Customer Reviews
Laugh until you ache !! - By: Mrs. Lynne Park, 17 Feb 2008 
My husband is a driving instructor so I felt this CD was a "must have" gift for him.
We are both were familiar with Bob Newhart's brilliantly funny sketches from years back - once hard - never forgotten. It's not only what he puts into his sketches that are so funny, as what he leaves out, with well timed pauses skillfully setting the scenein the listener's imagination.
The Driving Instructor is a pure classic - I defy anyone not to laugh have until they have tears rolling down their cheeks. The Grace L Ferguson Airline (and Storm Door co) is brilliantly funny also, as is the Retirement Party & the Bus Drivers' School.
This is wonderfully funny humour which still works today & very cleverly constructed leaving so much to the imagination. If you have never heard of Bob Newhart - try this terrific CD. He is class act - a legendin the world of humour.
funny guy - By: Adrian Mc Elholm, 16 Sep 2005 
he's quite a funny guy, i bought this for my mother & have overheard itin the house; some items are pretty funny, others don't quite hit the mark
Classic comedy - By: D. Penn, 23 Jan 2005 Bob Newhart was one of the first stand up comics to 'make it big', & from this CD it's not hard to see why - he genuinely is funny. Not 'funny' asin the majority of today's so-called comics who focus on flatulence & 'adult material' for laughs, but 'witty'.
Newhart's material consists of him talking to an imaginary 'other person', either on the 'phone orin a variety of situations. Amongst the best are the policeman using the new guidelines to perusade a would-be suicide not to do it, & the policeman trying to defuse a bomb he's found. My favourite is the phone call between Sir Walter Raleigh & his agentin London, about the boatload of tobacco leaves he's shipped over.
The sound quality's not brilliant, & if it were music would be cause for compliant, butin reality it makes little difference as you're only listening to someone talking.
The trouble is, of course, that you can only listen to this a couple of times before it looses its edge, but it's still definately worth getting.
classic subtle satire - By: , 29 Nov 2004 
My Dad had one of Newhart's albums. 'Introducing tobacco to
Civilisation' is an all-time classic - thankfully included on
this generous 2-CD set. Some of the sketches perhaps have more
resonance for an American audience, but there's plenty here for
everyone. Pity they chose not to include 'General Chariot Corp'
which is also surprisingly relevant - even after 40 years.
Bob Newhart For The New Millenium - By: , 09 Apr 2004 I haven't written many reviews of this nature, but I'd love the chance to tell potential purchasers just how enjoyable this CD really is. Well, here's my review, & it goes something like this...
I vaguely remembered, when I was younger, hearing an amusing sketch about a driving instructor & his hilariously incompetent trainee. I tried to find this sketch & did so by buying this compilation from Amazon. And after listening to the wealth of Newhart's classics this is certainly not a decision I regret!
The "Something Like This" album contains two discs full of Newhart's material. Not all of it is likely to be brilliant for the modern non-American listening to it today. And yet so much of it is. The Driving Instructor, Bus Driver School & Ledge Psychology are just some of the real highlightsin the anthology.
This Newhart compilation is almost entirely about one man talking to an imaginary audience - be it a bunch of passengers on a plane, sociopathic bus-drivers or the discontented crew of the U S S Codfish.
There are no special effects on these CDs. No on-stage colleagues. These sketches merely contain one man talking to other people who aren't actually present. And yet it works so well. As Bill Inglot saysin the accompanying booklet to this CD package: "Bob Newhart had better conversations with himself than most people have with other people"
As I said, not all of the sketches work perfectly - but there are plenty that do & when they work they can send you into tears & outright laughter.
Just try putting this into your personal CD player. You may get some funny looks from your colleagues or bus passengers when they witness your smirking & giggling. But secretly they'd love to borrow one of your earphones & share a chance to listen to a truly brilliant entertainer.
For the price, the quality & the quantity - this is an excellent investment.
