“A dark night in a city that knows how to keep its secrets. But on the
12th floor of the Acme Building, one man is still trying to find the
answers to life’s persistent questions: Guy Noir, Private Eye.” This
intro, accompanied by the distinctive piano melody composed by Richard
Dworsky, is instantly recognizable to fans of A Prairie Home Companion,
the radio show that Garrison Keillor has hosted for more than 35 years.
The show has featured hundreds of installments of the adventures of
this hard-boiled detective voiced by Keillor; the two-disc album The Adventures of Guy Noir, Radio Private Eye collects 11 of them, with a final track dedicated just to the theme.
Guy
Noir is a rather acerbic man, and he often spends time ruminating on
his displeasure with Minnesota’s weather or the ignorance of today’s
youth or the tendency of clients to underpay him for his services. This
collection is particularly pensive. Indeed, we sometimes spend more time
in Guy’s head than we do actually doing anything. Some stories don’t
involve a mystery at all; others put Guy on the case but spend most of
the time sidetracked. I really don’t mind; I’m used to rambling tangents
from Garrison Keillor, and I often find that the more random he gets,
the more I crack up. Then again, my all-time favorite Guy Noir sketch,
in which Poet Laureate Billy Collins
had a guest role and imitations of William Carlos Williams poems flowed
freely, retained a narrow focus and kept a mystery in the forefront.
Those looking for that type of story might be disappointed here.
While Guy Noir, like A Prairie Home Companion,
is based in Minnesota, he often travels for business, usually in
conjunction with the show being on the road in a particular city. Hence,
in this collection, he heads to New York, Los Angeles and a couple of
other places, always commenting on the differences between them and his
hometown. He’s an equal opportunity spoofer, making fun of the habits of
Minnesotans as well as visitors from other states and those he visits
elsewhere. There’s also plenty of political talk, again poking fun at
both sides but seeming to give Republicans a slightly harder time. He
also makes a number of pointed observations about Lutherans,
particularly in the two stories about New Yorkers coming to Minnesota in
search of love. While I’ve never been to Minnesota, I’d say his
comments about Lutherans there apply pretty well to Lutherans in other
parts of the country, particularly Erie, PA.
It always amuses me
to hear him go on about casseroles and mild-mannered ministers and
Norwegian bachelor farmers. I especially chuckled over Guy’s warning in
one tale that “When it comes to finding single men in Minnesota, the
odds are good but the goods are odd.” I guess Guy would know; most of
these stories involve him pining over some gorgeous woman or another. He
never seems to be romantically involved with anyone for long; most of
them seem to just use him for his surveillance services and then move
on.
This collection does include some puzzling cases, but it’s
much more comedy than mystery. Sue Scott, Tim Russell and soundman Tom
Keith, who also adds zany effects to each episode, provide their voice
talents playing multiple characters, and guest stars turn up here as
well, though I confess that Renee Fleming and Al Franken are the only
ones I’ve heard of. The tales also frequently mention famous figures.
For instance, in one story set mostly in New York, we get to hear New
York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura and
singers Michael Jackson and Bob Dylan – all imitations, naturally.
My
favorite track has Guy Noir stopping in on the taping of a movie based
on a Minnesota radio show in what seems likely to be a commentary on the
experience of filming his own movie, though this album was released
before the movie so I’m not sure how much work was done on the film by
that point. In any case, it’s a hilarious peek at the trials of making a
movie, and it’s hard to say whether the Minnesota yokels who can’t seem
to hit a cue or the breathless Hollywood starlet incapable of
pronouncing “young’un” take first prize in the cluelessness department.
This is also one of a few sketches that include music, and while it’s
funnier if you know what they’re spoofing, the lyrics should be goofy
enough to elicit a laugh on their own, and I love the harmonies even if
the song’s primary intent is silliness.
I’d never heard any of
the tales on this album before. While I was a little surprised at how
little actual mystery was involved most of the time, I got a good laugh
over the discussion of the tedium of calling a company for repair
assistance or an order of clothing, the headaches that holidays like
Halloween and Christmas can bring, the degradation of the English
language and the blandness of Minnesota Lutherans in general. Meanwhile,
I confess a couple of the tracks inspired my sympathy, particularly one
in which a high-class New Yorker falls hard for an unassuming Minnesota
dairy farmer, only to conclude that there is no way to bring their
worlds together.
These are stories to make you think. Mostly,
though, they’re tales to tickle your funny bone, something that Garrison
Keillor does very well indeed. While I’m not sure these 11 tracks are
necessarily the best possible representatives of the series, they are
definitely entertaining.
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