Forward Into the Past is a 1976 compilation album by the Firesign Theatre. It presents the "Greatest Hits" from their nine Columbia albums and includes two tracks that were previously released only on a single.

Track listing

Side one

Side two

Side three

Side four

Critical reception

Most fan sites agree that this album is a good place to start for someone who has never heard of The Firesign Theatre. The New Rolling Stone Record Guide claims that this album was "brilliantly selected and programmed" (175) while The Goldmine Comedy Record Price Guide offers no comment beyond its 2 star marking.

Release history

Forward Into The Past was released only as a double album. Columbia PG-34391 This album was never released on CD. Instead, in 1993 a new collection was put together under the title Shoes for Industry: The Best of the Firesign Theatre and was released by Sony/Legacy. Shoes contains most of the same tracks as Forward Into The Past but also takes advantage of the greater running time available on a Compact Disc in order to add more tracks. Shoes also includes tracks which members of the group had released on their various "solo" projects.

External sources

Citations