Music » Comedy & Spoken Word Music

One can't help but feel both elated and sad when listening to this colossal overview of Richard Pryor's recorded work. Multiple sclerosis has silenced the greatest humorist of his generation, and that's tragic for Pryor. But it's also a heartbreaking loss for comedy, for, as these discs amply illustrate, the man who exploded the parameters of stage comedy in the '70s could have taken it in wild new directions. As it was, Pryor fleshed out Lenny Bruce's commitment to brutal honesty--and with a keener acting ability. This nine-CD set includes the comic's seven Warner Bros. LPs, plus a disc of previously unissued material and a rare 25-minute interview from 1983. Listening to the likes of 1974's That Nigger's Crazy and 1978's Live in Concert, it's obvious that while the man shaped comedy for decades to come, very few of those who've followed in his footsteps have anything near the talent, fearlessness, wisdom, or insight that Pryor possessed. Or the pain, for that matter. But as Pryor observed looking back at his peak years, "I was a drug-addicted, paranoid, frightened, lonely, sad, and frustrated comedian who had gotten too big for his britches." All those qualities come through loud and clear on these discs, but what he's left out is that, at the very same time, he was also very possibly the funniest man on the planet. --Steven Stolder

Release Date: 1996-08-27, Audio CD, Vanguard Records

When Stan Freberg released The United States of America in 1961, it was one of the first comedy concept albums ... and perhaps the funniest musical comedy never performed onstage. With a cast that included Jesse White and June Foray (as well as a dead-on Orson Welles impression by voice-over master Paul Frees), Freberg presented a madcap version of history that began with Christopher Columbus's insistence that "It's a Round, Round World." His crew, however, was unconvinced: Crazy kind of scheme It's a cockamamie dream If we don't sight land we're gonna scream. Later, a cautious Ben Franklin would express suspicion of the declaration Thomas Jefferson brought by for him to sign: "You go to a few harmless meetings, sign a few harmless petitions, and forget all about it.... Ten years later you get called up before a committee. No thank you! I'm not going to spend the rest of my life writing in Europe!" For decades, fans were frustrated by the lack of sequels that would carry the story beyond the Revolutionary War. (After attempts to turn the material into a real Broadway musical were ruined by heavy-handed producer David Merrick, Freberg went on to a lucrative career in advertising.) Finally, in 1996, Freberg went into the studio with the surviving members of his original cast--as well as stars David Ogden Stiers, Sherman Hemsley, Tyne Daly, Lorenzo Music, and John Goodman--with a new batch of songs and skits that covered the period from the founding of the United States government in 1789 to the end of World War I. Volume 2 is not quite as strong as volume 1, but that's like saying that Babe Ruth didn't hit as many home runs as Hank Aaron. There's still plenty of great material in "The Middle Years," like Francis Scott Key's first draft of his most famous composition: "Rumplemeyer's horseshoes are the best you can use, what so proudly he's nailed onto all kinds of horses." Or Ulysses S. Grant demanding a drink so he can keep on... Pursuing the South Over the hills Fearless and brave, minus a shave And crocked to the gills. The two-CD set includes the original liner notes from the 1961 release; a 1989 CD reissue of the first volume; and the notes by Freberg, Dr. Demento, and Ray Bradbury for the sequel. It also contains a complete lyric sheet. Although some of the jokes on the first CD may be too arcane for younger listeners, The United States of America can still be called, without overstatement, a work of genius. --Ron Hogan

As a reader and performer of his own words, Kerouac wasn't as potent as his beat-generation pals. He lacked the greasy charisma of Allen Ginsberg or the razor squawk of William Burroughs. But what Kerouac did have was real joy, a certain innocence (despite his wild experiences), and an Everyman's charm. This last quality infects these historic recordings, making Kerouac's freethinking, beautiful words and images jump out of the past with as much potency as when he laid them down in the late 1950s. The Collection gathers Kerouac's three albums (which feature the author riffing alongside jazzmen Steve Allen, Zoot Sims, and Al Cohn) and a brace of bonus tracks. The performances are coupled with expansive liner notes, photos, and commentary. This set is required beat listening. --Michael Ruby

This three-CD set collects many of Tom Lehrer's tunes, described by Time magazine as "brilliant and coruscating parodies," bringing back a bygone era when the "liberal consensus," as Lehrer calls them, knew who they were and could, therefore, laugh at both themselves and the well-defined enemy. Delivering clever, witty rhymes about topical subjects was Leher's strength. In "Wernher Von Braun" [the Nazi German scientist who later worked for NASA], Lerher sings: "I'll sing you a tale of Wernher Von Braun / A man whose allegiance is ruled by expedience / Once the rockets are up, who cares where they come down / 'That's not my department,' says Wernher Von Braun." Using a rollicking piano as accompaniment, Lehrer will remind some of Mark Russell, the current political satirist, but Lehrer's more pointed humor and grating, nasal voice make him a much tougher listen. His Jimmy Durante-like delivery, however, doesn't completely trump his truly quick mind and clever use of language. --Wally Shoup

Budget-priced four disc box set featuring 95 tracks by the comic genius, including nine #1 million-selling hits, 'Der Fuerher's Face', 'Cocktails For Two', 'Glow Worm', 'All I Want For Christmas (Is My Two Front Teeth)', 'Clink Clink Another Drink', 'Sheik Of Araby', 'Oh By Jingo', 'Holiday For Strings' and 'William Tell'. Also includes a fully illustrated 24 page booklet. Each CD comes in a separate standard jewel case & together they come packaged within a thick, full color slipcase box. 1999 release.

Anglophiles and literary classicists rejoice! Stage and screen actor Sir Derek Jacobi lends his considerable charm to director-producer Jane McCulloch's thoroughly classy adaptation of J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan and Wendy. There are no fancy tricks or gimmicks, just smart bits of orchestral music and Jacobi's proper yet playful telling of the growing boy who never grew up. As with the original volume, this version of Peter Pan fully captures the wonderment and infinite possibilities of childhood unfettered by grownup realities. It does, after all, take a childlike suspension of disbelief to really, really believe in fairies and never-never land, where loving mommies are the heart of magic and pirates, like fears, loom large yet conquerable. Divided into eight intensifying chapters, this nearly-two-hour narrative comes in nifty installments for several evenings' bedtime listening. --Paige La Grone

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Release Date: 1993-06-29, Audio CD, Fantasy

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