I am not one of those that thinks the show of today is better than the years '91-'97. I don't think that the show is funnier and I don't think the group dynamic is nearly as good today as it was in those years where ball busting was truly the recipe of the day. The dynamic of Jackie and Robin alone is sorely missed. Back in the day there was a separation between the wack pack and the writers on the show.
I do think that the old MTT's hold up. I especially like listening to the news segments. It proves that even though the time changes through life, the times don't change. The same shit keeps happening, all that changes are the names and places. It's also great to hear Howard and Robin talking shit about celebrities they now kiss up to on the celebrity status ladder.
I haven't heard one Mastertape episode where Howard was in a hurry to get the hell out of the studio. Just hearing someone truly enjoy entertaining their fans is a subtle sense of joy that I don't hear from the current state of the show. It's a small thing in a way, but really, it might be the biggest thing of all.
The show was certainly better in the day, but the freedom that Howard and crew enjoy today almost seems lost on people that don't really care to push the boundaries, or in some cases are just not funny enough or smart enough to know how to push the boundaries.
I will listen 'til the day he retires "because" of the show I used to love.