Customer Reviews

Crap-Shootin Rev

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

 

 

I was RAISED on Pigmeat Markham, as one of the generation of children in the 60s and 70 who sneaked to hear this while our parents weren't home (this stuff was once considered raunchy although Mr. Dewey markham rarely used any profanity on record). Unfortnately, these are later, weaker routines for the most part. Not nearly as funny as his classic Chess recordings (Pigmeat at the Party, Anything Goes With Pigmeat, Mr. Vaudeville, The Wolrd's Greatest Clown, and Here Comes the Judge, etc). If you want good Pigmeat, seek those out and leave this alone.

This CD came to me as a birthday present. I had never heard of Pigmeat Markham before and had no idea what to expect. So, kindly excuse the uninitiated anglocentric perspective.

The sleeve notes say he was born in 1904 and graduated via carnival shows and the black vaudeville circuit to being a fixture at Harlem's Apollo Theatre and an occasional guest on the Ed Sullivan show. Perhaps his main claim to fame was as the originator of the "Here Come the Judge" sketch (anyone remember NBC's Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In from the 1960s?), which isn't included here. "Hilarious" and a "legendary comedian", he died in 1981.

This CD seems to be a collection of his on-stage routines and dialogues (maybe dating from the 1940s? 1960s? - it doesn't say), characterized - perhaps inevitably - by poor volume balance and woolly sound quality. There's a lot of yelling and repeating of each other's lines, but perhaps this was the style of the time. His live audience at least is certainly appreciative.

For me, the most telling sentence in the sleeve notes is "During the 1960s, a new generation of comics such as Dick Gregory, Bill Cosby and Flip Wilson eschewed the uncouth slapstick routines that Pigmeat specialized in to concentrate on cerebral monologues that crossed them over into the mainstream." That's it in a nutshell, really: styles change, and this has become a museum piece.

Were I a New Yorker and 110 years old, I might conceivably have found some nostalgic enjoyment in it. As things are, it left me cold, albeit slightly regretful about 49 minutes that could have been far better spent.

I've been a huge Pigmeat Markham fan since the Warped tour. He is the future of rap music. Look at him on the cover of this album, no I said look at him!! He has that Usher look that will drive the ladies of hip hop crazy. Obviously, you start and end this thing with the title track. "Crap shootin rev" is 2005's "Yeah". It will probably win several grammys and you'll see a Beyonce-Pigmeat duet at next year's awards show. Carson Daly is afraid to have Pigmeat on TRL because he's afraid of the controversy. Pigmeat is the black M&M. His video for crap shootin rev would easily be #1 on TRL if Carson would let it on the countdown. Carson just has a problem with Pigmeat due to the whole Puffy thing. Pigmeat Markham will not be denied though. Look for Crap Shootin Rev to top the album chart in the next couple of months. It's that good.

This CD is difficult to follow because it consist of the dialogue for comedy performed on stage. Without the visual it is difficult to 'get it' at times. The item was delivered quickly and in a timely manner.

A fish is to a bicycle. I first learned of this great man's work back during the late 60s when he appeard on "Laugh-In." Like many, my interest in him was shallow, confined only to the "here come's the judge" vaudeville bit which that show made famous.

It was only later that I came to realize the depth and sensitivity available to those who listen closely to his ouevre. Let's reflect on the name, for example: what exactly is "pigmeat?" Why, it's pork. What does that tell you about the meaning of Mr. Markham's life's work?

Hey Rich King, I think Carson Daly is one worthless idiot, but perhaps he's afraid to have Pigmeat Markham on because he's been dead for 25 years now. How did he look on the "Warped Tour?" I'm guessing "not well."