Customer Reviews

Fresh Air Laughs with Terry Gross: 21 Stars of Comedy

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

 

 

Contrary to what another reviewer wrote, I thought this CD had quite a few laughs. For the mostpart, I liked it as much as, and in some ways, more than, a standard comedy CD. It is interesting to hear these comedians be interviewed by someone as talented as Terri Gross. She brings out the laughs and shows them on a more personal level than you would ever get on a standard comedy CD.

I did find the interview with Richard Pryor inappropriate for inclusion on this CD. It was done after he was stricken by MS. He had a lot of trouble remembering what he was saying and even speaking at all. It was sad, but not really an insight into his life. It could have been an interview with anyone who had been stricken by MS and who isn't able to express themselves well anymore. It might be appropriate on a CD that contained bits from Pryor throughout his career, but for this to be his "entry" on a CD about comedians seemed almost cruel.

It's uncanny: Whenever someone I have admired for years dies, on the next day, Fresh Air plays the interview that Terry Gross did with that person fifteen or twenty years ago.

This is a collection of Terry Gross interviews with people who have made us all laugh for years. My favorite interviewer talking to my favorite comedians, this collection combines that rare mix of insight and laughter.

I'd thought that this might be a CD with the best moments of numerous comedians pulled from hours of the NPR show "Fresh Air." In a way it was, but there was little in the way of laughs - which is what the title suggests that this CD is going to be chock full of. Mostly what you find here are moments from interviews which you may, or may not, find to be enlightening in learning about the featured comedians and what makes them tick. The CD would have been better titled "Biographies of Comedians" so that a buyer would know what they are really getting.

Surprisingly humorless interviews, given the title, all of which are serious, quite downbeat and just plain unfunny.

Don't get me wrong: I can totally appreciate that comedians think it burdensome to have to be funny in their off-time, and that Ms. Gross's success is to a large extent attributable to her ability to put difficult to interview people at ease.

That said, the title of this collection is misleading, as there are no laughs at all, really, just some mildly interesting conversations (and that is being quite generous). No great revelations either, if you are at all familiar with people interviewed.

Disappointing, given the promising roster of comedians.