The group's third studio album in its original packaging is a find for fans of vinyl trickery: the B-side contains two continuous tracks, leaving the stylus a 50-50 chance at playing the track you want. The group reprises several skits from the show (
"Bruces,"
"Cheese Shop"
) without the hindrance of playing to a live audience: in essence, lightning fast and witty to boot. Most of
the Pythons
came from a tradition of radio skit comedy, so they are not out of their depth, and as liable to play with the conventions of recorded sound as
Firesign Theatre
, their American contemporaries (though
never attempted on record anything like the concept albums of
Firesign
). Of the originals,
"Novel Writing"
(literature broadcast as sport) and
"Word Association Football"
(
John Cleese
at his densest) are winners. Ex-
Bonzo Dog Band
member
Neil Innes
also provides music on the bizarre
"Backgroud to History"
in which dissertations on Medieval English farming are sung in the style of
Bob Marley
,
Gary Glitter
, and
Joe Cocker
. [The 2007
Sony Legacy
edition includes bonus tracks.] ~ Ted Mills