Customer Reviews

Have You Seen Me Lately

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was just barely a teen when this record came out, but I think it helped shape my attitude through to this day. When you're young, angry and rebellious, saying things you shouldn't... well, it just comes naturally.

And Sammy was like a guru for the disaffected of any age. That trademark wail bellowing from an otherwise-average little man was Ginsberg's "Howl" personified, Whitman's "Barbaric yalp," the vented frustrations of a generation of culturally-confused men.

I haven't listened to this record in a long time; but I can still remember many of these tracks vividly. Opening with an attack on the social responsibilities just coming into vogue in the late 80s. Sam revels in his ability to drink heavily and operate heavy machinery (much has been said of the irony of this bit, given his future struggle with sobriety, cut tragically short by a drunk-driver).

Then come the tracks which are for me the most satisfying and side-splitting, Sam's takes on religion. The former preacher rails against the excesses and abuses of modern Christianity from the "Pope mobile" to the PTL scandal, and tells some very humanist versions of classic bible tales. My friends and I quote and reference these bits to this day.

Feeding off the bitterness of his failed past relationships, Sam goes into several tracks on women, marraige, and the ways men can avoid them. Finally closing with the made-for-MTV promotional cover tune, Wild Thing.

This record is a little cultural time-capsule for the 80s. Along with Andrew Dice Clay, Sam Kinison was a high-profile icon and magnet for controversy. Looking back on some of the material, it was clearly misogynistic, homophobic, and spiteful. Some of it still makes me uncomfortable, grating on the few politcally-correct nerves I possess. I've seen other Kinison reviews on this site praising the man but panning his more hateful material. But how can you separate them?

Best only to put them into context. Think of how very weird the 1980s were: the re-definition of gender roles, the outbreak and panic of AIDS, the push of gay rights, unmitigated materialism, reaganomics, cocaine. All of this served to completely deconstruct the self-view of the American male. Men had come out of the machismo of the 50s and 60s, survived the sexual revolution and the softer/gentler man of the 70s, then crash-landed in the contradictions of the 80s. Sam was not only a product of the times, his comedy gave voice to the growing pains of that decade. Talk about your fire-in-the-belly.

And who can deny that Sam took his place among the great comedians and social satirists. In my opinion, ranking only behind the venerable Bill Hicks (both launching thier careers from Houston, TX) as the most influential comic of the 80s/90s, without whom Denis Leary, Louis Black, and many other of my favorites wouldn't have careers (much less material).

And besides all this, I will always have a warm place for this record. It was the exchange of this cassette tape back in Spring of 89 in 8th-grade homeroom that began a friendship lasting all these 16 years. Last year I stood as best man to my best friend at his wedding. Thanks, Sam.

The only reason I didn't give this five stars was because nothing can touch Sam's first album, the hysterical "Louder Than Hell" (yes, it is out of print, but if your local record shop still sells cassettes you might get lucky). Sam Kinison was a true comic genius who would do material on stuff no comic would even dream of and make people laugh even when they were absolutely horrified at what he said. The phrase "Nothing's sacred" seems to have been invented for Sam Kinison. He was still in his prime when this album was recorded, and you will be convulsed beginning to end. Warning: Do NOT listen to this or any Sam Kinison recording while driving. I know of five people who have narrowly avoided or gotten into accidents because they were laughing so hard. Yes, I was one of them . . . . Rest in peace, Sam--you're still the best!

This has got to be one of the top five best comedy releases of all time.The very first time I heard this album,I was LITERALLY rolling around on a friend's living room floor.I could not stop laughing for like maybe a week.Sam(R.I.P.)KNOWS about life.That's for sure.He may even see everything in a totally different light than the rest of us do.When I listened to this album for the next ten(10)times,it's like I could relate to about 90% of everything he was saying.Some lines from the lp(w/the swearing taken out):"Condoms....guys,do we hate rubbers?They're unromantic,they're uncomfortable and your tool doesn't understand what's going on...why the mask,boss?Are we doing a guy?Is she THAT ugly?"Another example:"I'm not afraid of hell,I was married from two years!!Hell would be a resort!If you go to hell when you die,you make the devil look like an over worked Ronald McDonald like character.He'll offer you a job as tour guide if you tell him you've been married twice.One more:"Jim Baker...can this loser pick THE women or what?He goes from Tammy Fae to Jessica Hahn.Jim's motto is no one can get into heaven without my personal seal,as I know God personally".You get the idea.A really great CD to play at a late night bash.

Sam named this CD in response to Warner Brothers pulling his first CD 'Louder Than Hell' out of print. 'Have You Seen Me Lately' provides ample humor in an arena setting charged with a lively and animated crowd. Sam performs to the best of his god given ability, and the audience eats from his hand with an eagerness rarely captured on any recording. His subject matter ranges from the twisted to the almost sacreligious, but nobody but Sam could have discussed these in his act with the style and showmanship of an evangelical ex-preacher. Bad taste? Hardly! I think this recording is a look back into the prime of a great artist. Sam Kinison's death was a tragedy, and we lost him before he could reach his true potential. But recordings such as 'Have You Seen Me Lately' can remind us of how funny one man can be. It is well worth the investment for the laughs you'll experience over and over again.

Being used to all the political correctness that has run amok since the 80's, it would probably be shocking for folks in their teens and even early-20's to digest Sam Kinison's comedy: With every performance, he strove to break barriers, cross lines, and just did not care who he offended in the process.

Barriers and lines didn't exist in Kinison's world and his comedy reflects that. He was refreshing for his time and much of what he said then still rings true today.

I loved his take on religion and his constantly pointing out the blatant hypocrisy of tele-evangelists (oh, how he would have a field day in 2005!), even though he was a former Pentecostal preacher.

Sam was in a class all by himself. Many people like to group Andrew Dice Clay in with him but Kinison once said to Howard Stern that the Diceman was basically working his older material. I agree with that assessment. Clay was more into beyond raunchy humor (focusing on sex, sex, and more sex). Even though Kinison did his fair share of raunchiness, he also joked about many other topics as well.

I was only 16 when Sam died but I really miss that scream and his no holds barred attitude. I do get sad whenever I hear Anthrax's "I'm the Man" and hear that scream at the beginning and end of the song but Sam lives on through his comedy and his fans' love and appreciation of him.

I own this, Leader of the Banned, and Live from Hell, and this is best of the bunch. Neither of the other two have the freshness and venom of this one. Is it a bit vulgar in spots? Sure. But there is also a certain level if honesty that you don't find among a lot of comedians out there. He doesn't go so much for the slice of life vignettes, he goes for the "I'm a screw-up" approach. He talks about what he knows: religion, marriage, etc. I've never laughed so hard in my life.

I had this album on tape for almost fifteen years before it finally wore out. Sam Kinison was a comedian and professional performer. I bought the album solely because of his Wild things song - it's hysterical. After listening to that about a hundred times, I finally played the tape from start to finish. Nothing and noone is sacred. Jesus, Charles Manson, starving children - noone is spared. This album is not for children or those who are easily offended. There are a lot of crude sexual references, tons of foul language. Being a huge fan of the legendary performer's, I wouldn't have it any other way. Thank you amazon for letting me replace the long gone tape with a new cd!

Sam Kinison was one of a kind. A very funny comedian, good mimic with a unique style of his own. I find much of his stuff very amusing. He is good at pointing out hypocracy in our society and also sharing his pain about his life's dissapointments.

However,the material is not PC at all. There are jokes about aids, drunk driving etc... One has to not mind that kind of thing or over look it to appreciate the good stuff.

Nobody speaks to a man's soul like brother Sam. The man understood every possible way a man can be alienated, examined each way, and promptly made fun of it. He is what he is; love him or hate him, there's no in between; he stands alone, sui generis.

I just got this CD a couple of day's ago, and since I am young (I am 21), there are some things that are VERY OFFENSIVE, but since I love this stuff, I love IT! Though this CD is old (it came out in 1986 during the AIDS crisis which I remember very well), Sam talks about marriage (There were times where I wanted to get out of the car and run: I HATE YOU, I JUST WANT TO LIVE) , his take on religion (Jesus was never married, a woman does not let you take off for three days and you come back and say "Oh I was dead" yeah if you have ever been married, that always work's, if Jesus was married, his cross would be in the yard and he would tell his disciples 'Look guys you better stay here' he goes in there and his wife is like: "Where you BEEN? Where are those 12 F**KING LOSER'S WHO WON'T GET A JOB?), his take on women (I'm going to use women like Shake n' Bake bags), drugs, drinking and driving are VERY CONTROVERSAL, but this CD does have his controversal AIDS material but if you are easily offensive, this is NOT THE CD FOR YOU, religious? Not for you. Sam was a God in comedy and he will be missed a lot...