Customer Reviews

First Family 1 & 2

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

These two comedy albums were very popular back in 1962-63 (and the years after JFK's assassination), and for good reason. The first album was especially brilliant, with great writing, good impersonations and performances, a lot of intelligent material and great laughter. The second album was almost as good. Both albums were originally available in both mono and stereo according to the album jackets, although I've never heard them in stereo or seen copies in used record stores. But that's one of the main problems with this reissue: it's monophonic. Why weren't the stereo tapes found and used? Worse, noise reduction techniques were employed on these tapes, probably to reduce tape hiss, but the effect sounds as if someone has turned on Dolby C on a non-encoded tape, so there are bursts of sound that are annoying and not present on the LPs. This may work OK on some music recordings, but for spoken word, the results are poor. Speech sounds unreal, and some sound effects such as walking sound like crunching. Also a disappointment is that with the two albums collected together on one CD, it would have been nice to see the 1963 Christmas single, Christmas at the White House, included. I understand this was withdrawn immediately after it was issued because of JFK's death in November 1963 and the national mood at that time. As for this CD, the original material warrants 5 stars, the poor CD mastering and effort by the CD company drags this down.

"The First Family" vols. 1 & 2 really put you back into 1962-1963 at the height of the Kennedy administration. When two characters are speaking, it sounds like there are two people in the room. There are tender moments with the Kennedy family, but there are far more interesting moments such as when Adenaur, de Gaulle, Nasser, Ben Gurion, Chang Kai-shek, Castro, Kruschev and Nkrume are sitting down to lunch.

A lot of material is direct take-off from press conferences. There are references to well-known commercials and the politics of the time (a knowledge of the cabinet, the Senate and the IRS is recommended). There is deadpan and slapstick and pratfalls. There is Jewish humor. The timing and accents on the part of all the actors is perfect.

Q. "When are we sending a man to the moon?"
A. "Whenever Senator Goldwater wants to go!"

What might detract from this album is that it is loaded with '62/'63 "inside" jokes - a few of them even I can't decipher. Who is Elsa Maxwell? Who is Paul Butler?

I was no more than five when my parents bought this album and it quickly became my favorite, even though I obviously had no idea what most of the jokes meant. Still, I found a lot of it funny simply because the setups were cartoon-silly: The Malayan Ambassador bit, the discussion of who owns which bath toys, etc.

The older I got, and the more I read about JFK, I got more of the jokes. And now, when Kennedyism is almost America's national pastime, I dare say that "The First Family" is almost more valuable as a view of the Camelot years than any book that was ever written about it.

Poor Vaughan Meader! He had JFK down pat, and as you probably know, when Kennedy went down, so did Meader. But his JFK is SO good. The metre, the timbre, it's all there.

And these jokes are still funny, 40 years later. The world summit leaders trying to order sandwiches is still marvelous; Jackie's tour of the White House is classic vaudeville-style radio comedy; JFK telling Caroline a not-so-subtle US vs. Reds fable as a bedtime story, hell, I could go on for days.

So good to see this on CD! Pick it up.

TT

If you were alive in the 60's you'll probably remember the First Family Vol 1. Most Americans households owned it. We did and we played it over and over. It wasn't until the early 80's that I discovered Vol 2 in a used record store. I bought it and howled all over again. When I saw they put both on 1 CD for this low price, I bought one for me and one for a friend.

The audio quality is great! The humor is timeless. And according to insiders, even JFK enjoyed these albums. My teenage kids listen to them and laugh. If you heard these albums before, buy the CD and laugh all over again. If you never heard them, buy it and laugh along with us. You won't be disappointed!

My brother purchased this album (when it WAS an album) when it was first released. I LOVED listening to it and I was only 10 at the time. It is the best comedy album parodying a president I have ever heard...even better than David Frye's "I Am The President". For anyone who grew up in the early 60's, its a definate must!

There was somthing about the youthful John Kennedy in office. Could anyone make fun of DDE the way we could of JFK? And the cultural divide was so great with RMN that the jokes were more obvious but then more one-sided. When this album came out, it had more advance sales than anything up to that time. How many people remember that? I bought the vinyl some years ago and will keep this since this will be a valulable collectors' item 50-100 years from now.

What a joy to discover these old recordings on CD! I am of course old enough to remember these the first time 'round, but I had to explain to my teenaged niece that times were indeed different during the Kennedy years. The country is so mean-spirited regarding politics and the present White House occupant that it is hard for young people to visualize a time when it wasn't so. Plus, of course, the Kennedy tragedy ensures that these people will forever be frozen in time in their relative youth. Just seems amazing what we've been through in such a short time span. Regardless, these skits remain a riot, particularly the Jackie parts!

I've had the original issue of Vol, 1 for many years. It's so worn out that I simply can't play it any more. I'm so happy that both volumes are now on CD. This is soooo funny! I HIGHLY recomend it. My mother said that after JFK's asasination (only one year after this was released), the album was taken off the market ( of course). enough time has passed now, that we can once again enjoy this gem of a comedy album

It's hilarious! I heard it 40 years ago when it was first made and I consider it to be one of the all-time great political satires.

If you are old enough to appreciate it, it gives you perspective to not only the human side of the Kennedy family at the time, but the world environment, and the players involved. Of course, you need to know the names referenced in this enlightened parody. It is a loving tribute, thinking back, on a great President, though many, including myself, took issue with some actions. No matter, gut-busting stuff if you have the background to appreciate it.