|
Though the episodes may not be as famous as The Dreaded Batter Pudding Hurler of Bexhill-On-Sea or Ill Met by Goonlight (my personal, all-time favorite), the four episodes of goonery on this disc are "bust a gut funny." As in many of the other episodes you can actually hear the lads having a good time while they were recording- and that makes all the difference. Too many comedians (I am one by profession) treat comedy as something they HAVE to do, not WANT to do. The Goons sound like they are having the time of their life recording these episodes. THE GREATEST MOUNTAIN IN THE WORLD pits Sir Harry Seagoon against nature as he attempts to climb a mountain even higher than Everest. Their atempts to build the mountain- in Hyde Park don't work as planned, so they end up climbing Mount Fred- under the ocean! THE MYSTERY OF THE MARIE CELESTE (SOLVED) is a seafaring adventure not at all in the style of C.S. Forrester. Ned Seagoon goes looking for the answer to the mystery of the missing Marie Celeste after being offered 5000 pounds. Grytpype-Thynne says, "Pull up a bollard" a whole bunch of times- and it's always funny. THE SPANISH SUITCASE is a silly little espionage type tale about a suitcase, morris dancing, flamingo, Madrid and Spanish prisons. Ole'! THE LAST TRAM (FROM CLAPHAM) is a Rod Serling type drama (okay, not really- but sort of...) about the forgotten number 33 tram and it's driver (wait for it!) Henry Crun. It's up to Neddie to solve the mystery... heaven help us. All four shows were produced by Peter Eton and written by Eric Sykes and Spike Milligan, except THE GREATEST MOUNTAIN IN THE WORLD, which is Milligan solo. The mastering of these episodes is wonderful. The sound is sharp and clear, even better than the recordings I made off the radio when NPR ran them in the 1980's. On CD it's even more amazing! What a treat that these episodes haven't been lost to the world. Even a 35 year old, fat American who never heard of Spike Milligan before 1983 can enjoy these timeless classics that influenced an entire generation of humor.
|
United States | 
United Kingdom | 
Canada