The Clown

Charles Mingus

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Original Release Date: February 13, 1957
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Atlantic / Wea
• ASIN: B000002JKH
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #300,002 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Japanese limited edition issue of the album classic in a deluxe, miniaturized LP sleeve replica of the original vinyl album artwork. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars He Was A Reeeeaaal Happy Guy, May 2, 2000

By A Customer

"Haitian Fight Song" is my personal sunrise anthem. If I can't quite get outta bed in the morn, I says,"Honey, puts on the galvanizer, doll." That's all it takes. But, if my little lady accidentally puts on the last track, "The Clown," I can't help but lay in bed and laugh. After all, he was a real happy guy. "Reincarnation Of A Lovebird" is ole' Charlie givin' it up to his old buddy, bop style; and "Blue Cee" is a sweet little balladic number. Definately a great Mingus album, not his best, but then again, which is? Not as intense as later period albums, and not so many hard bop influences, as in earlier albums, but pure Mingus. That is how he would have described it. He was a real happy guy. Me too.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Strong Mingus Jive, September 21, 2000

By	"wednightprayermeeting" (Bellview, CA) - See all my reviews

THis album is swingin'! The first track "Haitian Fight Song" (currently being popularized on a TV commercial, the commercial tune being recorded long after Mingus)is an original Mingus composition. Being an absolutely galvanistic tune, it should surely have you boppin' about. Intense. Masterful instrumentalism and arrangement.

The second track, "Blue Cee" is a hard bopping, slighly bluesy song. A nice mellow tune with a quaint bouncy rhythm.

"Reincarnation Of A Lovebird" is a more of a borderline avante guard piece at points, paying tribute to, and playing with little one liners from Charlie Parker classics like "Salt Peanuts."

The title track, "The Clown" is the clever story of a struggling street performer, improvisationally narrated by Jean Shepherd. Pretty entertaining, and some of the best jazz/poetry of it's time.

Strong Mingus album.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of Mingus' Best Albums of the Fifties, May 20, 2001

By	M. Scagnelli (Brandon, Florida) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The Clown is one of Charles Mingus' best albums of his career. Although he does have even better albums, The Clown remains an essential album of Charles Mingus. The album starts out with Hatian Fight Song. This is one of if no the best Mingus compostion. The blending of the instruments and the build up of intensity is done perfectly. This is followed by Blue Cee, which, although not as strong as Hatian Fight Song, keeps the level of greatness on the album. Following this is Reincarnation of A Love Bird. This is also an incredible song and one of Mingus' best. The last song is The Clown. Thi ssong features a long compostion by Mingus and a spoken story over it by Jean Shepard. This is a very different song. It isn't quite as good as the others on the album and once you listen to it once, you probably won't want to listen to it again. It doesn't really hurt the album though. Overall, The Clown is an incredible album and essential to fans of the incredible bass player.