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 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 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 Strictly for Music Lovers.

1. Fun to listen to, but there are numerous duplications throughout the four disks, as if the producers just slapped the thing together without editing. And there are significant missing titles. For example, missing tunes include "Morpheus," "Chinese Mule Train," and "Ya Wanna Buy a Bunny?" All in all the music brought back fond memories of my childhood.



2. I just bought this 4 cd set couldn't be happier.Quality is wounderful.



3. This set had many more songs than I had collected before. The quality of the recordings was excellent.



4. This wonderful 4 disc set of Spike Jones material running from 1941 to 1947 is a set to be cherished by long time fans and a fantastic starter set for those trying to find out what Spike was all about.For 95 songs, four discs,a 23 page booklet and at a price like this you'd be foolish to pass up this bargoon!!
   The set features alot of his major material from his RCA catalogue with the rest made up from his transciptions,various live performances and V discs.Some rare,some not heard often,some heard quite frequently over the years but all a delight to the ears.
   Keep in mind that none of this material is direct from the major labels who own the masters but are derived from 78s culled from private collections.There are more than a few cuts that are of inferior quality and/or have had some annoying reverb added to the remixing but overall the sound is quite acceptable and generally satisfying.I recently reviewed another Jones CD by the name of "Fonk" put out by another similar company as this one(Proper Records) called Harlequin Records(another indie company),both coincidentally produced in England.To make a long story short I would take this CD set,sound wise, over that poorly and unevenly mastered one.And "Fonk"(one CD) is not that terribly less in price than this (four CD) set.
   One other minor criticism I should mention is that while each CD comes in its own protective cardboard sleeve I have had a devil of a time(every time) taking a CD out to be played.They seem to get stuck in the sleeve easily and I've had to learn how to carefully cajole them out without scratching the playing surface.If this should happen to you just keep practising you'll soon find out what works best for you.But indeed a minor annoyance.
   So if you're a Spike Jones fan like myself and legions of others what are you waiting for......Feetlebaum ??? Get out there and get this bargain priced set and enjoy every last loving "crash","fonk" and car horn honk that Spike and his zany but talented troupe have to offer up in this must get set.



5. If you are going to introduce Spike and the Slickers to somebody, pick one of the other "Best of" compilations that contain the final released versions of their hits! The reason for this is simple: those versions are the tight, finely tuned performances that made us fans. I consider this CD set an historical archive rather than a "best of collection". Although you'll hear many of the old favorites, they are "pre-release" (my terminology) versions: looser and not as, well, "good" as the final versions. For long time fans, like me, it is interesting to hear these recordings. But if you are brand new to Spike you will not get the true impression of just how great these guys were. Buy a plain old "best of" CD first, memorize it, treasure it, love it, then get this set. Incidently, this CD collection proves that not everything Spike did deserved presvervation, especially some of his "straight recordings". That was too harsh...I am glad I heard those numbers, but I am now trying to forget I heard them. 'Bye now.

5 comments about Tip Of The Freberg (Includes Video).

1. This Stan Freberg box includes four CDs and one VHS tape (remember those?). Freberg made some of the funniest records of all time. Disc One mostly features his musical singles. Disc Two mostly features his comedy sketch singles, plus four bits from his radio show. Most of Disc Three is devoted to Stan Freberg Presents The United States Of America. And Disc Four mostly features his radio commercials. The video features his televison commercials. This is a great collection, but it would be even better if the VHS tape was upgraded to DVD.



2. Brilliant use of music & wit, rather like a Spike Jones with fangs. Very worthwhile for anyone who hooked up with Americans music since the 50s. Billy May's orchestra and the other musicians terrific. Half the price on Amazon compared with ordering from your local shop !



3. Man beyond his time. Anyone in the advertising/marketing world should know this man and be familiar with his work.



4. My dad loved Stan and I grew up listening to the occasional record of his hits. I really enjoyed many of the skits on those LPs (especially the first few ones on the history of the US). This collection has pretty much everything I enjoyed as a kid, but the other stuff is not so good. The tracks I enjoyed are the second half of disk 1 and the first half of disk 3. I'm going to give this to my dad and hopefully he enjoys it more than me.



5. Most people know Stan Freburg from either the Christmas Classic St George and the Christmas Drag-net or the evil toy exec from the Monkees TV show.
   
   This four disk CD collection is more than a best of. It is a well rounded collection of Freberg thru the years. From radio bits of his short lived radio show to his 1990's syndicated show, the short bits of parodies will make you laugh and think. Comedians, humorists and TV skit writers owe a great deal and a large debt from his imagination and satire. I remember reading once that even Stephen King remembered a comedy parody bit about filling the Grand Canyon with hot chocolate, whipped cream and a 2000 ton cherry.
   
   There is a VHS tape of some of his television ads. I could wish for a DVD release for this collection. Everything from Chun King egg rolls to Encyclopedias, the humor is funny. The parodies barely date themselves. These ads could run today on TV
   
   The comedy of some of these pieces are timeless. The wit will make you laugh even today. For those of you who don't know Freburg, get this and laugh it up!
   
   
   Bennet Pomerantz AUDIOWORLD

5 comments about The Complete 2000 Year Old Man.

1. This is a classic collection of clever humor, full of nuggets my family has loved for years. Brooks works fast, and Reiner is a classic straight man. The best parts are where they're obviously cracking each other up. You can tell that the recording had a lot of editing, but it works. Considering some of the subject matter, they really did a great job of keeping it clean. Great stuff.



2. I thought it was great. I had just seen the musical 'The Producers' while in London so decided to get the full set plus two others. Hilarious. I do get funny looks from car drivers when while waiting for the lights to change I am laughing my head off. This is my sense of humour. Thanks for your great service.



3. Before Mel Brooks (Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein) and Carl Reiner (The Man With Two Brains, Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid) had established themselves as successful comedy directors they were writers for The Sid Caesar show. "The 2000 Year Old Man" was created during breaks in writers meetings where the two would entertain the others by imrovising a questions and answers scenario. Brooks played a man who has been alive for the past 2000 years and Reiner his interviewer. We get to hear the real stories about Jesus Christ, Joan of Arc, Robin Hood as well as tips on how to live longer (who better to tell you than a 2000 year old man!) and snapshots of coffee house life, movie directors, artists and lots more. Brooks is truly gifted at thinking on his feet despite Reiner occasionally trying to trip him up when he contradicts himself or backs himself into a comedic corner. The playfulness between them as they try to make each other laugh is a joy to the ears and it's great to hear a comedy duo that has aged so very well alongside so many of their dated peers. This four CD box set contains almost all of the recorded material available of this outstanding example of comedy improvisation and an accompanying booklet provides ample background information and interviews.



4. THE COMPLETE 2000 YEAR OLD MAN is a collection of 4 different comedy albums featuring the improvised works of Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks. The albums included with the set are: "2000 Years With Carl Reiner & Mel Brooks", "2000 And One Years With Carl Reiner & Mel Brooks", "Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks At the Cannes Film Festival", and "Carl Reiner & Mel Brooks: 2000 And Thirteen".
   
   "2000 Years With Carl Reiner & Mel Brooks" is one of the greatest comedy albums of all time. It was pure genius in its day and the comic spark heard on the album remains just as funny today as it probably did when it was firs released.
   
   "2000 And One Years With Carl Reiner & Mel Brooks" is my favorite album out of the set. The 2000-Year-Old Man makes a return appearance on the album, but I find the "Two Hour Old Baby" sketch and "Psychiatric Society" to be more hilarious. "Watch the eyes."
   
   "Carl Reiner & Mel Brooks At The Cannes Film Festival" is my least favorite album in the bunch. Maybe its because the album is parodying European sensibilities, I don't know, but the sketches here are just not as funny as the ones on the other albums.
   
   "Carl Reiner & Mel Brooks: 2000 And Thirteen" brings back the 2000-Year-Old Man after nearly a decade of absence. The entire sketch is one long interview between the Reporter (Reiner) and the 2000-Year-Old-Man. I kind of wish there were some other sketches here, but there's enough hilarity to keep one interested.
   
   The set includes a booklet that explains how the 2000-Year-Old Man came to be and the transcript of and interview between Saul Kahan and Reiner and Brooks. What's so fascinating about this whole collection is that none of it was rehearsed (except for parts of 2000 & 13 because Brooks was so scared to do the character again). The 2000-Year-Old Man was born out of improv. Reiner and Brooks make a great comic duo and have gone on to become some of the most powerful people in show business. This set of albums is a wonderful tribute to the character that made their careers.



5. Mel Brooks is one of those things that makes life worth living, and this is him at his best. And that Carl Reiner ain't half bad, neither. A bargain at any price.

2 comments about The Classic National Lampoon Box Set.

1. To add a little bit to the prior review
   Disc 1 is aka "That's Not Funny, That's Sick"
   Disc 2 is aka "White Album"
   Disc 3 is aka "Sex, Drugs, Rock And Roll, & the End of the World."
   Disc 4 is aka "The Greatest Hits of the National Lampoon." Which means that, in this instance, Amazon's "Buy these 2 together and SAVE" option is a waste of money, since you'll wind up buying the exact same CD twice.
   
   Disc 2 involved some people who were involved with the radio hour, but mostly second-stringer types, with the noticable exception of "Hollywood Gay Alliance" with Belushi, Chase & Guest. Disc 3 was early-mid-80s stuff, which retains a lot of the Slash-And-Burn sensibility of the mag from its heyday as well as the Radio Hour, but precious little of its wit.
   
   Currently, the box set is about $32. Each of those CDs sold seperately are currently $17. It's like buying CDs 1 & 4 & you're essentially getting the other 2 discs free. So the four star review is for the worthwhile discs, consider the other 2 a bonus.
   
   Now, I patiently wait for CDs of Goodbye Pop, Radio Dinner, the Missing White House Tapes & the Introduction to Stereo Test Disc Whose Name I can Never Remember Correctly.



2. The National Lampoon name has been purchased by a group that has no sense of humor whatever but intends to market old properties and mix in new junk, betting you can't tell the difference until after you buy it. In this four CD set, CD #1, 'That's Not Funny, That's Sick" and CD #4, "Greatest Hits of the National Lampoon" are both excellent CDs put out by the original NL writers and actors (many of whom went on to Saturday Night Live: Gilda Radner, Chevy Chase, John Belushi, Bill Murray, and so on). BUY THEM SEPARATELY FOR A LOWER PRICE! The middle two are recent potboilers put out by the current owners to fool you into paying more. There is basically NOTHING funny (except perhaps 'Gay Alliance' which came from the National Lampoon Radio Hour,

5 comments about The Dreaded P.D.Q. Bach.

1. This is a fine collection of the work of the "oddest of Bach's 20-odd children." The intros and commentary by Professor Peter Schickele (University of Southern North Dakota at Hoople) are as sidesplitting as the "music" itself. One learns, for example, that PDQ Bach is the only composer to have written for double reeds -- without the use of oboes or bassoons. . . . Just four of the high(low)lights on this 4-disc set include: "Concerto for Horn and Hardart," "Iphigenia in Brooklyn," "Unbegun Symphony," and "Pervertimento for Bagpipes, Bicycle, and Balloons." The PDQ Bach corpus is (fortunately) not exhausted with this box set, so there will likely be others, but this one is terrific and will provide hours of strange and wonderful enjoyment.



2. Excellent 4 CD album from PDQ Bach. Although most music is meant to be humoresque, it is also brilliantly composed/'borrowed' from other composer. Nice item for music lovers that do have sense of, almost British, humor.



3. This recording is a treasure trove of PDQ Bach music. It is good for many, many laughs, and even my husband who is not well-versed in classical enjoys it to bits. A must-own for anyone who loves the wit of Peter Schickele!



4. if you cant sing and laugh at the same time just wait til he tries to do a Rap song. look for my favorite song of his "o little town of hackensack" for christmas time



5. What can I say? These attempts to poke fun at classical music and aficionados of the genre are silly, puerile, well-informed, beloved by said aficionados, and utterly hilarious. With a style of humor that is something like a cross between Garrison Keillor, Victor Borge and Monty Python, "Professor" Peter Schickele has been perpetrating the P.D.Q. Bach phenomenon since 1959. "Researching" and sometimes even dressing up as the alleged "last and least" of Johann Sebastian Bach's many children, Schickele has composed, conducted and performed send-ups of various composers and musical styles. This four CD set compiles some the best (or should I say "worst"?) of his efforts. Included are "The O.K. Chorale", "The Unbegun Symphony", "My Bonnie Lass, She Smelleth", "The Seasonings", "Schleptet in E flat minor", "Echo Sonata for Two Unfriendly Groups of Instruments", "Concerto for Horn and Hardart", and my two personal favorites: "Beethoven's Fifth Symphony" (with commentary by sports analysts discussing the "competition" between the conductor and the orchestra) and the hilarious cantata "Iphigenia in Brooklyn". I can remember my father rolling on the floor in hysterics upon first hearing "Iphigenia", and anyone who is familiar with the Baroque oratorio style of such ubiquitous works as Handel's "Messiah" or J.S. Bach's cantatas will undoubtedly howl too at all the "in jokes". If you're serious about Baroque or classical music, do yourself a favor--let your hair down, get un-serious, and listen to these CDs every once in a while. And may every genre of music be fortunate enough to have a "P.D.Q. Bach" invented for it!

No comments about Truckload Sale.

5 comments about Everybody Stomp.

1. An excellent, comprehensive collection for fans of the Hoosier Hot Shots. Includes several of their originals as well as covers of classic early 20th century pop tunes. The accompanying booklet is pretty sparse. A brief history on the recording of each song would have been useful to those of us more detail oriented fans, but, for the price, I highly recommend it.



2. This is a great collection of wonderful music by a group that was preeminent in the 1920s and 1930s. What most reviewers miss saying is that this group was an early jazz-swing group and the clarinet work is astounding. Some of it is hokey or corny, some of it is repetitious, but a great deal of the music is simply joyful and swings like any of the big bands that followed. The only possible downside is that this is a package of four separate records, reproduced on four CD's, and some of the songs are repeated from CD to CD. But unless you are listening to all four of these sequentially, you won't notice. If you are looking for feel-good music and want to know what swing was like in its earliest years, this is a great buy.



3. Hooo boy! The Hoosier Hotshots were stars of radio back in the 1930's and 40s, weekly regulars on WLS Chicago's "National Barn Dance" for over 15 years. They were an off-beat marriage of Dixieland Jazz, Ragtime, Minstrelry, Jugband, and Country Swing, often very corny; their use of off-beat instrumentation such as the slide whistle and the washboard puts them firmly in the "novelty music" category.
   
   This four-disc set covers their career from 1933-46, and includes all of their hits. Some people might prefer their stuff in smaller doses than a CD at a time, the formulaic nature of many of their songs, (an ensemble sung opening verse, a washboard or slide whistle solo, a solo vocal, another ensemble sung verse, final chorus and instrumental riff) gets a little repetetive. But it's an embarrasment of riches for a Hoosier Hotshots fan, this is the biggest (and best) collection of their work ever available.



4. I got turned on to the Hoosier Hot Shots when I heard their version of "Breezin' along with the breeze." It is a novel take on that oldie. I also saw a few videos of them performing and they were visually as playful as their music sounded. Here's the problem: they had some good ideas (slide whistle, hot rhythm guitar, good harmonies) but they only had a few good ideas and they used the same instrumentations in song after song after song with little variation. You really only need one Hoosier Hot Shots album in your collection - four is too much of the same old same old. By the time this box set was finished, I never wanted to hear them again. Too much of the same formula.
   A great group of midwestern guys, I'm sure. But I have had enough slide whistle to last me a while.



5. Proper did an awesome job with this boxed set. 4 CD's crammed to the brim with tracks, all in a very neat boxed set with a 35-page booklet featuring tons of info and photos - all for under $25!! If this same set was offered from the Bear Family label, it would cost just under $100. If you are even looking at this collection, then chances are you like this kind of old hillbilly music, and this one will not disappoint. The remastered songs sound great. Hoosier Hot Shots can best be described as more upbeat than Sons of The Pioneers and cornier than The Prairie Ramblers . They use lots of whistles, kazoos and other goofy sound effects in just about every song so this might be a little bit grating if you try to listen to too many tracks in a row. But the songs really are fun, catchy and will put you in a good mood!