Customer Reviews

Craps

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
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No comedian before, since, or ever, will accomplish what Richard Pryor managed to accomplish on this one album. Craps is African-American comedy in a nutshell, weaving themes of race (funny stuff about Jerry West and the Osmond Brothers), class, sex, religion, and black culture all at once. The After Hours routine remains the funniest comedy routine I have ever heard. You will laugh until you cry the first time you hear this LP, and then you'll laugh just as hard every time you hear it. There were other more acclaimed Pryor LP's such as "That Nigger's Crazy" or "Super Nigger," but this one is the best.

Much of this consists of early versions of routines that he would later make famous. The Preacher routine is the forerunner of the more concise (and funnier) "Our Text For Today" on "Is It Something I Said." Some of this may also be found on the video "Live And Smokin'" from around the same time (1971). The bits oabout "Oilwell," The Osmond Brothers/Jackson 5, that N---r's Crazy, etc. are all forerunners of what was to come.

This album is a true classic of a true comedic genius. As a young man this album put an indelible imprint on my sense of humor . I spent countless hour rolling in laughter listening to Richard. The greatest comedy album of all time.

another must have from the man.you can never get bored with this man's way of story-telling.and long live mudbone.his works are as important to me as mozarts are to the rest of the world.

What can I say that hasn't been said? 1971-4 I was in high school and Richard was our Shakespeare. Comedies, Tragedies and Histories all rolled into one. The first album I heard was the one with him on the cover dressed like an Aboriginal hunter; lion-cloth, bone through nose, spear and squating with a look on his face that said, 'don't f#@k wit me...', it had the first incarnation of Black Ben the Black Smith, titled 'the Prison Play', I knew then that I had tumbled down the rabbit hole and and would NEVER see Kansas again.

Just when I thought it couldn't get any deeper, here comes 'CRAPS: After Hours' damn...Richard pulled back the velvet curtain and exposed the P-Funk, Un-Cut Funk...The Bomb. Anyone that grew up during the early '70's immediately jetisoned Redd Foxx, Bill Cosby, Flip Wilson, Nipsy Russell, Pigmeat Markham, Moms Mabley, Rudy Ray Moore and any other genius of that era and recognized that a new time had come. We saw the future and his name was Richard Pryor. While I cherish all his work, my favorite trilogy is; Craps, That Nigg...Crazy and Bicentenial Nigg. He had the nerve to SAY what everyone else only thought. He gave insights that were both universal AND unique to our (African-American) experiences. His timing, delivery, inflection...unequaled. We memorized his observations and recited them as the situation called for, never with his touch, but always with the utmost respect. He was, is and will always be, THE TRUTH.

That Nigga's Crazy and Bicentennial Nigger both surpass this album in laughs, but it would still rank high if it wasn't for the poor sound quality--there's a few audience members who can be heard a lot more clearly than Pryor himself half the time. But some great classic bits, and believe me you're never bored.