''Dope Humor of the Seventies'' is a compilation album by
the Firesign Theatre
The Firesign Theatre (also known as the Firesigns) was an American surreal comedy troupe who first appeared on November 17, 1966, in a live performance on the Los Angeles radio program ''Radio Free Oz'' on station KPFK FM. They continued app ...
, released by
Stand Up! Records
Stand Up! Records is an American independent comedy record label founded in Minneapolis, Minnesota, by Grammy-winning producer Dan Schlissel. It has been called "the country's most respected indie comedy label." Stand Up! has released more than 2 ...
in November 2020.
Background
A sequel to the ''
Dear Friends'' album, it consists of short, highly improvisational sketches distilled from the 80-hour archive set ''
Duke of Madness Motors'', originally recorded from 1970 to 1972 as part of the group's nationally syndicated
''Dear Friends'' radio show.
The album was released on vinyl and digital formats,
and includes liner notes with an archive of handwritten scripts and other material from the era.
Reaction from members
Firesign member
David Ossman
David Ossman (born December 6, 1936, in Santa Monica) is an American writer and comedian, best known as a member of the Firesign Theatre and screenwriter of such films as '' Zachariah''.
Early life
Ossman attended Pomona College, where he star ...
called ''Dope Humor'' a sort of "dark side" to the ''Dear Friends'' album, since both were compiled from the same source, but the sketches on ''Dope Humor'' had not been constrained by the desire to keep the material radio-friendly, as had been the case for ''Dear Friends''.
Phil Proctor
Philip George Proctor (born July 28, 1940) is an American actor and a member of the Firesign Theatre. He has performed voice-over work for video games, films and television series.
Early life
Proctor was born in Goshen, Indiana, on July 2 ...
called it a tribute to late founding members
Phil Austin
Philip Baine Austin (April 6, 1941 – June 18, 2015) was an American comedian and writer, best known as a member of the Firesign Theatre.
Early life and education
Austin was born in Denver, Colorado, and later grew up in Fresno, California, at ...
and
Peter Bergman
Peter Michael Bergman (born June 11, 1953) is an American television actor best known for his portrayals on soap operas: as Cliff Warner on ''All My Children'' (1979–89) on ABC and as Jack Abbott on ''The Young and the Restless'' (1989–pre ...
.
[
]
Reception
Mark Lynch, host of the WICN
WICN (90.5 FM) is a NPR member radio station in Worcester, Massachusetts. It broadcasts commercial-free, 24 hours a day to an audience of over 40,000. The programming is mostly jazz, with daily evening shows dedicated to soul, bluegrass, Am ...
radio program ''Inquiry'', praised the album as "wicked funny" and said that the humor was both a snapshot of its era and surprisingly timely in the modern era.Bangor, Maine
Bangor ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Penobscot County, Maine, United States. The city proper has a population of 31,753, making it the state's List of municipalities in Maine, third-most populous city, behind Portland, Maine, Portland ...
radio station WZON
WZON (620 AM) is a radio station that is currently silent. The station is licensed to Bangor and serves Central Maine.
Along with sister station 103.1 WZLO, WZON is owned by The Zone Corporation, the broadcast company owned by authors T ...
said the album was full of "lost gems" that still seemed resonant: "So much of it holds up ... I feel like I could hear it on some cable news networks today and it would fit right in."[
]
Track listing
Side one
#"Shakespeare Sunday Sunday" – 0:51
#"Pig Science" – 3:15
#"Truth & Consequences" – 4:28
#"Clayton Rumcake" – 2:34
#"Mary Warner" – 1:48
#"Hawaii" – 2:18
#"Jesus' Ascension Into Bakersfield" – 2:32
#"Timmy's Birthday" – 3:11
Side two
#"Sex Jail!" – 1:14
#"Rules" – 1:12
#"Drug Abuse Expert" – 1:56
#"Pluto Water" – 5:48
#"Bluff" – 3:03
#"Smoke Spud" – 0:55
#"Vince Tomaine's Leg-o-the-Crow" – 1:43
#"Bob Dog Dog & Dog Hot Dog Son & Foot Tires" – 1:05
#"Fiji" – 3:43
Side three
#"Speed Kills" – 0:31
#"Funny-Name Club Of America" – 1:45
#"Family Bund Meeting" – 3:32
#"The Diaphragm" – 3:36
#"A Girl Named Bradley" – 1:44
#"The Money Song" – 0:52
#"Multiple Identity" – 2:19
#"Radio Prison In Peace And War" – 6:10
Side four
#"Louis Marshman Editorial" – 3:32
#"The Darkening Of The Light" – 1:03
#"Railroad Sunrise" – 2:41
#"Trashman Rap" – 1:16
#"Channel 18 News" – 3:18
#"Dope Humor Of The Seventies" – 1:50
#"K's Mart" – 1:50
#"Bird Of Prey Motors" – 1:21
#"Loons" – 3:22
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dope Humor Of The Seventies
2020 compilation albums
The Firesign Theatre albums
Stand Up! Records albums
1970s comedy albums