Customer Reviews

George Carlin - Doin' It Again/Jammin' In New York

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Rarely does a comic come along that surpasses the normal boundaries of just telling jokes and getting chuckles. George Carlin is one of those comics. His altered perspective on life leads the listener on a rollercoaster ride of laughing not only at his criticism and snips at modern life but also at the audience themselves. Carlin is one of the comedy higherarchy that other comedians look up to and respect, it is shown why in his performances. Such are two of his best, "Doin it Again" and "Jammin in New York" illustrate just how some things can get better with age as Carlin in his late 50's presents himself at his peak. This DVD double-package is well worth the price tag and is a must for any Carlin fan, or anyone who enjoys non-stop laughter.

One aspect of "Jammin' In New York" which I noticed (and am probably the only one to do so) as a turning point has to do with the quality of Mr. Carlin's voice. In the years leading up to this special, that particular instrument of his had a certain quality that more or less sustained itself, good times and bad, even as his act became more strident and pointed. But "Jammin'" would be the last time his voice would maintain that quality. By the time of his 1996 "Back In Town" show, his voice would become more gravelly, coarse and ravaged (probably the combination of age and the parts of his routines where he'd scream at the top of his lungs). Back to "Jammin'," though: I especially appreciated his routine on the inanity of airplane announcements, and his advocating the use of land currently taken up with golf courses and cemeteries to house the homeless (I grew up near a golf course in Pennsylvania, so I share his sentiments in that regard). And his airplane routine was a vast improvement over that on his 1977 "On Location" program.

(...)

Now for my review:
The "Doin' It Again" show is standard George Carlin, if you've seen "Playing With Your Head" or "Carlin at Carnegie", its more in that vein. "Jammin' In New York" is more influenced by Sam Kinison, and in fact, dedicated to him if I remember correctly. He shouts, he screams, and its all to add passion to the delivery, that he cares about what he's saying, but doesn't care about the effect of what he says, which is the mark of Carlin. Complain about it, but don't care if it gets fixed or not. "Jammin' In New York" is one of the best routines ever done. So quit bashing it and sit back and enjoy!

However, let me also warn you that the packaging of this DVD is somewhat misleading. The middle picture on the right side of George performing is from "Carlin On Campus", as is the small picture of hime that appears to the left of his name at the top. "Carlin on Campus" IS NOT on this DVD. So if you are buying this because the picture reminds you of a special you've seen but you can't remember the name of it, well, sorry, you're still not going to get the one you're looking for. But at least now you know.

First of all, this is some of the best Carlin stuff. The only comment I have is that the title was misleading to me: one of the shows is called "Doin' it Again". Since this title is not on CD, I though that it was something I did not have. After receiving the DVD, it turned out that it was another name for the CD "Parental Advisory - Explicit Lyrics". Nevertheless, fantastic comedy...

I'm glad I picked this up when I could,it is now out of print and this is some great stuff here! This plus the two earlier box sets complete the older Carlin stuff,but I think George is just getting better with age.

For anyone that has only the two Carlin DVD box sets available:

1) The George Carlin Collection (the first 4 specials 1977-1984)
2) Completely Carlin (the other specials 1986, 1988, 1996, & 1999 specials)

you need this set to complete your Carlin video collection. I hope this DVD set gets reissued soon. Or at least have "Jammin' In NY" (1992) released as a stand-alone set since "Doin' It Again" (1990) is now available on DVD by itself.

I have had mp3s of George Carlin's routine, but that is only a shadow of what watching him do the same routines is. I could not stay in my chair I was laughing so hard. Also the movements of his hands and face add to the merriment a thousand fold, perhaps more. I would reccommend this double HBO special disc of his to anyone who has only listened to George thus far.

please remember also, that there are people outside the USA buying this show! Jokes about hating the US patriots, flags etc etc remain still veeery funny even after sept. 11th!

What more can be said about George Carlin? The man is a comic genius. He has a way of taking everyday situations and words and taking them apart in a straight-forward manner that leaves all who hear it laughing on the floor uncontrolably. While I certainly wouldn't recommend it to anyone who is "easily offended", the rest of us with a sense of humor can thank Joe Pesci (some of you will know what I mean!) that he has given us George Carlin.

I watched part of Robin Williams' Live on Broadway, got dizzy, loved the vulgarity and bought the DVD as my silent $17 protest against decency. A few days ago I read Carlin's reaction to the current onslaught of decency and decided to check him out. I thought he was great. One problem. From the date given for the show (Jammin') and everything I could read about it, I was/am sure Carlin was talking about poppa Bush. Yet I KNOW he named Dick Cheyney and Colin Powell. Huh? Regardless (though it bugs me), he was dead-on when he said if the government says it, don't believe it. Not even the FDA. And the reviewers who say politics and humor don't mix (Mark Twain and Oscar Wilde sure didn't say it!) just got cut a little close to the nerve. I wish (did he?) he'd do something current (as Tom Lehrer said, that's like asking a citizen of Pompeii to say something amusing about lava). Like about all the little uglies with their little axes running about like Carrie Nation screaming things like "the sanctity of marriage" (they don't mean sanctimonious, by any chance) and "tradition" and generally trying to run the lives of everyone they can. I'd love to see what he'd do with that! George Carlin was nothing like what I'd expected, instead he was more so, and I thought his numbers on similarities, euphemisms and the first bit on words (pomposity of expressions) were a riot. But I squirmed when he said "fruit." Ain't nothin' sacred! Yet when I asked a friend of mine how he'd feel if Howard Stern talked that way about his own girlfriend, he said he'd feel "proud." Iconoclasm and lots of it!