I Think We're All Bozos on This Bus

I Think We're All Bozos on This Bus
Studio album by The Firesign Theatre
Released	1971
Recorded	April - June 1971
Genre	Comedy
Length	39:10
Label	Columbia
Producer	The Firesign Theatre
Professional reviews
The New Rolling Stone Record Guide
The Firesign Theatre chronology
Dear Friends - Syndicated Radio Program (1970-1971) I Think We're All Bozos on This Bus (1971) Dear Friends (1972)

I Think We're All Bozos on This Bus is the fourth comedy recording made by The Firesign Theatre for Columbia Records. It was released in 1971 and is the last of a tetralogy, comprising their first four albums.

Track listing

Side one

1. "Side .001" – 20:55

Side two

1. "Side .002" – 18:15

Synopsis

This album, like its predecessor Don't Crush That Dwarf, Hand Me the Pliers, is one complete narrative that covers both sides of one LP.

Side One starts with an audio segue from Don't Crush That Dwarf, Hand Me the Pliers — the sound of an ice cream truck moving off down the street and out of earshot.

The piece opens as a special bus appears, carrying a group of tourists along a typical suburban street (Dutch Elm Street). When the bus stops, vegetable-shaped holograms appear out of thin air (to a distinctive popping sound) and begin singing a song to entice more people to board the bus. At this point, the main character, Clem (Philip Proctor), boards the bus and takes an open seat next to one of many bozos on the bus, such as his future companion Barney. The bus soon resumes its journey and proceeds to its final destination: the Future Fair ("a fair for all and no fare to anybody"), a free World's Fair-like exhibit comparing the past and future.

Once there, Clem joins other tourists in various interactive exhibits, which finally lead to the President of the United States (Phil Austin), a computer given a voice reminiscent of then-President Richard Nixon. When Clem reaches the front of the line, he turns out to know the right things to say to the computer to break through its defenses ("This is Worker speaking. Hello.") and ask questions it can't answer ("Why does the Porridge Bird lay his eggs in the air?"), finally causing the "President" to shut down. When this attack fails to bring down the Fair's main computer system, Clem creates a holographic image of himself and sends it in to electronically confront the master computer, "Dr. Memory". Clem is one of the first "computer hackers" mentioned in pop culture.

The dialog with the computer in the Future Fair features phrases found in messages in the DEC PDP-10 computer.

Miscellanea

Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (January 2009)

This album was released both as a "Quadraphonic" LP and "Quadraphonic" 8-Track.

This album was one of the inspirations for the 1973 film Let's Visit the World of the Future by Ivan Stang (according to the film's end credits, which direct viewers desiring more information to purchase a copy of this album).

The Lagunitas Brewing seasonal beer 2009 Correction Ale pays homage to this album.

Issues and reissues

This album was originally released simultaneously on LP, Cassette, SQ Quad LP, and Quad 8-Track.

• LP - Columbia C-30737
• Cassette - Columbia CA-30737
• Quad LP - Columbia CQ-30737
• Quad 8 Track - Columbia CAQ - 30737

It has been re-released on CD at least three times:

• 1989 - Mobile Fidelity MFCD-785
• 2001 - CBS/Epic
• 2001 - Laugh.com LGH1073

References

• Firesign Theatre. I Think We're All Bozos on This Bus. Columbia Records, 1971.
• Firesign Theatre. I Think We're All Bozos on This Bus. Mobile Fideilty, 1989.
• Firesign Theatre. Firesign Theatre. 19 Jan. 2006 <http://www.firesigntheatre.com/>.
• "FIREZINE: Linques!." Firesign Theatre FAQ. 20 Jan. 2006 <http://firezine.net/faq/>.
• Marsh, Dave, and Greil Marcus. "The Firesign Theatre." The New Rolling Stone Record Guide. Ed. Dave Marsh and John Swenson. New York: Random House, 1983. 175-176.
• Smith, Ronald L. The Goldmine Comedy Record Price Guide. Iola: Krause, 1996.

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