You have probably read speaker reports that suggested that you audition with natural sounds like clanking chains, storms, animals and other things that give an easy reference to live experience. The problem is that most sound-effects albums are a real bore, dominated by reject Walt Disney announcers with adenoid problems.
Firesign Theater uses sound effects, but in a way that has to be heard to be believed. Firesign creates worlds based on sound; detailed and realistic sound. Where you are and what you perceive is based on puns, plays on words, free association, and subtle aural clues. We've missed parts of the albums repeatedly because we were answering the door or looking for the fire engire in the front yard. Most of you are probably already fans, but there are still areas all over the country where nobody has heard of the group because its recordings aren't played on the radio.
A couple of the albums have warnings that the FCC isn't too big on them, but I believe this is more because of the "War of the Worlds" factor (dummy news bulletins) than because of anything in the subject matter that would turn your sweet old granny into a psychotic killer.
I've heard several but not all of Firesign's albums, but I don't think you can get burned on any of them. They're all great.
Waiting for the Electrician or Someone Like Him
Columbia CS-9518. This was the first album, released in the mid-1960s. If you've never heard one, this is the place to start. Recording quality is above average and the subject matter is wide-ranging. How Can You Be In Two Places at Once When You're Not Anywhere at All?
Columbia CS-9884.
If you just got the first you'll want this next.
Don't Crush That Dwarf, Hand Me the Pliers
Columbia C-3012. This is my least favorite. The recording quality could be better, and nobody agrees with me that it is an over-extended concept. I Think We're All Bozos on This Bus
Columbia C-30737 Sheer genius! I just can't do this justice. This album should be handed out at Freshman Orientation at every college. Proctor & Bergman, TV or Not TV
Columbia KC-32199, 50% of the Theater, almost no loss of quality or imagination. At this point, the albums started coming out faster than I could keep up with them. There are at least two movies out, and the group has been doing live performances that, by all reports, I should kick myself for having missed. I have, and can recommend. The Tale of the Giant Rat of Sumatra (KC-32730) and Everything You Know Is Wrong (KC-33141), although I have no way of knowing how they compare with the other recent albums.—Paul Karagianis
Columbia CS-9518. This was the first album, released in the mid-1960s. If you've never heard one, this is the place to start. Recording quality is above average and the subject matter is wide-ranging. How Can You Be In Two Places at Once When You're Not Anywhere at All?
Columbia CS-9884.
Columbia C-3012. This is my least favorite. The recording quality could be better, and nobody agrees with me that it is an over-extended concept. I Think We're All Bozos on This Bus
Columbia C-30737 Sheer genius! I just can't do this justice. This album should be handed out at Freshman Orientation at every college. Proctor & Bergman, TV or Not TV
Columbia KC-32199, 50% of the Theater, almost no loss of quality or imagination. At this point, the albums started coming out faster than I could keep up with them. There are at least two movies out, and the group has been doing live performances that, by all reports, I should kick myself for having missed. I have, and can recommend. The Tale of the Giant Rat of Sumatra (KC-32730) and Everything You Know Is Wrong (KC-33141), although I have no way of knowing how they compare with the other recent albums.—Paul Karagianis
