Customer Reviews

My Son, The Greatest: The Best Of Allan Sherman

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For those who don't know the original "Wierd Al," Allan Sherman, or know him only as the man who wrote "Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh," this CD is a revelation and a true tribute to a comic genius. Unlike his discovery, Bill Cosby, Allan Sherman is all but forgotten by everyone except his many diehard fans. And that's a shame, for, in his own way, his was as great a talent as Cosby's. And, on a personal note, whenever I want a good laugh, this CD gets me going every time. Yes, "Hello Muddah" is here, as it should be. But so is "Sarah Jackman" (supposedly a favorite of JFK), "Lotsa Luck," "Al 'n' Yetta," "Good Advice," "Crazy Downtown," and "Schticks of One and a Half Dozen of the Other," all of them comic gems. Steve Allan's liner notes are merely the icing on the cake. In short, this is a funny tribute to a very funny man who left us too soon. Camp Grenada forever!

This CD is hilarious. You never know when Sherman is going to surprise you with his unexpected lyrics. His "almost" Sinatra voice, the Jewish flavor of some of his humor, and his understanding of the lighter side of human nature made him a great comedian in his day, and this CD does a great job of capturing his comical expertise.

Some of the songs are funnier than others. I have always loved his big hits, "Hello Muddah," "The Twelve Days of Christmas,"
and "Louis the 16th," but some of the medleys are hilarious.
He surprises you with hilarity. Our whole family enjoys the CD.
Once in a while, I'll surprise my wife by putting it in our van's CD player; as soon as she hears Sherman's voice, she begins to laugh. Great fun, especially for those of us who are already a tad crazy.

I bought this CD as a surprise for my husband because he and I both grew up listening to Allan Sherman. Frequently we would start singing one of his songs and get frustrated because we couldn't remember all the words. I was thrilled when I found this CD! Now our eight year old has every song memorized, as do my husband and I and it's our favorite CD to listen to in the car on family trips. Sherman was truly a genius. How about re-releasing ALL his albums on CD?!

I was a sophomore in high school when Alan Sherman's first album, "My Son, the Folksinger," came out in 1962. This was soon followed by several other albums which my family eagerly snapped up. This is Jewish humor at it's very best --- witty and intelligent, with schmaltzy puns and wordplays that make you groan and bust your sides laughing at the same time. Allan Sherman proved that you don't have to be dirty or offensive to be funny. You just need a sense of the absurdness of life.

That, and a silly voice. What makes his shticks work so well is the combination of Allan's singing-in-the-shower style, backed up by an absolutely imppeccable chorus and fine instrumentation that make the satirical words of the songs sound even sillier. He once described himself as an onion sitting on a velvet cushion, and it fits. I do hope that more of his songs are released on CD soon, because they are classics.

I checked this out of the library for our son when he was about 10 years old. He has always preferred listening to audio books and comedy, more than music (which was--and is--our daughter's thing). After one listen, he was hooked, and it seemed like he was constantly going back to the library to check Allan Sherman out--over and over again.

Needless to say, we eventually got him his own copy as a gift. He is now in his mid-teens, and it's still one of his favorite recordings. Even though he enjoys hearing "Weird Al" on the radio, he's never begged or saved to get any of his recordings. It's "Hello, Muddah, Hello, Faddah!" for this kid.

In this day when it seems hard to find good, clean humor, we tend to lean toward those favorites we can count on. (Our son just bought his first Bill Cosby recording--also from the 60s--on CD!)

Of course, my wife and I, who grew up in the 60s, are loving it. We all enjoy singing these hilarious parodies at the top of our lungs. We're just wondering what's going to happen when our son gets his driver's licence and asks to take the family car "Downtown!"

Some people respond to camp, some don't. I know people who can listen to Allen Sherman stone cold...and never crack a smile. I don't understand them.

I don't know what is funnier, a pudgy little man with a crummy voice singing parady songs infront of a full orchestra and fabulous back-up singers, or, lyrics like those to "You Went the Wrong Way Old King Louie," the official theme song of the French Revolution.

"If you had been a nicer king, we wouldn't do a thing, but you were bad, you must admit. We're gonna take you and the queen, down to the Guillotine, and shorten you a little bit."

I'm snickering just typing the lyrics.

This is as lowbrow as G-rated paradoy gets, and about as funny.

If you have only heard "Hello Mudduh, Hello Faddah," you're in for a special treat.

It's all so very silly.

What, it would've killed you folks at Rhino to include "Seltzer Boy," "The Bronx Bird Watcher" and "Glory, Glory Harry Lewis" on this CD? So maybe you'll make nice and release a boxed set of this nice man's songs? Do it for your mother!

While nowhere near as crazy as Spike Jones, not as sarcastic as Stan Freburg, and not as "sick" as Tom Lehrer, Allan Sherman is still one of my all-time favorite music artists. When Weird Al was in Pampers, Allan was the king of funny music, with his light-hearted song parodies and almost MAD Magazine-ish folk songs about everyday life. Its a shame his fame was very short-lived, his life went straight down the tube, and he died way too soon. This CD is a great compilation of his music, which consists of almost randomly-pulled songs from all his albums, from "My Son, The Folk-Singer" to "Allan Sherman Live! (Hoping You Are The Same)". My personal favorite songs on the CD are "Al N'Yetta", "Crazy Downtown", and the 8-minute long jazzy "Good Advice". One minor quibble: all his songs are recorded live and sometimes, the audience laughter and applause might annoy you, but you very soon get used to it. Its very surprising this Rhino release goes back to 1988 and is the only Allan Sherman complilation to exist on CD....all his original albums are STILL sinfully only on LP...since they'll probably never get put on CD, hopefully Rhino might release a box set sometime soon...lets keep our fingers crossed... :-)

When I was a girl, we had 2 Allan Sherman LPs: My Son the Folk Singer and My Son the Celebrity. We listened to them so much that I'm sure the grooves were significantly deeper! We aren't Jewish, nor did we ever live in New York. But, his stuff is so funny on so many levels.

I just received the CD "My Son The Greatest", and while it has many of his great songs on it, it's still missing my favorites: "The Ballad of Sir Greenbaum", "When I Was a Lad", and "Let's All Call Up AT&T", to name a few.

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You must get this CD, The first time I heard it I never laughed so much in my life. My favorite song is "You Went the Wrong Way Old King Louie." I knew who Allen Sherman was through "Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah" and that was all, not until a guy I worked with lent me his CD did I get the full scope of this mans genius. I think it is a shame that he has been all but forgotten over the years. The world is being deprived of a comic genius. Please release more of his music it's wonderful!