The Frantics comedy troupe consisted of Paul Chato, Rick Green, Dan Redican and Peter Wildman. They were joined by comediennes Maggie Butterfield and then Carolyn Scott in their early years on radio, and succeeded by Ma... more »g Ruffman in the final 3 years of their radio show. They released two comedy albums, The Frantics in 1984 (vinyl only, and long out of print), and Boot To The Head in 1987. Both of these albums still get regular airplay on the Doctor Demento show. Attic Records. 2002.« less
The Frantics comedy troupe consisted of Paul Chato, Rick Green, Dan Redican and Peter Wildman. They were joined by comediennes Maggie Butterfield and then Carolyn Scott in their early years on radio, and succeeded by Mag Ruffman in the final 3 years of their radio show. They released two comedy albums, The Frantics in 1984 (vinyl only, and long out of print), and Boot To The Head in 1987. Both of these albums still get regular airplay on the Doctor Demento show. Attic Records. 2002.
People voting Republican, give them a "boot to the head"!!!!
redreich7804 | Maine, USA | 02/08/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"As for me, a full-fledged, confirmed Democrat (not that my political views have anything to do with Canadian comedy), give me this extremely hilarious and excellent CD, from The Frantics, circa 1987. Yes indeed, this funny stuff really is that old, and the sad part is, as I found out from a fanpage, they broke up shortly after this was released! Oh well. But that same site has also documented what the four guys have done since, don't worry, they've been busy!Anyway, like I said, I really love how incredibly funny the material on this album is. And the good thing about it is that it was on the Dr. Demento radio program where I first heard these guys. In fact, the routines "Ti Kwan Leep/Boot To The Head", "Bill From Bala", "You People Are Fat", and "Make Up Dirty Words" (my very favorite of these) and the song "I Shot Bambi's Mother" were the ones that the good doctor played on his show back throughout the years 1994-1995. As well as three other bits-"Last Will And Temperament" (on one of the Doc's double CD's) "Heaven Is For Presbyterians" (not yet available on CD), and the considerable mediocre "You Were Speeding"-featured on Dementia 2000, in my honest opinion, the weakest of all the Frantics material combined. These were all played on Dr. Demento a few years ago, and they were all entertaining in their own right. And that's what led to my locating and buying this comedy album from a Canadian site.Now, for the original material included on this CD. The four guys involved with this comedy group were Rick Green (now Bill on "Red Green", a CanuckCom), Paul Chato, Dan Redican, and once again, in my opinion, the most talented, my favorite, Peter Wildman. The routines I hadn't heard before were quite interesting. "A Piece Of Pie"-definetly not playable on Dr. Demento, but quite entertaining. "Driving Chicks Mad" I found more than a little bit annoying. Rick and Paul's "geek" voices-Aarrgghh! The three "Poem"'s-the first two were kinda dumb, but I laughed out loud at the end of the third one. That's the way I am, I guess. Dan has a great serious and/or funny deep voice. Then comes "Game Show, Game Show"-pretty creative, a bit of a parody of the genre as well. Now, my absolute favorite-"Architecture Today", man, was it side-spittingly funny! The specifics are not to be discussed here, but believe me, it's a laugh riot, catering more to one kind of taste than others, I suppose. Mine! And, my favorite Frantic, Peter Wildman, was just that in this sketch-a Wild Man! The way he could change the tone and the pitch of his voice for various comic effects-absolute genius! Moving on. The song "Mrs. G" was pretty catchy, but definetly dated. "Worshippers 'R' Us"-not too bad, I really liked hearing Peter's voice in this as the preacher guy. Another song-"Making Love" which had an amusing "O. Henry"-style ending. And finally "You Scare The (Bleep) Out Of Me"-well, well, another one not to be played on Dr. Demento as well. It was, I think, the lamest of the included songs. Then finally came "Good Night, Everybody!" and this album was over, and I felt kind of sad. Because, to my knowledge, there is no other Frantics material available anywhere, and these guys were really on top of their game. And I will miss them. And that's why I give this CD the highest rating. I really, really, love this hilarious comedy stuff! If only it (the REAL thing) would come out more often. Especially nowadays. Oh well! Anyway, I've said how I feel about this, and now I'm gone. Bye, then!"
FRANTIC FOR THE FRANTICS
Jason Teasdale | Pensacola, FL | 06/12/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I first heard the Frantics on the Wildly popular Dr. Demento show, I have scoured the record stores for anything I could find released by this off beat comedy troupe from Canada. This is some of the best sketch comedy I have heard in a looong time! I have to maintain composure while listening to this in the car or I would loose control from laughing so hard! There was only one other album released by the Frantics titled by "The Frantics" although sadly , it is out of print. I Highly reccomend this to anyone who likes to laugh :)"
Nearly Wrecked My Car While Listening
Ponderosa | 12/06/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I heard Piece of Pie on the radio one morning on the way to work. I was laughing so hard that tears were rolling down my face, making it difficult to see. After nearly driving off the road, I pulled over and laughed uncontrollably for quite a while.
Later I got the album when I was on vacation in Canada. Boot to the Head is incredibly funny. Several of the tracks are mediocre (including one or two that are not funny), but nearly all of the tracks are much funnier than what passes for comedy nowadays.
Just don't make the mistake of listening to this for the first time while driving a car or operating machinery (they really should include a warning label)."
It's the Frantics!
Heather M. | St. Louis, MO USA | 07/31/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Of /course/ this is a great CD. It's the Frantics best stuff, all tossed together. Tae Kwan Leap gets top honors, and there are so many other great segments that this is wonderful to pop in and listen to at work, home or in the car. It is suggestive in some spots, and has some vulgarity, but I'd rate it somewhere between PG-13 and R :)"