Waiting for the Electrician or Someone Like Him
Encyclopedia
Waiting for the Electrician or Someone Like Him was the first comedy
album
recorded by The Firesign Theatre
. It was originally released in 1968 by Columbia Records
.
Side two consisted of one 18-minute long track:
A highlight of side two is the "Beat the Reaper" sketch, a mock game show
in which the contestant is injected with a disease and must guess what it is in order to win the antidote
(if the contestant fails to self-diagnose, he is sent home with the disease). This segment, included on both the Shoes for Industry: The Best of the Firesign Theatre and Forward Into The Past
compilations, probably comes closest to being a self-contained bit that can be successfully separated from the rest of the story.
It has been re-released on CD at least three times
Some of the Sony CDs are defective and omit material that should be included. About 16 seconds of the beginning of track 4 is missing. The defective Sony re-release also includes one un-marked bonus track at the end "The Mantras and The Chakras" which is not included on any other Firesign release. For more information about the defective copies see: http://www.firesigntheatre.com/albums/wfte_bad.html
, the name is spelled "Firesign Theatre." The latter spelling has been used consistently since that time.
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
recorded by The Firesign Theatre
The Firesign Theatre
The Firesign Theatre is an American comedy troupe consisting of Phil Austin, Peter Bergman, David Ossman and Philip Proctor. Their brand of surrealistic humor is best known through their record albums, which acquired a cult following in the late 1960s and early '70s.The troupe began as live radio...
. It was originally released in 1968 by Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
.
Detailed Track Information and Commentary
As originally programmed on vinyl, side one consisted of three short pieces:- "Temporarily Humbolt County" [sic] is a compressed timeline of the EuropeEuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an expansion into North AmericaNorth AmericaNorth America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and the displacement of the Native AmericansIndigenous peoples of the AmericasThe indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
, a theme the group would revisit often. (The group had been told by friends in Humboldt County, CaliforniaHumboldt County, CaliforniaHumboldt County is a county in the U.S. state of California, located on the far North Coast 200 miles north of San Francisco. According to 2010 Census Data, the county’s population was 134,623...
, that the local Indians added "Temporarily" to the county's name as a way of saying no one could really own the land.) - "W. C. Fields Forever" is a plotless series of vignettes satirizing hippieHippieThe hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that arose in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. The etymology of the term 'hippie' is from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's...
culture and philosophy, through a parade of characters at a communeCommune (intentional community)A commune is an intentional community of people living together, sharing common interests, property, possessions, resources, and, in some communes, work and income. In addition to the communal economy, consensus decision-making, non-hierarchical structures and ecological living have become...
(referred to by a narrating character as "The 'Lazy O' Magic Circle Dudes Ranch and Collective Love Farm") who variously take drugs, eat "natural" foods, practice yogaYogaYoga is a physical, mental, and spiritual discipline, originating in ancient India. The goal of yoga, or of the person practicing yoga, is the attainment of a state of perfect spiritual insight and tranquility while meditating on Supersoul...
and embrace Eastern religions. The commune's spiritual leader, "Tiny Doctor Tim", who speaks as if he is very drunk, appears to be a parody of counter cultureCounter CultureCounter Culture is a 2005 compilation double album by English folk/rock singer-songwriter Roy Harper featuring 25 classic Roy Harper songs, cherry picked according to his mood in April 2005. This collection spans 35 years of song writing and is intended as an introduction for anyone who's not sure...
figure Timothy LearyTimothy LearyTimothy Francis Leary was an American psychologist and writer, known for his advocacy of psychedelic drugs. During a time when drugs like LSD and psilocybin were legal, Leary conducted experiments at Harvard University under the Harvard Psilocybin Project, resulting in the Concord Prison...
. The title was inspired by the American comedic actor W. C. FieldsW. C. FieldsWilliam Claude Dukenfield , better known as W. C. Fields, was an American comedian, actor, juggler and writer...
and the Beatles song "Strawberry Fields ForeverStrawberry Fields Forever"Strawberry Fields Forever" is a song by The Beatles, written by John Lennon and attributed to the Lennon–McCartney songwriting partnership. It was inspired by Lennon's memories of playing in the garden of a Salvation Army house named "Strawberry Field" near his childhood home."Strawberry Fields...
". - "Le Trente-Huit Cunegonde" imagines what the world would be like if the countercultureCountercultureCounterculture is a sociological term used to describe the values and norms of behavior of a cultural group, or subculture, that run counter to those of the social mainstream of the day, the cultural equivalent of political opposition. Counterculture can also be described as a group whose behavior...
of 1960s were the mainstream. People are arrested for not possessing drugs, politicians use the word "groovy" in their speeches, and bomber aircraft drop copies of Naked LunchNaked LunchNaked Lunch is a novel by William S. Burroughs originally published in 1959. The book is structured as a series of loosely-connected vignettes. Burroughs stated that the chapters are intended to be read in any order...
.
Side two consisted of one 18-minute long track:
- "Waiting for the Electrician or Someone Like Him" begins as what appears to be a Turkish languageTurkish languageTurkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
instruction record and quickly becomes a KafkaesqueFranz KafkaFranz Kafka was a culturally influential German-language author of short stories and novels. Contemporary critics and academics, including Vladimir Nabokov, regard Kafka as one of the best writers of the 20th century...
fantasy of paranoiaParanoiaParanoia [] is a thought process believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety or fear, often to the point of irrationality and delusion. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of conspiracy concerning a perceived threat towards oneself...
in which an unnamed innocent (played by Phil AustinPhil AustinPhil Austin is a comedian and writer. He was born in Denver, Colorado and later grew up in Fresno, California, attending Fresno High School...
) is manipulated by mysterious strangers and authority figures into situations beyond his control. (In the written script, the character is called simply "P." for Phil, a reference to Kafka's use of "K." in The Castle.)
A highlight of side two is the "Beat the Reaper" sketch, a mock game show
Game show
A game show is a type of radio or television program in which members of the public, television personalities or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving puzzles usually for money and/or prizes...
in which the contestant is injected with a disease and must guess what it is in order to win the antidote
Antidote
An antidote is a substance which can counteract a form of poisoning. The term ultimately derives from the Greek αντιδιδοναι antididonai, "given against"....
(if the contestant fails to self-diagnose, he is sent home with the disease). This segment, included on both the Shoes for Industry: The Best of the Firesign Theatre and Forward Into The Past
Forward into the Past
Forward Into The Past is a 1976 compilation album by The Firesign Theatre. It presents the "Greatest Hits" from their nine Columbia albums and includes two tracks that were previously released only on a single.-Side one:#"Station Break"...
compilations, probably comes closest to being a self-contained bit that can be successfully separated from the rest of the story.
Issues and reissues
Waiting for the Electrician or Someone Like Him was originally released on Mono LP, Stereo LP, and 8-Track.- Mono LP — Columbia CL-2718
- Stereo LP — Columbia CS-2718
- 8 Track - 18C-09518
It has been re-released on CD at least three times
- 1992 - Mobile Fidelity MFCD-762
- 2001 - Sony
- 2001 - Laugh.com LGH1071
Some of the Sony CDs are defective and omit material that should be included. About 16 seconds of the beginning of track 4 is missing. The defective Sony re-release also includes one un-marked bonus track at the end "The Mantras and The Chakras" which is not included on any other Firesign release. For more information about the defective copies see: http://www.firesigntheatre.com/albums/wfte_bad.html
Cover
On the cover of the LP the name of the group is rendered "Firesign Theater." On their next album, How Can You Be in Two Places at Once When You're Not Anywhere at AllHow 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 is the second comedy album recorded by The Firesign Theatre. It was originally released in 1969 by Columbia Records.-Side one:...
, the name is spelled "Firesign Theatre." The latter spelling has been used consistently since that time.