Firesign Theatre Don't Crush That Dwarf, Hand Me The Pliers CD

Originally released on Columbia (C 30102).
Firesign Theatre: Peter Bergman, Phil Austin , David Ossman, Philip Proctor.
Firesign Theatre's previous work had already proved that the troupe wasn't particularly interested in releasing conventional comedy albums. While earlier albums had longer pieces, Don't Crush That Dwarf is the first time they dedicated an entire album to a single theme. Although initially it sounds like a loose collection of semi-related items, it later becomes clear that the whole album is a look through the past of a single character, George Leroy Tirebiter, with a few flips of a television tuner knob taking you through his early days as a child star all the way up to a This Is Your Life-style reflection and beyond. Television and movie parodies still figure prominently throughout: "High School Madness" is a hilarious spoof on wholesome '40s boys' adventure films, but the group also takes on war films, televangelists, commercials, and more. In many ways, this is a comedy concept album. What's more, it moves past comedy in places, proving that you can be funny while remaining intelligent. The group even throws in a touch of poignancy at the very end. Masterful. ~ Sean Carruthers
This third album by the Firesign Theatre, widely considered their masterpiece, introduces one of the comedy troupe's most enduring characters, an Everyman named George Leroy Tirebiter. Their first album to follow one theme and character through the whole of both sides, DON'T CRUSH THAT DWARF is an impressionistic travel through the life of Tirebiter, from childhood to old age, using the sound of a television changing channels to mark the beginning and ending of sketches.
That sounds straightforward enough, but as with all things Firesign Theatre, it isn't--the sketches are so densely layered, both in terms of the story and the actual soundscape of the album, that multiple listens are essential for catching even a third of the jokes. Headphones are a must for anyone who wants to delve deeper into the album than that, as is patience and a free-associative mind. DON'T CRUSH THAT DWARF, HAND ME THE PLIERS probably isn't the best starting point for Firesign Theatre neophytes--the more discrete standalone pieces on WAITING FOR THE ELECTRICIAN OR SOMEONE LIKE HIM are a lot easier to get into--but once attuned to their mindset, it's their most satisfying record.Rolling Stone (10/15/70, p.32) - "...The secret message of the Firesign's last album was that the United States had lost its gigantic war on fascism...But this record will send you coasting on gales of laughter to a very unpleasant realization: time is running out..."