How Can You Be in Two Places at Once When You're Not Anywhere at All
| How Can You Be in Two Places at Once When You're Not Anywhere at All | ||||
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| Studio album by The Firesign Theatre | ||||
| Released | July 1969 | |||
| Genre | Comedy | |||
| Length | 56:38 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Producer | Cyrus Faryar | |||
| The Firesign Theatre chronology | ||||
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |
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| Robert Christgau | A+ link |
| The New Rolling Stone Record Guide | |
How Can You Be in Two Places at Once When You're Not Anywhere at All is the second comedy album recorded by The Firesign Theatre. It was originally released in July 1969 by Columbia Records.
This side of the vinyl LP was not divided into separate tracks, but the liner notes list the following titles and tracks:
The album consists of two 28-minute pieces, each taking up one side of the original vinyl release.
This opens with a late-night TV commercial by car salesman Ralph Spoilsport (Philip Proctor), a spoof of Southern California Ford dealer Ralph Williams. As he extols the virtues of a featured new car, the main character Babe (Peter Bergman), runs across traffic onto the lot and interrupts Ralph's spiel with an immediate desire to buy the car in question. Ralph enthusiastically invites Babe to take a look inside his "beautiful new home". The impossibly luxurious car contains a "home entertainment system", with AM and FM radio and television. Spoilsport turns on each component in turn, creating a cacophonous din.
Babe buys the car and, as he drives it, the text of road signs and billboards along the road is spoken as he passes them. He decides to take the Antelope Freeway, and the distance signs to it progress per Zeno's paradox (one mile, 1/2 mile, 1/4 mile, etc.) The infinite series is broken only when he decides to try the "all-weather climate control", and selects "tropical paradise" from a list of options. At the push of a button, this transforms the interior of his car into a tropical rainforest, complete with sounds of exotic birds, thunder, and rainfall.
A troupe of wise-cracking explorers emerge from the trees, including someone who sounds like W. C. Fields, on a half-hearted expedition. Babe tries to escape the interlopers by changing the climate control to "Land of the Pharaohs" and is transported to ancient Egypt, but to no avail; the explorers have come with him. Increasingly annoyed, he complains that the sun is setting and it will be night soon. They reply he's confused, the horizon is moving up; so they stand him on his head to convince him that it is morning. Babe loses his balance and falls to the ground, causing one to remark, "He's no fun! He fell right over!". A loud rumbling is heard, and the group realizes that a pyramid is opening.
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Wikipedia