Customer Reviews

Standup Comic

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a single CD compilation of three albums that Woody
Allen issued on Colpix and Capitol in the timeframe 1964-1968.
It takes half a side each from two of those albums, and
the entirety of the third album. The material itself is
brilliant, as is Allen's timing. He is a natural comedian, and
this stuff stands proudly on the same narrow shelf of timeless
standup as the best of standup greats like Richard Prior,
Bob Newhart, George Carlin and precious few others. To fans
of standup, to fans of Woody Allen the comedian, to fans
of Seinfeld (which drew inspiration from largely the same
well three decades later) and to fans of laughter, this
is deliciciously required listening.

So ends the 5 star review of the shows (partially) documented
on this CD. Now the two problems: 1) As noted, this CD presents
only parts of the original LPs. More significantly, the
individual comedy pieces have been edited here, presumably
to get the running time down below the maximum 80 minutes
a single CD can hold. The problem is that this changes
the pacing of some of these routines, and drops funny lines
from others. That's tragic; 2) This CD has been mastered
from mediocre sources and, in the case of the middle set,
from what is obviously vinyl. This middle set (tracks 6 to
13, from the 1965 show) is particularly
'tinny' sounding, with little midrange or bass, and clearly
no effort to even remove the pops and tics of the vinyl. THIS
PORTION SOUNDS WORSE THAN THE ORIGINAL LP!
Rhino is usually dependable, but they dropped the ball on this
one. The mastering of the other material is better, although
far from audiophile quality. The only saving grace is that
this sound quality isn't critical for a spoken word recording.
But it still stinks.

Overall, the material gets 5 stars. The editing and sound
quality get 1 star. 3 stars overall. I suggest you look for the
2CD package Capitol issued as an import in 1990. That contained
a similar distillation of the 3 original LPs but not
as poorly edited. It's now out of print,
but can sometimes be found in second hand shops.

If you are not inclined to do that, well, this package will
have to do. And it IS better than nothing.

This is excellent material. Woody Allen was a brilliant stand-up comedian before he became a brilliant film-maker.
This single CD, however, is badly edited (sometimes in the middle of a routine) to reduce what was originally a double LP set of 93 minutes down to single CD length.

Search out the EMI import double CD of the same. Amazon has it. I just got mine. It is complete, and funny as hell as well as sophisticated.

Even at really reasonable used prices, you'll be missing too much if you get this single disc.

This CD is a compilation of the 3 LP's Allen released in the 1960's. Having been a very succesful and highly paid television writer, Allen took to being a lowly-paid (at first) stand-up comic. Anyone who is familiar with Woody Allen's comedy movies, will instantly recognize his style of humor on this disc. Psychiatry, his disastrous relationships with women, his relatives, etc., are his favorite topics, and they are treated with the typical Allenesque point-of-view, which somehow manages to put you on the wrong foot every single time. Some of the jokes on this album later turned up in his movies. This CD actually doesn't include all the material that was available on the original LP's, but what it lacks in quantity, it more than makes up for in quality, and, like it or not, this is all we're ever going to get. Somehow I don't think he'll ever go back to standup. It's our loss.

I am 14 years old with dreams of someday becoming a Standup Comic. I have been collecting comedy albums for 2 years now, and by far, this is the funniest, quirkiest, most genious, and most inspiring album I have gotten my hands on yet. I bought this from Amazon.com a few days ago along with his book "Without Feathers" without ever seeing a single Woody Allen film. I only bought the book after hearing Jon Stewart's Amazon.com interview, where he mentioned that it was his favorite book and thought "Why not buy his album?"
His ideas are simple, but genious. And his stories are hilarious. Whether you are into Standup or not, this should be required listening. I went from only knowing who Woody Allen was, to being a Woody Allen fan in 76 minutes. Great, whether a fan or not, check it out!

Indeed, this is the great classic that the other reviews say. Yet I have a small, but significant complaint about this specific release. This CD is made up from several individual LPs (which I have heard countless times). To squeeze the stuff on a single disk, the Rhino team made small edits - incredibly cutting some important lines and side comments. This is outrageous - especially since this release will likely become the reference version for many people. Rhino often does a superior job remastering and restoring classic material - this is a low point. Rather than trim, why not add a second disk with outtakes or extra material?

For those in the dark, Woody Allen was once a brilliant stand up comedian. Playing to numerous sell-out crowds across America, this recodring highlights the "Best Of..." At times a little risque, at times fall-down funny, this CD is well worth owning. Even if you are not a fan, this album will make you laugh.

I've never been a huge fan of Allen's movies but this CD of his stand-up is very funny. He has perfect timing and a way with words that is above and beyond most comedians. "The Moose" is my favorite. No matter how many times I listen to it, I laugh out loud. "The Great Renaldo" and "Science Fiction Film" are also hilarious. Allen's style on stage is so easy and free-flowing. Some comics are over prepared and over rehearsed but Woody Allen sounds like he's just speaking extemporaneously and it all happens to be funny.

In between building a career as a writer, and before embarking on a career as a director that would make him a cinematic American legend, Woody Allen spent a few years doing standup comedy. This album is the only remaining "official" document of that time. In frank, it is just as hilarious as any Woody Allen film or book - that is, if you love Woody to begin with. Early on, Woody establishes himself as a New York Neurotic - the persona we could come to know in his films. He even goes as far to describe life at a Neurotic baseball summer camp ("Nail-biters vs. the Bed-wetters"). The liner notes show press clippings of his performances, and while most of these quotes aren't kind towards him, Woody sends his audience into fits of laughter.

Rykodisc has done an impressive job of remastering these previously bootlegged albums into one disc. If you listen closely, you can hear "record static" on portions of the album, but for the most part this is a remarkable re-mastering. My only disappointment are the liner notes by Jim Hughes, who speaks only of his love of this album rather than sharing with us information on Woody's tenure as a standup comic. However, he does properly credit Woody with inaugurating the "little life" ancedotes that the writers of "Seinfeld" spent years trying to emulate.

If you are a hard-core Woodman fanatic, you will hear a few jokes that later crept into his movies ("I was rejected for service by the Army. Interestingly enough, I was classified 4-P. In the event of war - I'm a hostage.") It's also easy to imagine how some of this material would have ended up in his movies. Some people may say that the material sounds dated at times. Actually, there are very few references to current events - what dates the record is the total lack of profanity (a staple in Woody's films as well, for the most part). I love the dirty words of Richard Pryor, Denis Leary and George Carlin as much as any other comedy fan, but I find the lack of hard language as a refreshing alternative to today's toliet-joke comedy culture. If you're a Woody fan and have been procrastinating this purchase out of fear that you'll be disappointed, don't worry. Woody's stories will have you dusting off this CD for an occasional spin for years to come. See for yourself.

How many people even know Woody did stand-up? This is priceless from beginning to end! I have a cassette copy that has been worn out. Thank god Rhino was finally able to release this! You will not be disappointed if you buy this CD!

I was just beginning my stand-up comedy career when I purchased this CD. Truth be told, it almost discouraged me from continuing. Why? Woody Allen uses words with such perfection and has so many "laugh lines" on just Track 1 that it's hard to imagine how he could have possibly written them all in succession. This CD covers three venues and three periods: 1968, 1965 and 1964. For me, the first three tracks taped in 1968 are the hook. As a joke writer myself, I have no idea how he could have come up with the premises. No spoilers here but listen to the first 3 tracks and tell me it's not the best stand-up you've heard. The 1965 middle area was moderately funny. I thought that the 1964 material was the freshest sounding of the three. (Quality-wise, the 1965 stuff was actually weaker than the 1964 performance.)The 1965 concert was a bad recording and contained too many over-the-top subjects: e.g. moose at a party. As you listen, take note of how many brilliant SENTENCES there are--never mind jokes. The punchline of the dog from the damaged pet shop is one of those lines that appear so obvious yet no one had ever uttered them, before or after Woody. Woody could have been a very wealthy man just doing stand-up. He decided to let us in to his brilliant world through pictures instead. No comedian today could possibly remember the sheer volume of jokes coupled with the delivery nuances as performed on this CD.