One of those great movies you can watch over & over again. A perfect crime flick that manages to be wildly entertaining without insulting your intelligence.

Barry's voice has deteriorated noticeably in his old age. But these are still some great songs. And fortunately, the guest vocalists do most of the heavy lifting. There are two songs here I was not already familiar with, "Words of a Fool" and "Butterfly". And they held up remarkably well next to the well-known Gibb standards. This version of "Run to Me" might be the album's highlight. Hell, I'd love to hear a whole album of Bee Gees tunes sung by Brandi Carlile. How can we make that happen?

Well, it seems that this stand-up set has inspired quite a bit of outrage and gnashing of teeth. Along with arguments about what kind of comedy should be allowed and what kind of comedy should be cancelled. And whether comedians who "punch down" should be discouraged, or even vilified out of existence. So here's my 2 cents: When your group has achieved iron-grip control of the Establishment narrative. When almost the entirety of corporate media is falling all over themselves to celebrate you at every possible opportunity. When you have the power (and the hatefully vindictive desire) to banish from social media anyone brave enough to challenge your ever-changing demands... Then you don't get to accuse people of "punching down" when they make fun of you. They are very clearly punching up. So learn to take a joke. Just like the rest of us have. And spare me the "but it could cause harm/lead to violence" argument. Because I'm old enough to remember when it was the opposite side, the Religious Right, using that same manipulative pretext to censor and cancel people. It was wrong then. And it's wrong now. Have we learned nothing since then? And I support everybody's right to identify however they wish, without being punished or ostracized for it. I'm a weirdo too. I get it. I know what it feels like to be bullied for being different. But if you're going to start making claims of fact that defy the standards of logic and science that nearly the entire world agreed on until just 5 seconds ago, then don't pretend to be shocked and offended when comedians make fun of those claims. That's what comedians do. That's what comedians have always done. (where ya been?) Oh, and Gervais is hilarious here, as usual.

This is surprisingly good and rewards repeat listenings. I've always dismissed Mangione as the corny "Feels so Good" guy, kind of the 70's version of Kenny G. But this double album soundtrack is fantastic. It's not difficult or avant-garde. But it's a very soulful, meditative, and uniquely interesting experience, that largely avoids the cliched sounds of "smooth jazz".

I was anticipating a great album when I finally gave this a listen. After all, I've been told for years how great these guys are. I even remember reading my old used copy of Rolling Stone's first record guide 25 years ago and it's glowing 5 star reviews of this and the other early Firesign albums. But I was shockingly disappointed. What a tediously unfunny waste of time. I didn't laugh once. I didn't even come close to laughing once. How could I when this is the caliber of sketch comedy on display?: "Abraham Lincoln didn't die in vain... He died in Washington, D.C." Really? Are you 12 years old? Or how about this groaner: "You can sit in the waiting room or you can wait in the sitting room." And it doesn't get any better either. Everything else here is equally lame. Who thinks this weak-ass shit is funny??? Maybe if I were stoned on cheap dirt weed, this might elicit a chuckle. But I doubt it. Of course a Firesign fanboy might argue that I "just don't get it". They'd be wrong. Oh, I get it alright. I get that it sucks.