The Boxed Life: A Spoken Word Performance

Henry Rollins | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 29, 2001)
• Original Release Date: January 26, 1993
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Imago Records
• ASIN: B0000040OZ
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #74,694 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

It's Henry Rollins as standup comedian! Airport gags and all! He's good at it, too, and this two-disc "talking record" is far more enlightening and entertaining than his angry poetry or his hard-rock histrionics. After all, how many times can he scream about his pain before we all get a little numb? On The Boxed Life (which refers to an endless string of hotel rooms, dressing rooms, and waiting rooms on the road), Rollins eases up and lets fans in on the joke--taking the happy campers in the live audience on hilarious side trips through his teenage career in animal husbandry ("Strength"), his tortured sense of humor ("Funny Guy"), and his low-down life in countless bars ("Blues"). --Michael Ruby

Product Description

The boxed life sees Henry take to the stage for a collection of spoken word performances, recorded at various dates around the world, from 1989 to 1992. No music! --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hank at his best: honest instead of intellectual., March 14, 2000

By 

Jeffrey R. Tilley Jr. "goatman_1" (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Boxed Life: A Spoken Word Performance (Audio CD)

This CD set was my first experience with Henry Rollins and it drove me to buy every other spoken word album he has ever released. For those of you who want a "jumping on" point, this is it.

I've never been able to get into Hanks solo musical career, nor his books and CD's of poetry. His lyrics always come off a little pretentious to me, as if he's had way to much time to think about what he's saying. To lonely and despairing for my taste. If you think the same thing, you should still give this CD a chance.

Live spoken word performances like this one is Rollins at his best. The lonely stuff goes out the window when he has an audience. From the hip, painfully honest and screamingly funny. Still one of the best CD's (or CD sets) that I've ever owned. Highly recommended.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A More Efficient Machine, June 4, 2003

By 

Rage Reset (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Boxed Life: A Spoken Word Performance (Audio CD)

In an attempt to help readers decide whether to actually buy this product, I'll refrain from simply repeating what everyone else has already said. Instead, I shall attempt to fill in the blanks left my my fellow reviewers.

Firstly, the recording quality (though a marked improvement over previous offerings) is still poor. It's not as quiet as CDs like Human Butt or Big Ugly Mouth, but it's still full of echo and is definitely not professionally recorded. Don't buy this one expecting hi-fi audio because you'll be disappointed in that respect. That said, you can hear everything properly and this time the crowd's applause doesn't drown out Henry's speech.

In terms of content, this is a good CD. I consider that this is one of the first outings where Henry is really starting to develop a style and rhythym to his performance. Certain topics and aspects prevalent in previous CDs have been abandoned, his sense of comedic timing is getting sharper and some of the stuff he talks about is laugh-out-loud funny. Watch out for the 'Rock Chix' on disc one..

In summary, this one is worth a buy. It's two discs and represents good value. You'll get to hear Rollins finding his groove in this medium now that he has some experirence behind him. While it's not as polished as later offerings, it contains a somewhat raw, gritty character that later offerings don't.

Buy this one after Talk is Cheap, Rollins In The Wry and Think Tank.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Rollins Spoken Word, October 6, 2003

By 

Mr. Books - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Boxed Life: A Spoken Word Performance (Audio CD)

This is in my opinion the BEST Henry Rollins spoken word album out there. I love his music, but it is also great to hear him loosen up and just tell jokes. I really like this album because he tells real life stories and talks about stuff that happened on the road. Henry Rollins has a great gift for comedy and is a talented man all around. My favorite bits on the album are the ones called Funny Guy, the Condom bit, and the two bits on Strength. If you love Rollins and want a great spoken word album, do not hesitate to buy this one.