This article, reprinted here with the permission of its author, orginally appeared in Completely Different on October 1, 1997

Now this is everything the Python CD set should have been! The booklet has a little something called "information" (including a complete discography -- even the stuff he didn’t do for EMI -- and a complete filmography listing all the parts he played), and the CDs have a separate track for each sketch or song. What’s more, there are several rare and/or previously unreleased tracks (including the Goon Show-ish version of "Unchained Melody" you may have heard on Dr. Demento). Another nice touch is reversible CD covers, so they can either look like part of a set or the original album covers.

Okay, you say -- in a reverse of what you supposedly said in the previous review -- so the presentation’s good. What about the material? Well, sirs (and ma’ams), I think Peter Sellers is funny, and I think the material on these CDs is funny. Some material falls flat, of course, particularly some parts making fun of early Rock-n-Roll (it’s treated as a silly fad that obviously won’t last, and Sellers seems like a Moral Majority type who refuses to accept that times are changing). There’s also some other stuff that’s a bit dated, making one appreciate the fact that the Pythons deliberately avoided topical humor. Still, most of the material hold up very well, and, as I’ve said, Peter Sellers is funny. My particular favorites are a series of pieces where Beatles songs are turned into conversations and even a sermon.

At any rate, a very entertaining CD set, and an important piece of British Comedy history. I highly recommend it to fans of Sellers and British Comedy in general. Of course, if you’re not sure you want it, you can always borrow mine.