J&amp;R in Comedy

These Are Jokes [CD/DVD] by Demetri Mart...

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Bo Burnham [PA] * by Bo Burnham (CD - 2009)

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The Best Of Bill Cosby [3/1] *

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These Are Jokes [CD/DVD] by Demetri Martin (CD - 09/26/2006)

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Harmful If Swallowed [PA] by Dane Cook (...

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The Best Of Bill Cosby [3/1] *

"The Best of Bill Cosby" (03/01/2005) Comedy Cosby, Bill, Rhino Records (USA)The three Noah sketches included here were the highlight of Cosby's first album, RIGHT!, and the closing "Fat Albert (Buck, Buck)" is a good example of Cosby's talent for stretching out and elaborating on stories based on his childhood in Philadelphia--in very funny fashion. With their spot-on recollections of what it's like to get a slush-ball down the back or to go to a monster movie (but to be too scared to watch), "Revenge" and "Old Weird Harold (9th Street Bridge)" also fit into the cycle of Cosby's tales of growing-up. Cosby's gift lies in his ability to make you howl with laughter now at the things that could make life pure misery as a kid. It's amazing how often he succeeds in zeroing-in on events you thought only you had to endure. BEST OF gives a fair idea of the comedian's '60s work, but a few of his Warner Brothers album are completely overlooked. If this collection rings your chimes, check out WONDERFULNESS, which is loaded with such killer pieces as "Tonsils," "Go Carts," and "Chicken Heart," and TO RUSSELL, MY BROTHER, WHOM I SLEPT WITH, a record worth it for the title cut alone.

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A Wild and Crazy Guy by Steve Martin (CD...

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Harmful If Swallowed [PA] by Dane Cook (CD - 07/22/2003)

"Harmful If Swallowed [PA]" (07/22/2003) Comedy Cook, Dane, Comedy Central Records

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A Wild and Crazy Guy by Steve Martin (CD - 1989)

"A Wild and Crazy Guy" (1989) Comedy Martin, Steve, Warner Bros. Records (Record Label)Personnel: Steve Martin (vocals, banjo, background vocals); Michael Elias, Richard Hathaway, Brian Savage, Merle Brigante, Jeff Hanna (background vocals). Recording information: Boardinghouse, San Francisco, CA; Red Rocks, Denver, CO. Editor: William McEuen. Photographers: Bobby Klein; Norman Seeff; Lynn W. Gregg; Gary Nichamin; William R. Eastabrook. Unknown Contributor Roles: Brian Savage; Merle Brigante. Arranger: Jeff Hanna. '80s funnyman Steve Martin's follow-up to LET'S GET SMALL finds everyone's favorite rubberhead in the coterie of the stars. At this point, Martin was a national phenomenon, having already moved beyond nightclubs into stadiums. His stature was that of a juggernaut rock band. Martin's film debut ("The Jerk") helped to solidify his superstar status, as did the hit single "King Tut" (included here) and his frequent (and brilliantly hilarious) appearances on NBC's SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, where the "wild and crazy guy" moniker originated and stuck. A WILD AND CRAZY GUY is split between a single San Francisco gig and one of Martin's first stadium extravaganzas before a mob of adoring fans. Martin is at his comedic apotheosis here, meshing surrealism and slapstick into a howlingly funny whole. Among the featured routines are Martin's classic "rubberheads throw fish" bit and his sidesplitting soliloquy about religion and philosophy ("In philosophy, you learn just enough to screw you up for the rest of your life").

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By Warner Bros.

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Live

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Greatest Hit [PA] [Slipcase] by Cheech &...

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Live

"Live" (11/09/1999) Comedy Regan, Brian, Uproar EntertainmentRecorded live at The Improvisation, Irvine, California. Master of the clean but hilarious act, Brian Regan delivers nearly an hour of sidesplitting humor in his debut album. His self-deprecating jokes and everyday topics keep him down to earth and win the trust of the listener. His opening line is: "I'm trying to get through life without looking too stupid. It's not working out too well." He's also mastered the recurring joke and the ability to flip out of nowhere, without overdoing either. He dwells often on his youth, ranging smoothly from things like the spelling bee -- "Up until that day I was an idiot but no one else knew it" -- to Little League baseball. One of his funniest bits is: "The coach would yell from the dugout every now and then 'Let's hear some chatter!'/Chattering is saying 'Hey batter, batter!' over and over again, I don't think I ever felt like more of an idiot in my whole life/If that's fair, they should do that in all adult sports/I'd like to see that out in the golf course/'Hey golfer, golfer! Putt! Putt, golfer, putt!'/'What the hell's the matter with you, Ralph?'/'Ah, I'm just tryin' to make it fun.'/Are you supposed to apply that later in life?/'Hey lawyer, lawyer -- sue! Sue lawyer!'/B'us driver, bus driver, drive! Drive! Shift bus driver!'/'What the hell's the matter with you?' I learned that as a kid." ~ Ron DePasquale

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Greatest Hit [PA] [Slipcase] by Cheech & Chong (CD - 07/17/2007)

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Show Me The Buffet

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That Was the Year That Was by Tom Lehrer...

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Show Me The Buffet

"Show Me the Buffet" (10/09/1998) Comedy Pinette, John, Uproar EntertainmentSolo performer: John Pinette (spoken vocals). Recorded live at Zanies, Vernon Hills, Illinois.

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That Was the Year That Was by Tom Lehrer (CD - 04/24/1990)

"That Was the Year That Was" (04/24/1990) Comedy Lehrer, Tom, RepriseComposer: Tom Lehrer. Recording information: The hungry i, San Francisco, CA (07/1965). Imagine a Harvard professor (which he was) with a gift for the piano (which he had), and the iconoclastic humorous bent of a Lenny Bruce or George Carlin (right on the money), and you'll get a good picture of musical humorist Tom Lehrer, whose delightfully twisted ditties presaged the counterculture of both the Beats and the hippies. Unlike those bohemian types, Lehrer never let it all hang out; his professorial demeanor was part of his shtick, making his outrageous lyrical content all the more effective. Though he was a key comedic figure throughout the '50s, THAT WAS THE YEAR THAT WAS is Lehrer's only '60s studio recording, and his last before his early retirement from music. No stone is left unturned, as he skewers the Catholic church to ragtime accompaniment on "The Vatican Rag," mocks phony liberalism and racial unrest in "National Brotherhood Week," and takes a well-aimed shot at the then-current folk revival in "The Folk Song Army."

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Box Set [10/18] *

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Blue Collar Comedy Tour Rides Again [11/...

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Box Set [10/18] *

"Box Set [Box]" (02/28/2006) Comedy Stevens, Ray, Curb Records (USA)The eclectic career of gospel/country/comedy artist Ray Stevens creates a big challenge for anyone attempting to make a representational "best-of" album. He jumped from genre to genre as often as he switched labels, leaving compilers with mountains of unrelated song subjects and complicated licensing issues. When the 2005 Box Set was announced, Stevens' fans had high hopes for a comprehensive, career-spanning collection -- and it was -- kind of. After a successful television-only campaign, Curb Records released the set in 2006 and sales proved that the Stevens' market was still strong in the U.S.. Faithful fan support does not necessarily guarantee that a collection is good though. The Box Set is a sprawling three-disc affair (providing more than an ample amount of time to give the man plenty of room to show all of his facets), but the collection is plagued with glaring omissions and seemingly random sequencing. Stevens' strongest suit has always been his versatility -- blessed with a lovely voice, great musical talent, and uncanny comedic sense, Ray Stevens could (and did) successfully tackle anything that interested him. So why is so much of that good stuff missing here? Sure, there are the expected hits (both comedic and serious) like "It's Me Again Margaret," "Everything Is Beautiful," "Ahab the Arab," "The Streak," "Misty," "The Mississippi Squirrel Revival," "Nashville," and (one of his earliest outings) "Jeremiah Peabody's Polyunsaturated Quick-Dissolving Fast-Acting Pleasant Tasting Green and Purple Pills," but the majority of the Box Set focuses on lesser-known album cuts that would be obscure even for dedicated fans. Although it's not touted as "complete," the Box Set still suffers from the omission of some of Stevens' strongest material. His brilliant readings of the Coasters' "Along Came Jones" and Kris Kristofferson's "Sunday Morning Coming Down" aren't here, and neither are the moody "Mr. Businessman," the sublime "Unwind," or the hilarious "Santa Claus Is Watching You." The Box Set really only excels as a complementary collection for fans who have a hits compilation already and are looking to delve a little deeper. For fans looking for a more compact (and representationally sound) overview, Capitol's Classic Masters or Rhino's Best of Ray Stevens do the job more succinctly, and with more reverence. ~ J. Scott McClintock

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A Prairie Home Companion With Garrison K...

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Blue Collar Comedy Tour Rides Again [11/23]

"Blue Collar Comedy Tour Rides Again" (11/23/2004) Comedy Various Artists, Warner Bros. Records (Record Label)Performers include: Jeff Foxworthy, Bill Engvall, Larry The Cable Guy, Ron White. When Jeff Foxworthy, Bill Engvall, Ron White, and Larry the Cable Guy joined comedic forces for the first Blue Collar Comedy Tour, no one could have predicted that it would turn into a cottage industry, spinning off into comedy albums and even a TV show. Nevertheless, the quartet's knack for illustrating the working man's foibles with hilarious abandon has proven enormously popular. Thus, we have the soundtrack to the Blue Collar Comedy Tour's theatrical debut. As expected, all four men are given space to work their comedic magic before an appreciative audience. Most of the topics they address (men and women, television, family) are familiar, but that's exactly the point. Foxworthy, Engvall, and company take the commonalities of life and perfectly puncture them with a homespun sense of humor that can't help but connect with a wide audience.

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By Warner Bros.

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True Stories I Made Up [CD & DVD] [P...

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A Prairie Home Companion With Garrison Keillor * by Garrison Keillor (CD - 11/09/2004)

"A Prairie Home Companion With Garrison Keillor *" (11/09/2004) Comedy Keillor, Garrison, Rounder SelectPersonnel: Garrison Keillor; Cindy Cashdollar, Pat Donohue, Peter Ostroushko, Richard Dworsky, Timothy Russell, Tommy Keith, Philip Brunelle, Gary Raynor, Jearlyn Steele, Sue Scott, Fred Newman, The Guy's All-Star Shoe Band, Andrew Stein, Arnold Kinsella, Inga Swearingen. For 30 years the folksy, common charm of Garrison Keillor has been delighting National Public Radio audiences and in turn building an audience with a fervor that borders on cult-like. His radio show, A Prairie Home Companion, has been a staple of weekend programming, and this disc captures the 30th anniversary special recorded at Keillor's home base in St. Paul, MN. While for the most part it's just another recording complete with all the usual elements loyal listeners would be most familiar with, there are some choice moments of reflection on the program's longevity -- the ultimate testament to its popularity. With a guest appearance by BR5-49 and an extended version of "Lake Wobegon News," it's one of the essential souvenirs for any fan to purchase and a most enjoyable offering from a man whose genius is far too underdocumented. ~ Rob Theakston

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True Stories I Made Up [CD & DVD] [PA] [11/8]

"True Stories I Made Up [PA]" (11/08/2005) Comedy Daniel Tosh, Comedy Central RecordsPersonnel: Daniel Tosh (spoken vocals). Take the rapid wit of Dane Cook and trade his hyper-cockiness for dry wickedness and you've got Daniel Tosh, which is by all means a compliment. Tosh matches Cook's ability to spit wry crassness, but he's more absurd and complex. Much of his material hits two to three seconds after the fact, partly because it takes awhile to unravel and partly because of the "I can't believe he just said that" factor. The title True Stories I Made Up is the least witty thing about this package, but it references a core routine, "Fictitious Disorder," that will one day be thought of as trademark Tosh. The comedian explains how living in denial is easier than reality on the track, and goes off on a long series of made-up stories that connect. It's the brilliant, standup equivalent of a Rube Goldberg machine, but Tosh's less obtuse, blunter, edgier, and crueler side is just as funny. Suggesting athletes should be pumped with steroids because he has a high-def TV and wants his sports like his video games ("Who cares if you die at 40, you hate life after sports anyway. I'm doing you a favor") or drawing comparisons between the Abu Ghraib prison and the world of baby photographer Anne Geddes is sick and downright startling when delivered so casually by the comedian. In a lot of ways he juggles and alienates the audience in an Andy Kaufman style but without breaking the rules of standup. It's exciting and subversive and you only need to gauge the audience reaction captured on the disc to see how effective it is. At first they are quiet, probably creeped out, but by the end of the disc they're guffawing. The bonus DVD from his 2002 Comedy Central special is less interesting, either because Tosh hasn't matured his act to the sharpness of the audio portion or because the network's censors shaved off the more risky and rewarding material. It's a letdown, but the audio portion of the set is one sick, twisted, and hilarious stunner of a debut. ~ David Jeffries

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Something Like This: The Bob Newhart Ant...

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Something Like This: The Bob Newhart Anthology by Bob Newhart (CD - 03/20/2001)

"Something Like This: The Bob Newhart Anthology" (03/20/2001) Comedy Newhart, Bob, Warner ArchivesProducers include: Jimmy Hilliard. Compilation producer: Bill Inglot. Engineers include: Lee Herschberg. Recorded between 1960 & 1967. Includes liner notes by Bill Inglot and Judy Brown. Audio Remasterers: Dan Hersch; Bill Inglot. Liner Note Author: Judy Brown. Recording information: Freddie's Club, MN; San Fernando State College, Northridge, CA; The Broadmoor International Center, Colorado Springs, C; The Crystal Room of the Desert Inn, Las Vegas, NV; The hungry i, San Francisco, CA; The Ice House, Pasadena, CA; The Tidelands club, Houston, TX; UCLA; University of California, Los Angeles, CA. Editor: Wally Kamin. Unique among even the most cutting-edge standup comics of the '60s, Bob Newhart entertained his audiences not with snappy patter and jokes, but with long monologues in which his voice represented one side of a conversation, the other side left to the listener's imagination. This idiosyncratic format proved endlessly adaptable, as Newhart spun seemingly endless scenarios from it. Before he became a beloved TV star with the Bob Newhart Show, he released several popular comedy albums, from which the best moments have been culled for inclusion on this definitive two-disc compilation. Whether he's advising Abraham Lincoln, confronting King Kong, or getting blitzed at a retirement party (among other comedic situations to be found here), Newhart employs his patented mild-mannered, "button-down" personality to subtle but sharp comic effect.

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Pete Seeger's Greatest Hits [2002] [Rema...

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Songs & More Songs by Tom Lehrer by ...

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Pete Seeger's Greatest Hits [2002] [Remaster] by Pete Seeger (CD - 04/09/2002)

"Pete Seeger's Greatest Hits [2002] [Remaster]" (04/09/2002) Comedy Seeger, Pete, Legacy RecordingsPersonnel includes: Pete Seeger (vocals, acoustic guitar, banjo). Producer: John Hammond. Compialtion producer: Lawrence Cohn. Recorded between April 28, 1962 and March 22, 1967. Includes liner notes by Pete Seeger and Arthur Levy. All tracks have been digitally remastered. Adapter: Pete Seeger. Liner Note Authors: Pete Seeger; Arthur Levy . Recording information: New York, NY (04/28/1962-10/29/1966). Photographer: David Gahr. Arrangers: Tony Salatan; Fred Hellerman; R. Gilbert; Lee Hays; Pete Seeger. "Greatest Hits," as Seeger himself wryly wrote in his liner notes, is a misnomer considering that he never had hit singles or huge-selling albums as a solo artist, though actually "Little Boxes" (included here) made the lower reaches of the charts. In reality this 1967 compilation (since reissued on CD) collects the most popular tracks of his 1962-1966 output for Columbia, which was a pretty small slice of his prolific career. Nonetheless, these were among his most popular recordings ever, whether as done by him or covered by others. To begin with, it has the original 1962 version of "Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season)," made into a number one folk-rock hit in 1965 by the Byrds (and covered to good effect by Judy Collins in 1963). There's also "The Bells of Rhymney," also covered by the Byrds in 1965, and "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?," a hit for the Kingston Trio, although the 1962 version here is a disappointingly thin a cappella one. Other tracks were among the most popular staples of his repertoire: "We Shall Overcome," "Wimoweh (The Lion Sleeps Tonight)," and "Guantanamera." Though it might not qualify as an ideal career survey given its narrow chronology, certainly it's among the one or two best anthologies for those who just want one or two Seeger comps, as it has many of the most renowned songs he wrote or popularized in their most popular recorded versions. [Columbia/Legacy reissued a remastered edition of this 1967 album in 2002, including four bonus tracks.] ~ Richie Unterberger As a solo performer and with his band the Weavers, Pete Seeger had many big hits from the late '40s through the early '60s, by which time he was attracting more attention for his social activism than he was for his music. The 12-track GREATEST HITS collects Seeger's most popular tunes, and in so doing emphasizes his musical strengths over his political beliefs, though there's undeniable social commentary to be found in the suburbia satire "Little Boxes," the anti-war ballad "Where Have All the Flowers Gone," and the union anthem "Which Side Are You On." Other highlights include the original versions of "Turn! Turn! Turn!" and "The Bells of Rhymney," both later popularized by the Byrds, and "Wimoweh," which the Tokens later adapted into the pop hit "The Lion Sleeps Tonight."

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A Night At The Met [4/11]

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Songs & More Songs by Tom Lehrer by Tom Lehrer (CD - 05/06/1997)

"Songs & More Songs by Tom Lehrer" (05/06/1997) Comedy Lehrer, Tom, Rhino Records (USA)SONGS & MORE SONGS BY TOM LEHRER contains the two albums SONGS BY TOM LEHRER and MORE OF TOM LEHRER on one CD. Originally released in 1953 and 1959. Includes liner notes by Dr. Demento. Personnel: Tom Lehrer (piano). Audio Remasterers: Dan Hersch; Bill Inglot. Liner Note Author: Dr. Demento. Recording information: 01/22/1953-10/08/1996. Tom Lehrer recorded rather sporadically starting in the 1950s then abruptly retired in the mid-'60s from his unique solo musical comedy act. He's a competent pianist with a voice that is perfect for his original material. This compilation combines both of his records that were originally pressed and sold privately on the Lehrer label, which he later re-recorded with improved sound for Reprise as Songs by Tom Lehrer and the live concert An Evening Wasted with Tom Lehrer. While the differences between this CD and the Reprise versions are minimal, other than a little more muffled piano sound on these earlier recordings, it's fun to hear hilarious works like "The Irish Ballad," the creative "Oedipus Rex," and his satire of military life in "It Makes a Fellow Proud to Be a Soldier." Several favorites, including "Poisoning Pigeons in the Park" and "The Masochism Tango" are heard in orchestrated versions as well as by Lehrer alone. And Lehrer finally got around to recording "I Got It from Agnes," which implies how venereal disease is spread (in an amusing fashion, if that's possible) without ever coming out and saying it directly. This CD is a must for Lehrer fanatics. ~ Ken Dryden

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A Night At The Met [4/11]

"A Night at the Met [PA]" (04/11/2006) Comedy Williams, Robin (Comedy), Legacy RecordingsWith Robin Williams at the cusp of what would become a very successful film career, A Night at the Met served as a kind of standup swan song for him. He had already made a considerable impression on the public, both as the lovable alien Mork and through his frenetically paced standup routines, but cocaine addiction threatened to derail his skyrocketing career -- the fuel for his fire was serving to burn him out as well. Cleansed of that addiction, A Night at the Met found Williams full of the same energy and maniacal pace that endeared him to his audience in the first place -- only, this time, the fuel was strictly internal. Overcoming addiction left Williams with a smorgasbord of hilarious and poignant material at his disposal and his wry and intelligent musings on the dangers of overindulgence held extra weight, because he had been there. Ruminations on drugs, relationships, and the Reagan administration were observationally dead-on and served up with a side of Williams' trademark, telling sentimentality. The sentimental and the hilarious reached a crescendo when the subject matter turned to the birth of his son. Among the pregnancy and pee jokes, Williams injected serious concerns for the future with a glimmer of hope that all might not be as dismal as it seemed. Hilarious, poignant, outrageous, and heartwarming, A Night at the Met came at a unique time -- capturing Robin Williams at both his career and personal best. ~ J. Scott McClintock

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Doin' My Time [12/7]

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You Don't Have to Be Jewish/When You're ...

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Doin' My Time [12/7]

"Doing My Time [PA]" (12/07/2004) Comedy Gaffigan, Jim, Comedy Central RecordsPersonnel: Jim Gaffigan (spoken vocals). Depending on which side of the fence you sit on, standup comedian Jim Gaffigan's unique delivery is either one of the freshest Comedy Central has highlighted in a long time or one of the most annoying. The topics he covers on Doin' My Time are some of the funniest Comedy Central Records has committed to disc, while his trademark shift in vocal dynamics to another personality can get repetitive and irksome at times. Minor delivery flaw aside, Gaffigan continuously keeps the audience laughing with what appears to be great ease, especially when discussing his Midwestern upbringing. Overall, an impressive debut and finally some respect for a comedian who is long overdue for larger-scale recognition. Hopefully a follow-up showcasing more of his style isn't too far behind. ~ Rob Theakston

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