The Tale of the Giant Rat of Sumatra
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| 'The Tale of the Giant Rat of Sumatra' | |||||
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| Studio album by The Firesign Theatre | |||||
| Released | 1974 | ||||
| Genre | Comedy | ||||
| Length | 40:41 | ||||
| Label | Columbia | ||||
| Producer | The Firesign Theatre | ||||
| Professional reviews | |||||
| The Firesign Theatre chronology | |||||
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The Tale of the Giant Rat of Sumatra is a comedy album recorded by The Firesign Theatre and released in early 1974 by Columbia Records.
Contents |
[edit] Track listing
[edit] Side one - London
- "Chapter 1 - Not Quite The Solution He Expected"
- "Chapter 2 - An Outrageously Disgusting Disguise"
- "Chapter 3 - Where There's Smoke, There's Work"
[edit] Side two - Chicago
- "Chapter 4 - Where Did Jonas Go When The Lights Went Out?"
- "Chapter 5 - Pickles Down The Rat Hole!"
- "Chapter 6 - The Electrician Exposes Himself!"
[edit] Detailed track information and commentary
Following a rather disjointed string of solo projects and anthologies, this was the group's first album to consist entirely of a single cohesive narrative since their classic I Think We're All Bozos on This Bus from three years earlier. This began something of a second wind that would continue with Everything You Know Is Wrong and In the Next World, You're on Your Own before the group finally ended its association with Columbia.
Philip Proctor plays detective Hemlock Stones (Sherlock Holmes) and David Ossman plays Flotsam (Watson), his "patient doctor and biographer" (which also can be heard as having commas between the words).
The lighthearted tale is full of puns, including a running gag in which Flotsam, eager to chronicle the adventure, tries to write down everything Stones says but mishears it all as something similar-sounding; for example, "rattan-festooned" is written down as "rat-infested." Allusions also are made to Sherlock Holmes's use of cocaine (though it is referred to as cocoa) "Stones,you snowball!", his violin playing, and other familiar story elements.
The members of the group take different attitudes towards this album. In the liner notes to Shoes for Industry: The Best of the Firesign Theatre David Ossman is cheerful when discussing it and says that "I always thought it was the closest thing to the relentlessly pun-filled one-acts we did in clubs." In fact, an earlier bootleg version is not only closer to the spirit of their nightclub performances, but is strikingly reminiscent of The Goon Show, which was one of the group's main inspirations. It bears almost no resemblance to the version that was finally committed to vinyl.
Phil Austin, on the other hand says "The Sherlock Holmes album didn't do anybody any good . . . the general public was by that point beginning to tire of psychedelia anyway, and we were unfortunately always going to be associated with that."
The review in 1983's The New Rolling Stone Record Guide tends to agree with Austin and succinctly calls this album "A halfassed comeback containing only one good joke."
[edit] Issues and reissues
This album was originally released simultaneously on LP and 8 Track.
- LP - Columbia KC-32730
- 8 Track - Columbia CA-32730
It has been re-released on CD at least once
- 2001 - Laugh.com LGH1076
[edit] Miscellanea
The title is derived from the Sherlock Holmes short story "The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire," written by Arthur Conan Doyle in 1924.
"Matilda Briggs was not the name of a young woman, Watson," said Holmes in a reminiscent voice. "It was a ship which is associated with the giant rat of Sumatra, a story for which the world is not yet prepared. But what do we know about vampires? Does it come within our purview either? Anything is better than stagnation, but really we seem to have been switched on to a Grimms' fairy tale. Make a long arm, Watson, and see what V has to say."
[edit] References
- Firesign Theatre. The Tale of the Giant Rat of Sumatra. Columbia Records, 1974.
- Firesign Theatre. Shoes for Industry: The Best of the Firesign Theatre. Sony/Legacy, 1993.
- Firesign Theatre. Firesign Theatre. 19 Jan. 2006 <http://www.firesigntheatre.com/>.
- "FIREZINE: Linques!." Firesign Theatre FAQ. 20 Jan. 2006 <http://firezine.net/faq/>.
- Marsh, Dave, and Greil Marcus. "The Firesign Theatre." The New Rolling Stone Record Guide. Ed. Dave Marsh and John Swenson. New York: Random House, 1983. 175-176.
- Smith, Ronald L. The Goldmine Comedy Record Price Guide. Iola: Krause, 1996.
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