Customer Reviews

70 Minutes in Hell

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Do you think I'm crazy? I think you're crazy too. So is 70 Minutes in Hell, a German home recording made in 1969 of Charles Bukowski. What makes this so compelling is that nobody can read Bukowski like Bukowski.

Buk's 60-plus books offer a glimpse into the world of horse tracks, seedy bars, and sleazy LA rooming houses. 70 Minutes in Hell, with its haphazard recording (replete with comments to the German dude making the recording and the sound of traffic passing by) gives us some insight into the world of an aloof, desperate and drunken man disinterested in the normalities of society.

Regardless whether you're an insomniac, a narcoleptic or none of the above, if you're a Buk fan you need to listen.

I may be slightly masochistic but I thought this was more like 70 minutes in heaven and I'm sure every Bukowski fan and lovers of poetry in general would agree. And by poetry I mean a searing, white-knuckle examination of humanity, love, loss, booze and the type of loneliness you can only see in the slow movements of the hands of a clock. Sorry Hank, couldn't resist. Some people prefer Buk's live readings because they enjoy listening to him getting steadily drunker, exchanging insults with the crowd, going off on tangents etc. but I prefer this type of reading- just a man and his tape recorder reciting some of the most raw, powerful poetry the world has ever known.

This is a classic home recording of a desperate (and very drunk) Bukowski, complete with cars zooming off in the background and some interesting asides, both to himself and the German who is recording him. A couple of the poems are mislabeled. For instance, "Bukowski Still at it" is really "The curtains are waving and people walk through the afternoon here and in Paris and in New York City and in Mexico". Plus, an extremely drunken version of "No Lady Godiva" follows "True Story" (I think he forgot to read the title). Although they were less than knowledgeable about Buk, these German made home recordings are priceless to a real Buk-addict such as myself.

This is an interesting work, but I have yet to experience all 70 minutes of it. I put it on late at night (because morning or mid-day seems an odd time to listen to Bukowski)and inevitably have fallen asleep. Not because this material is inferior or not as interesting as some other works --it's a fascinating collection and there is less bad boy posturing here than is evident in live recordings with an audience --it's Bukowski's voice that does it. His droning, dare I say it, soothing tone is at an all-time monotone on this CD and it isn't long before his bedtime stories send me off to dreamland. Yet, Bukowkski's voice is essential to Bukowski's work. One wonders if anyone other than the Bukowski could read Bukowski.

So, as someone who suffers from sleep disorders, I cannot recommend this recording highly enough. It's better than Sominex. However, as a long-time fan of Bukowski's work I know that recordings such as these are both rare and a wonderful augmentation to his books. And for that reason, I intend to drink a lot of coffee and spend my full ninety minutes in hell someday soon.

this is a pretyy cool album. Not the best i've seen but a pretty damn good album