Customer Reviews

To Russell My Brother, Whom I Slept With

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Back when albums were records and not CDS, the title track of "To Russell, My Brother, With Whom I Slept" took up the entire second side of the disc, which makes it the "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" of comedy routines from the 1960s-70s. With this routine Bill Cosby clearly reaches the pinnacle of his craft as a stand-up comic. The other four bits on the album pale into insignificance, mere appetizers in preparation for this comic epic. Cosby had often used his family as a source of comic inspiration, but the depth (and length) of this piece is astounding. Certainly in his recent filmed performances Cosby has created other long comic gems, but this one is the first, and so it is cherisehd with a special fondness.

I recall with feelings of joy doing this routine on late night bus trips in high school. Years later I shared it with my students and for years we could get a laugh out of suddenly wailing, "The man came in through the window, Dad!" Even if you have not heard Cosby's other routines about growing up you can enjoy this timeless piece. If you own only one of these reissued albums of Cosby, this is the one.

Do you understand what I am saying? Or do you want me to get . . . THE BELT?

this cd predates the era of computer generated effects and high-tech comedic wizardry. Just a guy, a stool, a microphone, and a couple of spot lights. The title track of the cd is one of the funniest things i've ever heard. With his creative microphone sound effects and his unique take on his house and family, cosby sets the stage for one of the greatest bits of stand up comedy i've ever heard.

This is one of Bill Cosby's best albums. The first side of the album is good, but the real highlight is side two. This 27 minute routine is Bill's "magnum opus". He hilariously describes a night from his childhood, sharing a bed with his brother. Although this is Bill's funniest comedy routine, it isn't included on any of his "best of" albums, simply because it's so darn long. All the more reason to buy this CD. Highly recommended.

Bill's bit with his brother touches a familiar chord in anyone with a brother. Everyone will find something to relate to in this story. Bill is the master tale weaver and no one before or since has gotten close to this genius

The most funniest album next to bill:himself, and wonderfullness.
The way he takes his child hood and describes it for our comedy needs is hilarious!It's a must have for any cosby fan!Also recomend Bill cosby himself!

Flat out hilarious! There's something for everybody in Cosby's work. However, brothers especially, will identify with the title track. Also listen to his other older albums (I have not heard his albums produced since the mid 70's). They are all equally good.

Recorded at the Chicago Public Auditorium, January 1968, this disc gives us two facets of Bill Cosby: One, the observational comic, and two, the gifted story teller. And I have to say, truthfully, this may have gotten only four stars from me if it didn't change gears by the last track.

The first bit has him telling of playing sports; a very quick reference to playing football, and a slightly longer bit about playing baseball and being beaned by a wild pitch. Everybody who has even played a pick-up game in the back yard can identify with this. He then goes on a little about the conflict between the mind and the body; how the mind will ignore the body in critical situations. It's short, but will make you laugh.

"The Losers" is about his two daughters (this was recorded before his son was born), and this is where the disc starts to pick up steam. Despite the harsh title of this track, he is a doting parent, just crazy in love with his daughters, and even if you aren't a parent (I'm not; I'm an uncle, but there are kids in this house), this bit does strike a chord if you even help with raising a little kid.

"The Apple," a funny telling of the Adam and Eve story, is slightly out of place here; the material which preceeds and follows it is rooted in modern life, but it still isn't bad. It's just a typical comedian's take on the difference between the sexes: women being manipulative and men being horn-dogs. It's a good bit, just a little out of place.

Track 5: Holy crap, is this funny. It's the half-hour title track, "To Russell...," about having to sleep in the same bed as his younger brother every night. Though it is Cosby, alone on a stage, there are three characters featured: Bill himself, his brother Russell, and their father. Early in this segment he talks of his mother, but the story itself focuses on the three males in the house. He voices all three, and it has to be, without a doubt, one of the funniest comedy bits of all time. This is not an exaggeration. I will write this on the assumption the reader hasn't heard this before, and if you haven't, you don't know what you're missing. As the story unfolds, young Bill is playing cruel mind games with Russell, and this escalates into a physical fight. I have heard this hundreds of times over the years, and I STILL laugh very loudly at this. As the night wears on, they are fighting over the covers and everything else, interrupted by the dramatic entrance of their father, and this visit from the parents' room is the first of several. And, apparently, this went on every night. It's a timeless bit, and it never gets old.

I don't care what your entertainment tastes are, no music library (this isn't music, I know; you know what I mean) is complete without this. Again, it's Cosby, possibly at his funniest.

Friends and family and the neighborhood would all gather around the record player when this record would play. You won't find anything funnier,unless it's Bill Engvall's "here's Your Sign."

We grew up with a handful of commedy albums in our house, mostly Bill Cosby albums. We wore them out, listening to them over and over again and laughing just as hard the hundredth time we heard them as we did the first time.

My all-time favorite was "Wonderfulness," but this was the next best album. His bit about sharing a bed with his brother, and getting into trouble for goofing off and fighting, instead of going to sleep is one of the funniest things I've ever heard. I could relate to this story, since I shared a room with one of my brothers all the while I was growing up, but even if you didn't have a similar experience you should enjoy it. Cosby is a great story teller and this is one of his best.

this man can make any kind of story funny and appealing for all.who can't relate this genius mind? he has been doing his thing for so long and very well.he is a class act and has words of wisdom.this is a great disc.