs you never heard on previous listenings, and become part of your life.

Docked two stars because it's impossible to limit the far-reaching brilliance of the original albums to what are, in effect, no more than "laugh bites."

Note to Rhino or whoever is sitting on the original material: there was never a better time than now to release all of the classic Firesign Theatre albums in the now-standard "digitally- remastered-new-liner-notes-by-the-original- artists-with-seventeen-outtakes-no-one-thought- good-enough-to-release-with-the-original- recording" format. Do it today! FORWARD INTO THE PAST!

That most of their Columbia work is out of print while the mediocre latter day Rhino CDs are readily available is a disgrace. That far too much of the unlistenable solo stuff is included here - - - to the exclusion of many other fine bits - - - is a shame. Still, this is essential comedy, a sampling of the most ambitious group of laffmakers in history. Not as consistent as Monty Python, but easier to take over repeated listening, because the stuff is so damned layered and rich. This will tide you over until someone reissues more of the complete albums, or until free hands on both sides of the big ditch can press the same button at the same time.

I have heard (and commited to memory) pretty much everything Firesign ever did and it's a shame to excerpt it. Don't be cheap. Buy them all and in order. Listen in order. You would not read the last book in a series first, would you? Picking bits and pieces of Firesign is the equivalent of reading the last page first.

I am waiting for "The Tale of the Giant Rat of Sumatra" now that I have read the entirety of Sir A.Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes series. Giant Rat was excellent before but now I expect it to be even richer.

Do what I say: I'm not hotdoggin' ya.

"First class."

It goes without saying that any attempt to do a "best of" Firesign Theatre is going to disappoint someone, as the reviews here indicate. But, let's face it: the culture's attention span keeps getting shorter and shorter.

Firesign's oblique references and literary depth are not for everyone. The rewards of listening to their work are not unlike reading James Joyce. In addition to the sheer musicality of their work itself, they delight in language and obscure references. And, as they say in a cut here, you have to understand how radio works: audio-only feed stimulates centers of the brain which create imagery.

OK - take the Firesign test: get this CD and then wait for some long trip in a car when it's dark out. Preferably on a fairly deserted road; at least try for easily-flowing traffic.

Pop it on and, if you're not completely satisfied, it's because you did not buy the whole versions of these inimitable classix...

The best deal going for this thing is the ability to make mix tapes. I like to throw in the phoney commercials (vid. "La Bomba Shelter" on the tracks list) to give the sense that the listener is tuned in to the radio and groovin' on some old tones while truckin' down the road. It probably includes too much of the album "How Can You Be In Two Places At Once..." (specifically, half of side one and all of side two) but the mix of other material allows the whole finished product to be punchy and humorous.

It's been stated that if you were stoned in the 60's, then you'll love the Firesign Theatre. The fact is, dear friends, that false drugs are not necessary in order to appreciate and enjoy the multifaceted humour of the Firesign Theatre. Their comedy remains as fresh and amusing as it was thirty years ago and demands multiple listenings. Although their best work ("How Can You Be in Two Places at Once When You're Not Anywhere At All," "Don't Crush That Dwarf, Hand Me The Pliers," "Everything You Know is Wrong," and "In the Next World, You're on Your Own" work best as complete albums by themselves, "Shoes for Industry" is an excellent, dare I say indispensable, overview of the Firesign Theatre's unique brand of comedy. Yes, dear friends, one look into this Pandora's Box and your world will never be quite the same. Also included on "Shoes for Industry" are some great tracks from the Firesigns' solo albums, which have been unavailable for a long time. If you find the Firesigns to be irresistable (as I do) you would do well to purchase a turntable and seek out the original albums as quickly as possible, with "Shoes for Industry" as your guide. And remember, dear friends: your perception of "reality" is never quite as strong as you imagine it to be. Forward Into The Past!

When I showed this CD to my daughter, she automatically assumed that it was the same tired Dope humor Cheech & Chong used to flog endlessly. Nothing could be further from the truth. Firesign Theater re-defined "audio humor" (records and radio) when it was caught in the mundane morass of Bill Cosby and the like. To listen to FT for the first time is to open your ears to the great possibilities of the Theater of the Mind; and if you're listening again after a lot of years, you'll meet many old friends: Nick Danger, Young Guy, Ralph Spoilsport...

You must get this album. It's as simple as that.

It probably helps to be over 40 and formerly very confused about America and where she was going. But anyone who enjoys fast-paced absurdist satire will love this collection. A friend bought it for me and I was afraid to open the gift wrap for a week. Today I did and I'm so glad. Their humor is so precise and devastating that many other comics simply pail by comparison.