Customer Reviews

Raunchy Business

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From almost the beginning of recorded music, songs have had some kind of sexual content. Compared to today where little is left to the imagination, this artists make clever use of double-entendres to tell their stories.

For example, there's Lil Johnson's "My Stove's in Good Condition" in which she asks someone to "stick your match right in the hole." In Bo Carter's "My Pencil Won't Write No More" he complains that when he tries to write his pencil is "drooping."

For those who want something a little less subtle there's Lucille Bogan's previously unreleased version of "Shave 'Em Dry." Lucille Bogan was as raunchy as any contemporary rapper way back in 1935! If you thought gangsta rap started the use of graphic language in music -- think again. There are lines in this track that would make Ice Cube blush (well, almost). In one of the track's tamer verses she says, "I'm going to turn back my mattress and let you oil my springs/I want you to grind me daddy till the bells do ring." If that's too much for you, there's her very different "clean" version. It's so different that you'll swear it was sung by a different person (who knows, it might be!).

Overall, "Raunchy Business" lives up to its title. However, with the exception of Lucille Bogan's alternate version of "Shave 'Em Dry," it won't offend most adults as long as its not a formal function.

This is a collection of off-color blues songs. The songs date from 1928 to 1939. Back in those days, they couldn't release a record that was explicitly about sex, so they used innuendoes. Like when Lil Johnson sang about "Sam, the Hot Dog Man", it could be interpreted to really be about a man with a large... you know what. Besides hot dogs, male genitalia is also represented here by keys, pencils, peanuts and bananas. There aren't as many songs here about female genitalia, but it does get represented by a stove and a lollypop. These songs are done with a wink and a smile. A particularly amusing one is the two part "Furniture Man Blues", where Lonnie Johnson comes to repossess Victoria Spivey's furniture. She doesn't have any money to pay him, but she thinks they can work something out (hint, hint). As I said, these songs rely on innuendoes, but there is one exception, that being the alternate take of "Shave 'Em Dry". The woman in this case comes right out and brags about her sexual prowess, using the "F word" and other words you can't say on the radio. Obviously, that version of the song didn't make it onto a record at the time. This is a pretty amusing collection of dirty blues songs.

I had a cassette version of this years ago & lost it when I let someone borrow it. It is a hilarious collection of very old blues-type music. You can hear the age in the recordings. I think we tend to imagine people being very conservative back in the day, but the heavy innuendoes & undertones of these songs show that people were still human, even in the 30's!

My favorite is Lucille Bohan with her shave em dry. when I play this for my friends they cant close their mouths! Jaw dropping.... amazing. I love it! Ride Daddy Ride and Sugar in My Bowl are other great vintage sex songs to check out if you liked Raunchy Biz.

If you love tongue-in-cheek vaudville, you'll love these guys! Risque, raunchy, witty, and blushingly forward, you'll laugh all day. The vendor sent it out right away, and it was in perfect condition for a really good price.