The Full Monty

by Mei Lewis

Surrealist comic masters Monty Python return with an EMI remasters motherload…

""They're bundles of bizarre comedy – groundbreaking, innovative, influential and, even now, very, very funny.""

What did Monty Python ever do for us?

Comedy's basically just a waste of time, right? You laugh, you giggle, you titter. And that's fine as far as it goes. Maybe once in a while when no one else is around you let out a sneaky chortle or guffaw but what then? Where's the meat? Where's the erudition? How does that further our development as human beings?

Well, between 1969 and 1974 there were four series of 'Monty Python's Flying Circus' on British TV. Forty-five half-hour bundles of bizarre comedy sketches linked into a surreal stream of consciousness. Groundbreaking, innovative, influential and, even now, very, very funny.

Ministry Of Silly Walks? Dead parrot sketch? Doug and Dinsdale Piranha? Nudge Nudge? The Spanish Inquisition? (Oooh! I wasn't expecting them!) Upper Class Twit Of The Year? Those and hundreds more unforgettable sketches came out of the pens, pencils and mouths of The Pythons: Michael Palin, Eric Idle, John Cleese (né Cheese), Terry Jones (Welsh), Graham Chapman (RIP), and Terry Gilliam (USA).

There were films too, notably 'The Holy Grail' (legends are cool), 'Life Of Brian' (people are sheep) and 'The Meaning of Life' (it's all a bit complicated and involves lots of sperm). Each a box-office smash (comparatively). Then there were the many subsequent comedy projects by Pythons and subgroups thereof, like 'A Fish Called Wanda', 'Fawlty Towers', 'Brazil' and so on. That's some comedic legacy, but still just comedy after all. Small fry.

OK, so Terry Jones did do that series of historical documentaries, looking at familiar subjects in a fresh, genuinely insightful and also entertaining way. But that's just history! And geography, I'll give you that – Michael Palin is perhaps the foremost travel journalist of our time, having trotted the globe so much for the TV audience's benefit that he's now been to every country on the planet and his pre-filming preparation mostly consists of asking the locals to pretend they've not met him before.

But what have they done to enlighten us, to give our lives on this green/blue dirtball some meaning? What of theology? Well, there was much intelligent debate engaged in around 'Life Of Brian', a film which though conceivably heretical was not technically blasphemous as it didn't criticise the Christian God, or even Jesus (who the Pythons, on reflection, thought a rather decent bloke), but rather their idiotic followers. But, but, but, but… what of the meaning of life? Oh. Yeah.

And in case you'd also left the 'what of music' box unticked, forgetting such aural masterpieces as 'Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life' and 'The Lumberjack Song', EMI are now releasing remastered versions of eight of the Monty Python albums. Y'know, just to rub it in.

With faithful cover art, extra illustrations from the Gilliam archive, historical notes by a 'comedy historian' and the complete cooperation of all remaining Pythons (Graham Chapman having had the gall to die of spinal and throat cancer in 1989), the bonus-laden discs are quite a big deal. Interviews with various Pythons are spread out over the albums and together they would make a great box set – even if there's significant audio material not included here, and is therefore by no means definitive.

The first of these discs, 'Another Monty Python Album', really is, in a bizarre accidental comedy double bluff, another Monty Python album – there was one prior to it on the BBC's own label simply called 'Monty Python's Flying Circus' which still appears to be out of print. Three of the albums are also mere audio versions of the films – all interesting, different and, of course, funny – yet these are all somewhat lacking compared to the original movies, which you can now get on DVD for less than these CDs cost.

However, 'Live At Drury Lane' is a fine recording of a live performance of sketches mostly taken from the TV shows, representing the Pythons tour of both Britain and the States with new material and rejigged skits. The audience adds some excitement and, despite being rough and ready, this is a good summary of Python in sketch form.

The other four discs are collections of reworked TV sketches and new (old) material with plenty of songs thrown into the mix. 'Contractual Obligation' has more music than the others – mostly down to Eric Idle and 'sometimes Python but mostly Bonzo Dog Band member' Neil Innes. But 'Monty Python's Previous Record' and 'Matching Tie And Handkerchief' follow most closely the format of the TV show. If you liked that, you'll like these; if you've not seen any of the shows (go to the back of the class), watch it first – and buy 'Previous Record' anyway for the mind-blowingly stupendous song 'Eric The Half A Bee'. It really does make you proud to be British (and jealous if you're not).

So, what did Monty Python ever do for us? Erm, more than you probably imagined.

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