5 comments about The Remains of Tom Lehrer.

1. Take a knee before the awesomeness that is Tom Lehrer! Don't let reviewers who tell you that the music becomes repetitive, almost Vivaldi; NO! Even if Tom Lehrer's work was the spoken word alone, it would be enough to give me just as severe cramps (from laughing!) as do his kinky melodious songs! As a current Music Major undergrad, I can appreciate many of the musical nuances of Lehrer's compositions. However, it is in the COMPLETE combination of words, music, and Lehrer's fantastic inflexions and sometimes extremely subtle humor that get the laughs!
   Still not convinced? These recordings were produced in the 60s... and are still - unadulterated - relevant today.
   Enjoy!



2. The Remains of Tom Lehrer constitutes almost the entire corpus of Mr. Lehrer's works, preserved in its original hilarious form and accompanied by a lovely book detailing the life and works of this little-known comedian. Lehrer fans will not be disappointed at the breadth or quality of this set and it's a steal at the price.



3. This collection really took me back to childhood, when my dad used to play them for me. Absolutely complete!!



4. Now who doesn't love Tom Lehrer? I had all of his Reprise label vinyl albums, and knew the words to every song therein, when I was in high school. Of course I got beaten up a lot.
   
   If you don't know who Tom Lehrer is, then you probably won't enjoy this record. Otherwise, unless you have pristine vinyl, and my records have been overplayed, this is a very good compendium.



5. I listened to Tom Lehrer as a kid in the 60's, and memorized most of the songs, but to hear it again is very fun. Also, the songs still resonate - even though the names and issues have changed, the humor is still quite fresh - my wife, who's never heard this stuff, laughs out loud through the whole collection.

5 comments about The Little David Years: 1971-1977.

1. AWESOME!!!
   
   I grew up listening to George, and I have (or had) all of his albums...remember what albums are? lol....
   
   After George passed this year, and after having seen him in April at the Orleans in Vegas, I needed to get all of his "stuff" on CD.
   
   This collection contains a small CD sized replica of each album, including the liner notes and all images as the original album had - VERY COOL!
   
   Also included is a bonus CD with material (mostly) that I had not heard before. It is called the Coney Island Recording.
   
   Also, you get a small but informative biography booklet of George's life.
   
   If you are a fan, or just want to know about the man and his art, you NEED this collection.
   
   I love it.
   
   RIP GC.
   
   mqqn



2. This collection comprises all of Mr. Carlin's work, from the Little David label, but as stated in the title to this review, it misses one vital piece (which, since it wasn't issued on any of the albums, is probably why): Morningside Heights, which was a funny routine he did on the Tonight Show, with Johnny Carson. If you can find a copy of the double lp, on ebay, that's where you'd find it. Too bad they couldn't get permission to include it on a future reissue of this work.



3. This box set was my first real exposure to Carlin and it made me a life-long fan.
   
   These early albums showcase the lighter, happier Carlin who spent time exploring the strange things we humans do, from bodily functions, to accents, to the ridiculous names we give things... He even manages to successfully make light of heavy topics like Viet Nam and losing the faith with his child-like curiosity and amazing insight. The sixth album, "On the Road" shows the beginnings of the edginess that would define his later work.
   
   Since the product page only shows disc numbers and track titles, I thought I'd post a list of the albums that each disc corresponds to:
   (Each title is linked to the individual album for sale on Amazon)
   
   Disc 1: FM & AM (1972)
   Disc 2: Class Clown (1972)
   Disc 3: Occupation: Foole (1973)
   Disc 4: Toledo Window Box (1974)
   Disc 5: An Evening With Wally Londo Featuring Bill Slaszo (1975)
   Disc 6: On the Road (1976)



4. I love great comedy in all forms -from Robin Williams,Bill Maher, Kevin Smith films, Chris Rock & the cast of Everyone Hates Chris, Bob Newhart, The old classic Dick van Dyke show to South Park, Bill Cosby, ALF, Mel Brooks, Buster Keaton, Don Rickles, and Jerry Lewis. So actor and comedian George Carlin has a special place in my heart. His wit and humor is messaged to the audience, most of his comedy bites are still timeless years and years later.
   
   The Little David Years (1971-1977) is the first six classic carlin albums with an extra CD of Carlin stuff from that time not on album or CD. These CD albums including such routines as" The seven words you cant say on television" and its sequel "Filthy Words", Ed Sullivan, Football/Baseball, Occupation Foole, and " Death and Dying".
   
   Carlin is witty and thought provoking. He will make you laugh and think-sometime at the same time. These comic routines are 35 years old and still can pack a punch and a laugh
   
   Worth it for any person who enjoys great comedy
   
   Bennet Pomerantz AUDIOWORLD



5. George Carlin is the grand old man of modern Comedy. You see David Lettermen, Jay Leno, Jon Stewart, and Conan O'Brien, fall all over themselves to acknowledge this whenever he deems them worthy enough to appear on their shows.

   George Carlin, along with Robert Kline, Monty Python, Lenny Bruce, Richard Pryor, and Bill Cosby forms one of the grand pillars of modern comedy. He was the first person ever to host Saturday Night Live and was one of Carson's last guests on the old Tonight Show.

   The comedy albums in this collection make up, along with his early work on HBO, the cornerstone of his work. "FM& AM", "Class Clown", "Occupation: Foole", "Toledo Window Box", "On the Road", "An Evening with Wally Lando featuring Bill Slaszo". That great bit Carlin did on pretty much anything that you remember being great when you first heard it, it most likely on these albums someplace.

   Carlin's most famous bit, of course, is about the seven dirty words that can never be said on television. This has, after the whole Janet Jackson/Super bowl episode, again become very relevant to modern society. If you thought the USA was now a mature nation that could put up with a little obscenity, then you were very mistaken. Carlin was trying to point out stupidity in society 30+ years ago, and it is still very much stupid today. It appears that people never really do learn new tricks.

   People should listen to these album's because it might, admittedly a long shot, but you never know, it might help them shack off the shackles of weirdness that modern society has forced upon them and make them see the brew-ha-ha surrounding things like seven dirty words for the utter foolishness it is. People should not let mere-words have the power to offend them to the point of stupidity. Of course, our President and other leaders in Washington would rather have people screaming about dirty words and wardrobe malfunctions at the Super Bowl, because it keeps them from noticing what they are doing to the people and planet.

   People should listen to Carlin. He is one of the great modern philosophers, more knowledgeable than our leaders and more intelligent than most. Of course, most people just laugh and never really think about it. Do more than most, do both!

5 comments about Richard Pryor: ...And It's Deep Too! The Complete Warner Bros. Recordings (1968-1992).

1. I've always been a fan of Pryor and his movies, catching any of his stand-up performances whenever they came on TV. But I've never owned any of his albums/CDs. Glad I saw this set so I could get them all.
   
   Taking us from the beginning to the end, this collection has it all from the Warner Brother archives. You get to hear the genius of Richard Pryor as he talks about growing up in the ghetto, the wino's, Mudbone, and his frequent use of the word nigger. Then we hear Pryor's relationships with his wife, dealings with drugs, the police, and jail, going to Africa, and (sadly) getting multiple sclerosis. Pryor was one of those comedians who took us along with them as they experienced life, pointing out things they felt were odd to make us laugh. Pryor did that with such grace and style that no one has been able to do since. He learned from the best (Redd Foxx) and was able to pass that along to others whose lives he's influenced (Eddie Murphy, Chris Rock).
   
   Since I haven't had any comedy albums from back in the day, I thought these recordings were shorted, meaning that the pauses between tracks were a way for the label to edit out stuff. But from what I've learned that's how all albums were made, since all the albums were records, not tapes or CDs. That was my only gripe with these.
   
   The set comes with a great booklet filled with photos and various texts, detailing Pryor's life and legacy in the entertainment industry. And probably coolest of all is that each CD is sleeved with the original cover art from the album. So glad they didn't decide to alter that at all.
   
   Such a great gift for anyone who's a fan of comedy. Never regretted getting this at all. And for the price, it's a pretty nice deal!



2. This is the singular most essential comedy collection of material ever. An absolute genious, arguably the best ever.
   I also recomend Godfrey 'Godspeed' for the newer generation of comics carrying on the tradition



3. If you appreciate comedy, you have to get this set. I'd already heard a lot of this stuff before I bought the cd's and I still laughed hard. Richard Pryor is one of the best comedians of all time and if you had to own a comedy set, this is the one to own.



4. Richard Pryor was a genius who could weave the intricate nature of the extant social issues with familiar personal events that we all could relate, appreciate and find the amazing humor. He leverage the story telling skills into an incredible depiction of America and our world.
   
   He had us look in the mirror and laugh at ourselves and this collection has it all!
   
   Enjoy!



5. Pryorites and fans of comedy, folklore, storytelling, whatever you want to call it, simply put, this CD set is worth it.
   
   Aside from the material on EVOLUTION/REVOLUTION (containing much of the material recorded for Laff records and elsewhere), this is the complete above-ground recordings of Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor, and then some!
   
   From the first Pryor Lp in 1968, we get the embyonic genius of PRISON PLAY (aka Black Ben The Blacksmith), and early classic on the theme of interracial sex during slavery in a play at a prison overseen by a racist warden-with Pryor voicing all the characters! TV PANEL SHOW is along similar lines, as our hero does all the voices of the said subject.
   SUPERN(egro) aside, the other routines here are not so hot, but you get a good glimpse of what was to come.
   
   On to THAT N(egro)'s CRAZY where our man does polished versions of the routines he had been doing for the past few years in LIVE & SMOKIN, WATTSTAX, and CRAPS AFTER HOURS regarding sex, the police, racism, etc. This is where he became a "ghetto superstar" on the verge of exploding into mainstream America.
   
   IS IT SOMETHING I SAID (1975) is his best unified work (to me). Not only do we get the classic OUR TEXT FOR TODAY (his classic take on the ministry), we also get chapter 1 of the MUDBONE saga, Pryor's ingenius take on the old folklore-spouting tale-spinning wise black men once found on every street corner in America.
   
   BICENTENNIAL N(egro) is largely forgotten today, but it shouldn't be. This is Pryor's magnum opus on being Black in America during the nation's 200th birthday. Like Brian Wilson's SMILE and Marvin Gaye's WHAT'S GOING ON, it should be heard in its entirety to be effective.
   
   On to the live albums LIVE IN CONCERT, LIVE ON THE SUNSET STRIP, and HERE AND NOW. The first is considered a classic. Has its moments, but he's done things that I've liked better. In the second, he recounces the N-word which gets a standing-o from me and delivers part 2 of the MUDBONE saga. The latter is a lesser work, but he puts some racist hecklers in check, gets into a really cool improvised conversation with a fiddler crab that a fan puts onstage.
   
   The previously unreleased bits are largely a treasure-BLACK MESSIAH and HISTORY LESSON are masterpieces that mix the profane and profound, with verbal nuclear bombs and breathtaking social observations that make you laugh and gasp at the same time. PATTY HEARST is a skewered but interesting take on the famous kidnapping (one of the few occasional bits that it would help to be a history buff or a 70s person to dig), but MS is a very sad piece, probably one of his last recordings, as he ruminates on the effects this disease has on him. It's not likely that you'll want to hear that one more than once.
   
   Overall, this is an amazing collection well worth the price that works in both ways as laugh material you can bring your buddies over for beer and pizza for (as I did with a number of these albums during my college years)and something you can really meditate and think over. This set is the ultimate legacy that Richard Pryor left to the world. RIP.

5 comments about Let the Buyer Beware.

1. Hands down one of the best we'll ever see. When Dick Gregory puts you in a class with Mark Twain and Richard Pryor in terms of funniest ever, that says something. I found a copy used at a Newbury Comics, and for half off, and after listening, I would easily pay the 70$ for this collection.



2. Highly recommended listening for any red-blooded patriotic citizen and all compassionate members [or aspirants] of the human family.
   
   And for all crewmembers of spaceship earth [Bucky Fuller]



3. This is a well put together package. I definitely don't recommend downloading this as it comes with an awesome oversized book containing photos of personal clippings, letters, and more information about Lenny Bruce. This is the most Lenny I've listened to at one time, and after listening to this and reading the book, I feel much more respect for Lenny and love him. There is some great comedy on here, but some of the selections were boring and had poor sound quality. I'd rather look into his live stuff and The Lenny Bruce Originals 1 + 2 for a more cohesive sound quality. If you want to learn about Lenny's personality and showmanship, you can't go wrong with this set -- this is an excellent production.



4. This is a great collection of some classic Bruce bits and a lot of lesser known and obscure recordings. If you're a Bruce fan and know his schtick--and you're fairly well-versed in Yiddish--pick up this set. If you're new to Bruce, don't start here. The sound quality varies wildly, Bruce's references are even more arcane than usual--well, this is for aficionados. Newcomers should pick up Bruce's classic (and cleanly produced) Fantasy albums, notably: The Sick Humor of Lenny Bruce, Togetherness, and American. Once you've absorbed these discs (with a copy of "Joys of Yiddish" nearby), then move to the Carnegie Hall Concert, and then...to this multidisc set.



5. Remember the old story about the old actor famous for his death scenes?
   "Dying," he explained to a younger acolyte, "is easy. It's comedy that's hard."
   Comedy may be hard, but anyone can do it. But none ever did it as well as Lenny Bruce.
   The funny man died of an overdose, at age 41, nearly 39 years go, but his legacy lives on. It's a life and legacy of laughter, and it's ripe for rediscovery.
   Now, a generation who never have heard of Bruce, for those who only know him from Bob Fosse's smoky (but well intentioned) bio-flick, for those who glance at an image of Bruce and think "Castro," can grasp one of the most inventive and prismatic talents of the last century in a set of rare recordings.
   "Lenny Bruce: Let the Buyer Beware" is a six-CD compendium of Bruce's best material, lovingly compiled by producer Hal Willner and Bruce's daughter
   Kitty. More than half has never been heard before, and a great many variants and alternate riffs of his most well-known material has been anthologized here. His debut on Arthur
   Godfrey's show is here, as well as the classic routines about Father Flotsky (a parody of Warner Brothers prison flicks), the Palladium (about an American comic dying on an
   English stage), as well as (real) taped phone calls to his lawyers.
   Horribly illustrated is his descent into near madness, not through drugs or degenerate lifestyle, but through the systematic persecution by the U.S. government. In
   America during the '50s and '60s, you could make jokes about anything, except, maybe, Jesus Christ, Milton Berle and Eleanor Roosevelt. Sacrosanct bastions were not to be
   made fun of, and especially not by an outsider, someone different, someone who was not a Christian. Bruce was a Jewish comic, steeped in the tradition, using the attitude and the
   language as a position to observe the mores and folkways of mid-century American life.
   It's not a stretch to see his persecution by the legal system of our country as another
   blatant example of anti-Semitism, a suppression of truth and, worst of all, an illustration of
   the stupidity and lack of humor inherent in a repressive government.
   Bruce's take on sexuality was summed up in his observation that if the human body
   was dirty, the fault lay with the manufacturer. He saw religion as a greedy profession, a
   logical extension of an industrial complex to control reason and money. Unfortunately,
   and fatally, Bruce believed in our government and legal system.
   Like a witty Thomas Paine, Bruce was a true patriot when it came to freedom of
   expression. Without Bruce there would be no Bill Maher, no South Park, no Jon Stewart,
   and considerably less freedoms in general --- not only in speech, but also in equality
   between races and genders. He was one of the first to use humor to attack America's
   prejudice against African Americans, gays and all of the non-religious, non-republican
   disenfranchised people in America.
   Yet one man's patriot is another man's traitor. Bruce was vilified by the press and
   by main stream contemporaries as sick, twisted and dirty.
   But it's not only Bruce's material, certainly genius and of an equal to Jonathan
   Swift or Mark Twain, but his performance style and presentational choices that this new
   collection celebrates. He may not have been the first monologist who didn't use the "A
   priest and a rabbi walk into a bar ..." joke catalogs, and certainly he had extended parables
   and parodies that could be termed as "jokes." Yet his basic presentation was something
   very new and different.
   Rather than a standard set with the identical jokes, pauses and ad-libs for each
   show, Bruce had an uncanny ability to listen ---- not only to his audience (as all performers
   must), but he had the uncanny knack of being able to listen to himself. Like a brilliant jazz
   musician, he could circle around a motif or a joke, listening to the sound and sense,
   backing off, teasing the story, until the timing was exactly right to blast into the theme or
   punchline.
   In the commemorative hardcover book that accompanies Let the Buyer Beware,
   there are a number of essays and appreciations of Bruce, but none so telling as a single
   page by his daughter. "His truths were based on our most coveted lies," she writes. "He
   left no room for rationalized bigotry or self-deception. He seduced his audience with a
   rhythmic and dynamic use of his own language, acting as the slow pull of a Band-Aid off
   denial."
   Look around at our nation of addicts, a nation where prescription drugs have their
   own snazzy TV commercials, when cell phones are required means of communication,
   when the religious right still controls the White House.
   Where is Lenny when we really need him?

5 comments about The Jack Kerouac Collection.

1. Bought this set for my husband. To see his face light up was priceless. He loves it!!



2. I can't express enough how spell binding this experience was for me. I am a poet and listening to this was pure ecstasy. He speaks the language of the street with the rhythm of nature. He had his hands on the pulse of America and his ears were open to the invisible words of the ancients. Its not enough to explain it. You have to listen to it yourself. It is purely timeless and not a relic at all. It is still relevant for these times. You will waft on magic winds going deep into the heart of the cities and looking right into the souls of the people you meet along the way.
   That being said this set is beautifully packaged. At first when it came in the mail I thought it was a vinyl and the seller had made a mistake. It was just a big package and as big as a vinyl. Inside there is a big book that gives lots of interesting information on Jack and the recordings inside. All recorded in 1959, they were controversial for the time. As you will hear there is sex and drug references in the poetry. "Poetry for the Beat Generation" has Jack spitting out his poetry like words of a God and Steve Allen adding piano to the background. The piano is a beautiful touch and adds a magical and melodic ripple to the poetry. Yes it is that Steve Allen who had his own TV show. The president of Dot records the label it was originally on, deemed it obscene and wanted only family oriented stuff. Rob Thiele one of the producers of the album got pissed and quit Dot because of that. Steve and Rob got the masters back and started their own company Hanover/signature and released it independently. Next they did "Blues and Haikus" which is different for the fact that Jack has sax backing his words this time. Al Cohn and Zoot Sims performing the honors, providing a jazzy backdrop to Jack's rapid fire Haikus and poems. "On the Beat Generation" is just Jack and his voice, this proves he doesn't need instruments for his poetry to have power. His voice is a instrument in it's self and it has a calming rhythm all its own. It has in it the working man's dreams, a god's conversation and a mind's wanderings. This was great and this set does perfect justice to the man and to the legend who inspired so many.



3. A friend gave me this great CD collection and photo book for Christmas 2000 a month after we met. I listened to it sparingly then, but lately when I have trouble sleeping, I put one of its three great CDs on to soothe me to sleep and encounter my own personal Book of Dreams. There is Kerouac with Steve Allen riffing "October in the Railroad Earth" from "Lonesome Traveler", scatting Charlie Parker and Dave Brubeck, and most spectacular of all, a bonus track with Jack reading from "On the Road" and "Visions of Cody." I never have heard anything quite as haunting and poignant as Jack reading the final passage from "On The Road" ... "Dean Moriarty the father we never found," followed by applause. Having read almost all of Kerouac in the ten years of my foolish youth beginning at age 15, I grew disenchanted with him as the years dragged on. These audios are a new inspiration to us burn-outs; it will be quite a while before I listen to that final passage again, delivered with sober humbleness, and thought for new appraisal of the blazing artistry behind the man. The second CD is the Verve recording of "The Beat Generation" with finely honed rapid=fire haikus and other bebop poetry as well as "Visions of Neal" and bonus track "Is There A Beat Generation" at Brandeis in November 1959. The third CD has haikus, and very notably some of the very late posthumously released gargantuan "Some of (the) Dharma" and also "Conclusion of the Railroad Earth". There subsequently have been several other Kerouac CDs worth searching out; all prove his true genius and that he was not just another drunken bum. Hearing his voice, sober, clear, racing, and spooky, gives a whole new light to his written art, indelibly making clear that he was in fact a great true scat and jazz artist. Nobody should miss this one. It raised my opinion of him as an editor-sanitized pretender to one of the most important voices and writers of American literature ever.



4. Jack Kerouac is not my favorite "Beat" writer...that goes to Lawrence Ferlinghetti...but Jack has a style that many have tried and have successfully failed to imitate. He's an original. He's one-of-a-kind. He's totally his own. I mean, we all are, but his originality goes deeper than his footprints...his is right at the core and whenever you come from the core of beingness, you stamp everything you touch with a kind of sacred beauty.
   
   Mind you, it does not make everything flawless. But that's the beauty of life, there is perfection in imperfection. Perfection is not stingy. It is not greedy. Perfection flows through everything even though it may be channeled through some pretty imperfect channels.
   
   "Jack Kerouac. Bum saint. Priest of the down 'n out. Reluctant messiah of the spoken/broken word that cries everytime someone crucifies it with form and arrangement and rules...what fools who do this for they miss the elegance, the beauty, the dance that comes from a mind fixed on trance being...seeing only ironic catholic statues weeping at the lost and the sleeping...."
   
   There's my tribute to a man that I deeply cherish.
   
   This collection is quite good. It really paints a great picture of the artist and gives you almost a voyeuristic view of a guy who really didn't want to be the "leader" of the "Beat Generation".
   
   He's gone now and the literary world has somehow never been quite the same. Somehow writers nowadays think that all their writing has to be of a high gloss sheen...that it has to be perfect...that it has to be over-edited...get raw...seek awe...and you will glorify the "I" of the soul.



5. From the first sound of the piano on "October in the Railroad Earth", you will know then that your money was well spent on this set. The book inside with all of the pictures and quotes from fellow beats such as Allen Ginsberg, William Burroughs and many others along with 3 discs of Jack reading his poetry and prose, what could be better?
   The first disc is Jack reading accompanied by Steve Allen on piano. His best pieces are found here, such as "October", "Charlie Parker", "I had a slouch hat too one time", and the famous reading of "On the Road" from The Steve Allen Show.
   The second disc is when Jack is in the studio with Zoot Sims and Al Cohn, two brilliant sax players, and it has a loose feel with the restarts and the talking in the background before a take. The jewel on here is the readings from the then unpublished Book of Blues.
   The last disc is simply Jack reading with no music, but the rhythm of his speech is easily heard and it is a joy to listen to.
   this is the essential set for fans of Kerouac or anyone interested in the beat era. A must buy!

5 comments about Stan Freberg Presents The United States Of America, Vol. 1, The Early Years, And Vol. 2, The Middle Years.

1. I was so pleased recently to see that Amazon.com had "Stan Freburg Presents the United States of America Vol. 1, The Early Years, And Vol 2 The Middle Years, both on CD! ----- I can finally retire the cassette tapes of the show that I've enjoyed listening to over the years and enjoy them on CD. :) ----- Stan Freburg is a comic genius and this CD collection should be part of your Freburg CD library. ----- :D Rusty



2. Classic Freberg satire, this on the history of the country, some segments wonderfully funny, others evoking yawns. If you remember him from the 1950s and '60s and enjoy his humor, you'll love this. Otherwise...



3. This generation should hear Stan Freberg!! He is absolutely one of the most entertaining and subtle comics who ever lived and this is his most famous work.
   
   Stan and his contempory (and classic) comic, Tom Leher, both subscribe to the mantra/ philosophy of DELAYED ADOLESENCE. A film that genuflects to this same attitude is 1000 Clown, staring Jason Robards.



4. The CD was in very good quality and exactly what I had ordered. It came in a timely manner as well. I bought this for my father because he had the album for years but it became scratched. He asked for the CD for Christmas. However, after comparing the album to the CD there are some omissions that we noticed that disappointed him because they were lines that he enjoyed. Otherwise, everything is fine.



5. Stan Freberg's histories are hilarious. Great humor and sarcasm. Volume 2 is as funny as volume 1 and it's 25+ years after. Great entertainment.

5 comments about Great Speeches of the 20th Century.

1. It was what I needed for my high school public speaking class. The students are able to listen to great speeches. This way they had a reference to what makes an excellent speech.



2. I have to admit I bought this CD set mainly for Winston Churchills "Darkest Hour" speech,then thought "Hey I could get all sorts of great speeches at once. All the speeches are pretty impressive and some of them are a little creepy to hear. I mean to "HEAR" a President talk about the "Indians" when they were still living on the plains and in the mountains of America is just strange.
   Some of the speeches are complete, however Churchills "Darkest Hour" was not one of them. Over all it was a great collection, but I wish that some of the speeches had not been trunkated. You might look for a CD that more accurately targets what you're looking for than trying to get a one stop shop with this set.



3. Particularly in this day of manufactured charisma on television, great public speaking has become a lost art--look at what we are using for President right now! This set will serve as a reminder of what we used to enjoy, particularly on the political scene. Certainly, a Franklin Roosevelt or a John Kennedy only comes once in a great moon and this is an opportunity to remember what we have had, and lost. I have had this set for several years and my only regret is that it isn't longer; I suppose for practicality's sake the entire texts of the speeches couldn't be included. Sound quality is remarkable, particularly for the old pre-electric recordings. It will probably be a surprise to many to actually hear the pre-FDR Presidents speak; again, they were not homogenized in the manner popular now.
   
   This is a great 'starter' set for those who enjoy the spoken word for its own sake.



4. This is a must for any US History teacher. It's one thing to read a landmark speech, quite another to hear it as you read along. Studying history is much more interesting when students can "touch" "hear" "see" it. To have the actual voice putting inflection and feeling to the words makes it more memorable. Students today are so visual that merely listening to the speech is ineffective. (trust me, they will fall asleep.) Hand out a printed copy of the speech for them to read along with and highlight key points. It's also helpful when students are taking the AP US History exam to be able to quote speeches in their DBQs.



5. As a teacher this set is invaluable. The recordings are well-chosen and nicely mastered. It's a good survey of 20th century audio recordings.

5 comments about Voices Of The Civil Rights Movement: Black American Freedom Songs 1960-1966.

1. This is an amazing collection of Civil Rights songs all on one CD. It is like listening to history. This collection of music will bring back memories to the older generations and introduce younger people to voices from the past.



2. Forty years later it is too easy to forget or too easy to have missed the courage and passion that fueled the Civil Rights movement. While America is still far from perfect, it is a better nation for all its citizens because some citizens took great risks for high principles in the years from 1954 through 1965. Our pledge speaks of "one nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all" the inspiration provided by these songs and sermons helped make this a truer statement than it ever was before.
   
   Everyone who is proud to be an American should own and listen to this CD.



3. This Cd is an excellent docuemtnary with complete versions of the Freedom songs of the Civil rights movmeent of the 60s.
   
   Wonderful stuff both for the historian or a lover of uplifting music. The Calypso takeoff of Harry belafonte's "Day-o" (Calypso Freedom) is quite witty and would have done Handsome Harry proud. ("Come Mr. Kennedy give us integration/Freedom come and me want to go home!"). "Get Your Rights Jack" does the same with Ray Charles' "Hit the Road Jack" ("And don't be a tom no more no more no more no more"). But songs like the "Ballad of Medgar Evers" "I Shall Not Be Moved" and the tribute to Schwerner, Chaney and Goodman (the Black and Jewish civil rights team that was killed in Mississippi in 1964) strike straight to the heart as do the tunes sung by the legendary Mrs. Fannie Lou Hamer. The sermon and song by Rev. Lawrence Campbell of Danville Virginia needs no explaination. Hear it and you'll understand that MLK was by no means the only eloquent preacher of this movement. Oginga Odinga, BTW, was an African freedom fighter of that era and Malcolm X was quite pleased when the SNCC Freedom Singers (who later morphed into Sweet Honey in the Rock) sang this at a 1964 program where he spoke.
   
   Fans of the similar CD "Sing For Freedom" are bound to compare the 2 CD's. "SFF" has more in the way of little-known speeches by such luminaries as Dr. King, Medgar Evers, Ralph Abernathy, etc. Some tunes overlap on the two cd's but buy "SFF" for the speeches and this one for the music as a companion piece.



4. This double-CD reissue of "The Voices of the Civil Rights Movement: Black American Freedom Songs 1960-1966" documents the importance of songs in the Civil Rights Movement. Teachers covering this tumultuous time in American History in their class can certainly give students a better sense for the time by not only showing videos of the peaceful demonstrations and police brutality, but by playing them some of the songs from this album. Many of these freedom songs were recorded live in mass meetings held in churches. These are not just spirituals and gospel songs, but draw upon rhythm and blues, football chants, blues, and calypso for their beauty and energy. The first disc features songs from mass meetings, where a singer or core of singers leads the people in the singing of the songs, while the second focuses on ensemble works by the SNCC Freedom Singers and other groups. The accompanying booklet written by Bernice Johnson Reagon combines historic photographs with insights into each song, providing an excellent education in the meaning of the music. Reagon not only explains how these songs were song, but also which songs were prominent for the Selma-to-Montgomery March ("Governor Wallace"), "Freedom Train" for the vigil for the Mississippi Democratic Party elections, and so on.

   Chances are that unless you were involved in the Civil Rights Movement you will not especially recognize many of these songs, with "This Little Light of Mine," "Go Tell It On the Mountain," and "We Shall Overcome" being the obvious exceptions. But you will be surprised at some of the popular songs that were appropriate for the cause, such as "Calypso Freedom," based on Harry Belafonte's "The Banana Boat Song," and "Get Your Rights, Jack," based on the Ray Charles hit "Hit the Road, Jack." For me the song that stood out was "In the Mississippi River," written by Marshall Jones after the disappearance of three Civil Rights workers in Mississippi during the summer of 1964. As local rivers were dragged in search of the men, many other bodies were discovered, a chilling fact that certainly needs to be more than a historic footnote to that tragic event. There is also a lengthy segment from a sermon by Rev. Lawrence Campbell, which illustrates the song-sermons that were an integral part of the movement and its traditions. The result is a historical document of immense value to teachers and their students.

   Folkways Records was founded by Moses Asch and Marian Distler in 1948 to document music and spoken word from around the world. The Smithsonian Institution acquired Folkways from the Asch estate and has succeeded in preserving the best of the label's 2,200 albums. Smithsonian Folkways Recordings has continued this grand tradition. I have checked out a half-dozen of their offerings and their are uniformly superb, especially in terms of providing the historical context by which we can best appreciate these songs from another place and another time.




5. For any one interested in the freedom struggle in the sixties this is essential listening. The first disc of recordings made in the South during the mid sixties captures the importance of music at the mass meetings.

   The second disc with ensemble recordings shows the skill of the SNCC singing groups.

   The cd is accompanied by extensive liner notes by Bernice Johnson Reagan, herself a member of a SNCC ssinging group and founder of "Sweet Honey in the Rock". She draws out not only the historical references in the songs, but also the different African American musical influences at play.

5 comments about The Complete Collection.

1. Bought the complete collection and played it for my kids. Now, remember, H&L were from the, what, 70's? But their comedy is timeless. Although there are a few references that younger people won't get, my kids just loved it. Anyone of the "Ajax..." seqments, Bruiser (although considered not P.C., but who cares) and the segments with the "country hicks" are hilarious. And on disc 3, track 17 "Fate of the Mightiest Nation" is MOST timely. If you haven't heard it, listen intently and be surprised at the end. Definately worth the price, even though the jewel case for disk one was broken, I can change the case. If you are contemplating ordering, don't wait. Order now. You will NOT regret it.



2. Hudson and Landry were the best comedy team no one heard of. Clever, incredible timing and teamwork, hip, all those and more. I started listening to them back in the "day" and am delighted now to own "the complete works" of Hudson and Landry.



3. Don't know yet still haven't rec'd it.
   My parents had the collection on records. I loved it.



4. It took forever to get this product--seemed a bit extreme. Overall, happy with the product.



5. Hudson and Landry were true masters of their art. Every one of their routines was funny, and this collection is well worth twice the cost.

5 comments about Poetry On Record: 98 Poets Read Their Work (1888-2006).

1. I gave this to my Mother for Christmas as she is an avid reader of poetry. She was delighted to be able to hear the voices of some of her favorite poets reading their own works . . . recordings over 100 years old in some cases. She has listened to each of the 4 CDs twice already and her friends can hardly wait for her to share them! I told her to tell them to go to [...] for their own copies!



2. This set was nominated for a Grammy and I certainly think it is worthy of winning. Rebekah Presson Mosby has compiled and produced an outstanding collection of some of the most important poets to date. To hear Walt Whitman, Robert Frost, T.S. Eliot and Gertrude Stein in their own voices is truly amazing. It's easy to get lost in the poetry, much nicer than listening to music while driving. I have all of Rebekah Presson Mosby's works and I think this set and Our Souls Have Grown Deep Like The Rivers are my two favorites.



3. My sister, a college professor and writer, loved this book. It is beautifully done, from the packaging to the selection of poems.



4. Beautiful packaging. I wish there was a tiny bit of space between poems, but neat product.



5. Exellent for poetry lovers who don't have time to read and can listen while driving.