Firesign Theatre: Phil Austin, Peter Bergman, David Ossman, Phil Proctor.

Additional personnel includes: Melinda Peterson, Frazer Smith, Pat Fraley, Phyllis Katz.

Recorded at Sunburst Recording, Culver City, California from June-August 1999.

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

The Firesign Theatre are perhaps the most intellectual of sketch-comedy troupes. An abundance of clever commentary, witty wordplay, improvisation, and cerebral satire floods their albums, which have brought comedy recording to a new level. Transporting listeners to a hilariously generic Midwestern American town, the group creates a situation in which a tornado is just about to hit the epicenter of average Americana. BOOM DOT BUST is a shining example of the Firesign Theatre's postmodern brand of comedy.