Customer Reviews

At His Best

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Since many of his Warner Brothers albums have been reissued, it would seem easy to neglect his later material. This CD, a compilation of skits taken from his UNI records from 1969-72, is Bill Cosby doing some excellent stand-up comedy. For some inexplicable reason, there is also a music track, the ho-hum "Grover Henson Feels Forgotten". Just forget about that track and laugh with a comedy genius!

This is not a good collection of Bill Cosby's best. Such a compilation is pointless for a standup comedian anyway, especially one who's original albums were so fluent & consistant. Here, you get only fractions of the classic bits, and out of context they loose much of their charm.

His classic albums are a MUCH better idea. This is a disjointed listen with no flow to it.

I wouldn't say this is Bill Cosby "at his best". It's more like a collection of random routines from the early '70s. Which is not to say it isn't funny. The material here is indeed funny, if not necessarily his "best". "Froofie the Dog" and "Track and Field High Jump" are probably the best routines here. It should also be mentioned that "Grover Henson Feels Forgotten" is not a comedy routine. It is a serious spoken word piece set to music, told from the point of view of a lonely soldier with no family. It was released as a single, but it only reached #70 on the pop charts. Fans of Cos should enjoy this CD.

If you've ever seen or heard a Bill Cosby production, whether it be at a comedy club, on television, from listening to one of his classic comedy albums, or as a television commercial spokesperson for various products, then you'll realize this is a man of many talents. It is due to the mainstay of Mr. Cosby's four decades in the entertainment business, which define his enormous talents and success as an entertainer. Listening to a Bill Cosby comedy album is not only a masterful comical work in progress, but is also an educational experience in and of itself. In "Bill Cosby - At His Best", the master himself will teach you how to say no to persnickety, stubborn children (Froofie The Dog), while tickling your funny bone at the same time. Want to learn how to play "Football" the Cosby way? You can learn all about the sport in Professor Cosby's "COS ELEM FOOTBALL 101". Mr. Cosby will not only provide you with his insight on how to play the sport like a professional klutz, he'll also teach you about how to take losing a game with a sense of dignity, as well as with a sense of humor in a way that only Mr. Cosby can deliver! Why is Mr. Cosby qualified to teach this course, you ask? Because he posesses a Doctorate Degree in Education, that's why! Talk about various family members being a handful, Mr. Cosby will give it to you straight (with a twist of that ol' Cosby humor, of course!), as he lets the chips fall where they may in "My Brother Russell". The "Do's & Dont's" on how to spend a worthwhile vacation in "The Gambling Capitol of America" with your significant other is well laid out as your personal guide to "(In Las Vegas) Be Good To Your Wives". If you're just dying to know "How Fat Albert Got A Hernia", well, you'll just have to find out for yourself by listening to this priceless gem. Personally, I would not recommend beating your wife (for those of you who are married)! So, before all you frustrated guys out there get all bent out of shape, I would advise listening to "Why Beat Your Wife". The comical atmosphere will absorb those tense feelings completely out of your body! "Grover Henson Feels Forgotten" seems out of place on a comedy album, due to its musical backdrop set to Bill's narration of a letter reading, as written about and as a dedication to Grover Henson (who else?), who is stationed in the military. Grover Henson could also be either an anonymous character, or possibly one of Mr. Cosby's friends whom Bill knew from his childhood. I did not, however, find one speck of comedy in this particular dialogue, which explains why it belongs on a Top 40 countdown show and not on a comedy album. Getting back to the comedy, "The Cos" will examine the ups and downs of married life in "Bill's Marriage", so just sit back, take your shoes off, and enjoy. What? You still haven't quite gotten your fill from that "Football" class? Well, don't despair, sports minded fan(s). Professor Cosby is teaching a class in Track & Field, titled "COS ELEM TRACK & FIELD 102", aka "Track And Field High Jump". Here, you'll learn the basics of this sport and more, as well as have a jollingly, hilariously good time while doing so. Last, but not least, I'd like to pay a humble tribute to BC's son, the late Ennis Cosby, as he's the person to whom Bill's speaking about in "Ennis' Toilet". You'll probably cry as you hear this piece. Ennis wouldn't want you to be sad, so please have a chuckle or two as you listen to "Ennis' Toilet", as well as the rest of the skits featured in this comedy CD materpiece in Ennis's memory. Thank you, very much. IN LOVING MEMORY...ENNIS COSBY (1970-1997).

This was Bill Cosby's best hit yet! I loved "Froofie The Dog" so much, I cried(literally)!It's so funny that if the whole world was listening to it,someone in a galaxy far,far away would hear all of the laghing. I have alot of Bill Cosby albums,but "Bill Cosby At His Best" is the best of all. I also recommend "Bill Cosby Himself" and "To Russell,My Brother,Whom I Slept With". If you want to actually see Bill Cosby, buy the movie "Bill Cosby Himself",which is more extended than the album. The movie is funnier than the album.

Replaced my LP collection with this CD, this CD had most of his best stuff. I didn't like the order they put this together.

A selection of 'best bits' of Bill Cosby material is always going to be hard to compile, I mean the guy put out an album a year for a while there in the 60's and as has been noted by most of the other reviewers here the original albums had a flow to them. They also had a warmth to them that really shone through, a sort of cherubic chutzpah that carried the day for Bill Cosbys' at times very simple anecdote based humour.

Here that warm buzz isn't so much in evidence and without the flow and the feeling of coherence the collection does lose a bit. Only my overall enjoyment of practically everything the man does convinced me to give this four stars. However I do defend that rating based on a number of factors. The sketches are quite good, this is no pooch (even if there is a Froofie the Dog). Also it could be a useful intro to the newcomer to the works of Cosby even though there are better compilations out there. Further, the cheap price that many of his albums go for means that this release still represents value for money.

My honest advice however is to buy his earlier albums individually as you'll be able to pick up his first five or so discs for probably less that $20.

This recording has some great one-liners and funny concepts but is lacking as a total performance. His skits do not flow into one another as well as in some of his other performances. If you are a Bill Cosby collector then buy this CD but if you want Bill at his best - then go for "Wonderfulness" or "Himself."

Bill Cosby at his best! I really like the younger Bill live on stage, if you do to this ones for you!!!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA... oh in case you didn't notice it this album is funny, I'm 14 and I even loved it, The track and field track is hillarious this cd does not get old.. BUY IT