The Tale of the Giant Rat of Sumatra
| The Tale of the Giant Rat of Sumatra | ||||
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| Studio album by The Firesign Theatre | ||||
| Released | January 1974 | |||
| Genre | Comedy | |||
| Length | 40:41 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Producer | The Firesign Theatre | |||
| The Firesign Theatre chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| The New Rolling Stone Record Guide |   |
| Allmusic | |
The Tale of the Giant Rat of Sumatra is the seventh comedy album released by The Firesign Theatre and released in January 1974 by Columbia Records.
The title is derived from an aside in 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."
Holmes fans and writers of Sherlockiana have speculated on the nature of the giant rat story for decades. The Firesign Theatre version seems to begin with Watson about to write the tale anyway since the pair are desperate for money, but he never quite gets around to telling it.
Philip Proctor plays detective Hemlock Stones (Sherlock Holmes) and David Ossman plays Flotsam (Watson), his "patient doctor and biographer". 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 ("Stones, you snowball!"), his violin playing, and other familiar story elements.
Following a string of solo projects and anthologies, this was the group's first album to consist entirely of a single cohesive narrative since I Think We're All Bozos on This Bus.
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