1998's
Give Me Immortality or Give Me Death was the first all-new collaboration between original
Firesign Theatre members Phil Austin,
Peter Bergman, David Ossman, and Phil Proctor in over a decade and a half; fortunately, it didn't take that long for the follow-up,
Boom Dot Bust, to appear. The album is in the classic
Firesign style, with elaborate audio engineering effects and abundant satirical absurdity. Its plot follows an extraordinary Fourth of July in two Midwestern towns situated at the exact center of the U.S.; a nationwide race is scheduled to cross through the towns just as a massive tornado threatens to destroy them. In building up to the climax, the troupe introduces a number of typically American characters, archetypes, and social absurdities which provide most of the comic fodder. It may lack the revolutionary qualities of their work in the '60s and early '70s, but
Boom Dot Bust is hardly a stereotypical reunion embarrassment. ~ Steve Huey