Customer Reviews

Why Is There Air

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This album is hilarious. You'll laugh till it hurts. This album has some of the funniest routines I have ever heard.
Like "Kindergarten" and how they never learn anything exept how to say goodbye to your parents without crying, And of course there's nothing better for a bunch of five year old children, than a glass of..Luke-warm, Curdly Milk (In Cosby's own words).
Or "Driving in "San Francisco".
And "Hofstra", one of my favorites, I'll never forget the way Cosby says, "And the pain.....Was..Tremendous.....And I dropped the ball.....and I said..OH.". That makes me laugh so hard evry time I hear it. Those and others are all on this album. Correction.. Those and other Wonderfull routines are on this HILARIOUS album. I recommend you get this. I order you to get this. SO, GET IT.

My brother and I used to listen to Bill Cosby records on our partents' Hi-Fi, and we laughed til we cried. When I talk with my own kids I often make references to "Brain Damage" or "The Chicken Heart" or "Lombard Street", and they don't know what I'm talking about...you know the weird look they give you, "whatever mom". So I bought the CDs of all of Cosby's early skits and now THEY'RE quoting "Noah" and singing their own go-cart songs. In a time when I hvae to check evey video game, CD and book for parental warning lables, these CDs present a wonderful opportunity for me to connect with my kids in a family friendly environment. The topics are as fresh and timely as they were in the 60's and you can count on Bill to keep it rated G. I recommend you purchase a couple or all of the CDs and have a good laugh with a generation that doesn't even know what a record is. Have fun!

in an era where "comedy" seems to be the ethnic joke of the year, bill cosby manages to still rise above the blind hatred that seems to permeate our society. his comedy is the perfect remedy for the rage that runs rampant today. i listened to his comedy as a child, but somehow, my cassettes have been misplaced. why not stock up on cds?!?!? i miss it terribly, and i want my children to understand what true comedy really is. humor shouldn't be derived from belittling a culture or race . . . yet that's what most of today's comedy has become. enjoy bill's humor--buy a cd of his today!!!!!!

This CD has one of my all time favorite routines on it. The $75 car. The whole description of him driving on ice and spinning out is a riot. The Kindergarden stories about "snack time" and wishing for a baby ruth bar, and getting a dry old narly gag in your throat gram cracker. Wanting a drink and getting luke warm curddly milk left kept by the radiator. What a riot. My kids and I laughed and laughed and played it again. Great stores about life and growing up.

Bill Cosby's third attempt, WHY IS THERE AIR?, is a true comedy gem. Jerry Seinfeld attributes his desire to go into comedy as largely stemming from listening to this album. Perhaps what I enjoy the most about this third attempt is that it is the first album in which we get to hear Bill develop his bits for several minutes. With more room to work (almost forty minutes on this album), Cosby chooses to develop only eight bits. (Compare that to his second album, "I STARTED OUT AS A CHILD," in which Cosby squeezes an amazing 15 tracks into thirty minutes). Given the expanded length of the tracks, we get to hear Cosby develop his routines and his storytelling style really begins to take shape. Cosby simply can't be enjoyed in one minute segments. The power of his later albums is his ability to build you up across several routines to the point where you are rolling in the aisles.

In Cosby's second album, "I STARTED OUT AS A CHILD," only the first few tracks explored Bill Cosby's childhood. The rest of the album was still dedicated to the kind of observational comedy that defined his first album BILL COSBY IS A VERY FUNNY FELLOW RIGHT?. In this third album, Cosby begins to fully explore the themes that would define the rest of his comedic life. Almost the entire album is dedicated to Cosby's humorous and universal stories. Where we do find observational comedy, it is always placed in the context of Bill's life.

"Kindergarten" is an oft-forgotten piece about, well, you guessed it: Kindergarten. I recently listened to it and was instantly reminded of several episodes of the THE COSBY SHOW, since much of the material was used in Rudy's school experiences. My favorite line is when Cosby remarks on how difficult it was to go to school the first day, but by the second day he was totally cool: "Goodbye, Mother. Take care of yourself, won't you dear? I should be home...oh...12:30...quarter to one...somewhere around there. I might be late...I may have a little milk with the boys, you know what I mean? Tell Dad I'll see him around dinnertime."

"Shop" is a classic routine found on a few other collections in which Cosby reflects on his horrible performance in shop class, a practical joke, and a shop teacher who likes to get personal with personal insults. "Baby" is a hilarious piece about having children and the different perspectives men and women have on the subject of being pregnant. "Driving in San Francisco" is another classic routine in which Cosby pokes fun at the ridiculous hills in San Francisco.

"Hofstra" is a very interesting piece in virtue of the fact that it appeared, in a less developed version, on Cosby's second album. That track, titled "TV Football," is good, but lacks the development and polish that "Hofstra" shows. By listening to both and comparing, you can tell how much Cosby has worked the bit (in live performances) and developed it into an eight minute routine. It is fantastic and an interesting window into Cosby's comedic development.

In sum, Cosby is in complete control in WHY IS THERE AIR?. This album is a comedy classic and, together with REVENGE and WONDERFULNESS, is perhaps Cosby's best work. I highly recommend it for all ages.

"Why is There Air," ranks alongside classics like "Wonderfulness" and "Revenge" among Bill Cosby's best standup comedy albums. Cosby has been around so long that one tends to forget how difficult it was for a man of his race to break into mainstream show business in the 1960s. Cosby's success was due to his undeniable talent, but also because he managed to strike universal themes with his stories, particularly those about childhood. He kicks off "Air" with the classic "Kindergarden" that almost anyone who has lived through it can relate to. He then goes through a litany of other common themes, including school hazards ("Shop"), early driving experiences ("$75 Car") and maddening minor pain ("Toothache"). The show ends with "Hofstra," in which Csoby tells the tale of a bad college football team (Temple, not Hofstra) that he played for. With it he neatly skewers jock culture in a hilarious and self-effacing manner.

Overall, "Why is There Air" is one of Bill Cosby's best standup comedy recordings.

This is an all-time classic. I can't write enough good things about this man's work. I have loved almost everything I have seen (and heard) this man do. This is some of his earlier stuff. I could listen to it all day!

Bill Cosby talks about everyday stuff and brings out the humor in it. What most people see as the most mundane things, Bill can talk about and have you rolling on the floor, convulsed in laughter. Like most of Bill's stuff, (with a few exceptions), it is also very clean--ESPECIALLY by today's miserably low standards.

In this volume, Bill takes on everything from kindergarten to junior high shop class and college-level dating and philosophy. Highly recommendable!

Some comedy greats make quite topical laugh fests. They may be brilliant satire but they can't really be listened to over FORTY YEARS after they were released. Not so with this album.

Following up Billy Cosby Is A Very Funny Fellow Right (1963) and I Started Out As A Child (1964) this 1965 album encompasses timeless and vanilla clean sketches about kindergarten, woodshop class, toothaches and football etc... not really a darn thing that's outlandish or otherworldly or hysterical, but the belly laughs Cosby is able to create from his observations of everyday life and the behaviour and thought patterns of ordinary people particularly during their formative years are truly inspirational.

Sure some of this stuff may sound fairly twee and a bit nerdy now but there is always a place for this kind of child like humour full of innocence and wonder. And for the prices you can score these Warner Archive discs you might as well buy the whole series and be done with it.

Bill's 3rd album is full of hilarious stories. The Toothache and Hofstra ("You better not touch certain areas of your body on the football field") are classic Cos. You'll be surprised what Cos uses to cure his toothache. It's all good clean fun.

This was one of the first recordings of Cosby I listened to, and it never failed to floor me with laughter.

The tracks about the 75$ car and hofstra are the funniest tracks on the record, as Cosby paints a brilliant picture of the story with his words and sound effects, and he does with all the tracks.

Why is there air? so you can catch your breath from the laughter...