Customer Reviews

Reality...What A Concept

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Not since the likes of Johnathan Winters & Red Skelton had I seen someone so spontaneous, fresh, & energetic. I'd first caught Mr.Williams on "Happy Days", and thought, "This guy should have his own show." Then the "Mork & Mindy" sitcom came about and I thought, is he really this spontaneous? Could he really be this "non-stop" live and in person? I, for one, could never get enough of his imaginative and outrageous comedy and that still holds true today. Then one day, while in a record store, I came across what I believe is his first comedy album, "Reality...What A Concept", and I completely forgot what I originally came into the store purchase. I just had to have it. From beginning to end, I couldn't stop laughing. I laughed so hard, I began to get pains in my stomach. I had to replay it several times because I'd be laughing so hard, I'd miss whatever came after the last thing I was laughing at. One of my favorite skits on this album is "Kindergarten For The Stars". There are many one liners that blindside you and there are a few forays into skits that, although they make you laugh, also make you stop and look at society and the human condition as most good comedians do, just not with the flair and style of Robin Williams. Since that first album, I've made it a point to see him in whatever he was appearing in, whether it is a TV movie, sitcom, drama, talkshow, or big screen movie, or cable TV special. Robin Williams is truly a talented and multifaceted entertainer and I thank Amazon.com for making so much of his recorded material available. I highly recommend "Reality...What A Concept" to anyone who considers themselves a Robin Williams fan as well as anyone wanting to check out Mr. Williams in the early stages of his genius. If you are a first-time listener to Mr. Williams, you'd better wear a "belly-brace" and keep your finger near the rewind button!

If you're a fan of Robin Williams's stand-up act, you already know what you're getting into when you pick up this CD: about 45-50 minutes of Williams on stage free associating, and coming up with some of the most hilarious observations you've ever heard. This album is, if I remember correctly, a reissue of his first comedy album, so the material dates back to 1979, when Williams had just come to public prominence as "Mork from Ork" in "Mork and Mindy". Williams's comedy has developed quite a bit since then; it's interesting to see in this release how things were in the beginning.

Just bought the CD to replace the LP of it. Wonderfully funny, inventive robin williams, one of the best things he's done, sound quality on this cd version was great! Only a night at the met is better of Robin Williams stand-up.
Robin Williams is the best comedic genius performing, in my humble opinion, and this album, touching on so many different things, making you laugh and cry, shows why.

We didn't have comedy videos back then,(there wasn't the whole rock star kind of persona that comedians have now), but I remember laughing when Robin was doing the Three Mile Island Meltdown as Hamlet. The trumpets sounded and someone in the crowd yelled "I can't see you!" and Robin replied something to the effect, "That's because I'm not on stage yet!" It sounds silly but I from that start I didn't get a chance to stop laughing until the album was over (and then some). His mind took us on a journey as only Robin Williams can. There are phrases from this show that still and come up in conversations with some of my oldest and closest friends. Please someone re-release this so that another generation can enjoy the mind of Robin Willims!

This brought back so many memories! Glad I could find it at an affordable price.

There's just so much to recommend this disc I cannot even begin to start. I first heard this when it came out when my cousin played it for me. We listened to it (LP) over and over again. While the audio recording does show its age a bit, anyone who loves Robin Williams in his raw, uncensored, uninhibited form, will love this. You will see how he became who he is and how his comedy evolved. A+

Back in 1979, when I was 14 i bought this album, as Mr. WIlliams was riding high on fame, fortune... and later I found out, cocaine... as he released this album. The material presented herein is from an HBO special and a show in California (not sure when or where). A vast amount of the material relies on the funny voices and imitations Mr. Williams is known for, as he is not a joke teller, but rather a performance artist. The album's initial sales figures that yielded gold status is a testament of Robin WIlliams' fame as "Mork" on the television show "Mork and Mindy". At one point, the audience chants "Mork, Mork Mork!" in an attempt to get him to perform as "Mork" onstage, which he deflects very intelligently. Unfortunately, with the exception of a couple of moments in the album, the material is not that good. In fact, it's third rate material, and any performer today (or even at that time) would have been booed off the stage. Also, it's not so much that it sounds dated today (imitations of drug addled people, more drug references, some sexual humor, Rod Stewart, Star Wars, Mr. Roger's Neighborhood, Nadia Comaneci, William F Buckley, etc...), but that it is not really that funny. There is a lot of laughter from the audience, but I get the feeling - now and even back then - that these people in the audience were hardcore fans of Mr. Williams, and not a fair game audience. Consequently, even the lamest parts get loud guffaws from the aisles, and you get the feeling like the world got the joke but you - or you got it , but are not cool enough to really laugh at it hard like the people on the record. The first half of the album is really more of a show that should be seen rather than heard as a lot of the humor is lost in media translation ("dance of the sperm ballet, etc...). In all, it was not worth the $10- I paid 31 years ago, and certainly not worth the ridiculous prices quoted today. You can get the gist of how lame the album is by listening to the samples here. For better material around this time, you'd do better by listening to albums by Richard Pryor or Steve Martin.