23 September 1970 Don't Crush That Dwarf

In a dedicated effort to push forward the public taste, this column will dedicate itself to the discovery and review of that which is not normally discovered and reviewed by the opposition. And if we do overlap on occasion, that's their tough luck.

Don't Crush that Dwarf, Hand Me the Pliers
The Firesign Theater
 Columbia Records.

 This album is definitely not one for a newcomer to the Firesign Theater. The spoken word comedy group has two other albums out, Waiting for the Electrician or Someone like him and How can you be in Two Places at Once When You're not Anywhere at All, both of which are tightly organized, hysterically funny adventures in the realm of the spoken word which has been unexplored since the Marx Brothers. But as they put out each album, they seem to be less concerned with tight technical work and precise style editing. This third adventure is their loosest yet, with almost no pretense of comprehensive plot, and long stretches of rather dull technical effects, with minimal humor value. It deals with the future world of "sectors", and spoofs TV, as well as old movies of several tvpes, including Andy Hardy and War Epics. Everyone is named Tirebiter, and it tends to confuse the issue. In spite of its weakness, it is still good Firesign, with a gold mine of material spoken in the background, and fancy footwork with the stereo speaker system. Definitely not an album to be listened to in Mono.