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Favorite recorded stand up comedy routines?

raisindot

raisindot

I was in the midst of converting a whole bunch of comedy LPs to digital and realized how great a lot of the standup comedy records were. Cosby, Pryor, Kinnison, Martin and (shudder) Sandler made a lot of their marks on these things.

So, what are your favorite stand up comedy bits (I differentiate from more "comedy theater" stuff like Monty Python and the Firesign Theater)?

My two favorites:

For funny: "Chicken Heart," Bill Cosby, from "Wonderfulness." I don't think there's ever been a better storyteller than Bill Cosby during the mid to late 1960's, and this is his tightest, most classic bit. Every time I hear "I started smearin' that jello!" I lose it.

For brilliant: Richard Pryor, "Bicentennial Ni**er" from the album of that same name. Almost all of this album is brilliant, but this particular bit encapsulates 200 years of African-American suffering into two minutes of mock-minstrel mugging that is harrowing.


Jeff in Boston
 
john.crissman

john.crissman

As a young lad I listened to my cousin's Steve Martin albums "Let's Get Small" and "Wild and Crazy Guy" on a daily basis. It forever skewed my perception of what a comedy performance should be like and I still borrow from those bits in trying to make people laugh.

"May I ma-mu dogface to the bannana patch."

I still think the greatest line to defeat a heckler is, "Yeah, I remember when I had my first beer."

Other recordings are funny, (Jonathan Winters, Jerry Clowers, Bill Hicks, etc) but these two Martin albums are my favorites.
 
ProphetNoir

ProphetNoir

The Richard Pryor albums are all classics, but I remember some early Redd Foxx, particularly one routine where he calls a horse race that damn near made me lose bladder control.
 
Argonaut

Argonaut

The first Eddie Murphy one had me rolling, Cheech and Chong had some classics, Jerry Clower was probably my favorite from when I was a youngster.
 
G

Grace

Try some Mitch Hedberg. He passed away a few years ago, but he reminded me a lot of a more optimistic Stephen Wright; similar styles.

Brian Regan is also highly reccomended.
 
chainfire

chainfire

Grace said:
Try some Mitch Hedberg. He passed away a few years ago, but he reminded me a lot of a more optimistic Stephen Wright; similar styles.

Brian Regan is also highly reccomended.
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+1 on both of these guys - they are both amazingly talented. And, tho I'll probably regret admitting it, I actually like Dane Cook as well.
 
davecmu

davecmu

The B-side of Bill Cosby's "To Russell, the Brother Whom I Slept With" is the greatest LP track in my possession. It is EXACTLY what my childhood was like.

Also, George Carlin's "Class Clown" is an absolute classic. Sounds better on vinyl than anywhere else, and is still timely even today.
 
paulboeck

paulboeck

Eddie Murphy "Delirious". I used to listen to it as a kid at night (unbeknownst to my parents) after I went to bed.

"MY SHOE!"
 
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Bertilak

Bertilak

I guess I have to agree that Bill Cosby's "To My Brother" album is the overall tops of what I am familiar with.

But Cheech and Chong's albums ("Dave's not here", "Tyrone Shoelaces") and the Firesign Theatre ("Now don't feel alone here in the New Age, because there's a seeker born every minute.") are up there too, depending on mood.
 
Bobtrumpet

Bobtrumpet

I don't know that I have a favorite. My tastes run to the 60s-80s as well.

Bill Cosby, everything. "Noah" of course, but also "Little Tiny Hairs" - "All I wanted was a close shave, not a self-sacrifice."

George Carlin: Anything before "Toledo Windowbox." I almost passed out from laughing so hard at just about everything he recorded - as well as his appearances on The Tonite Show and The Flip Wilson Show.

Cheech and Chong's Los Cochinos

Most anything by Alan Sherman and Bob Newhart (I, too, am a Bob with a "buttoned-down" mind).

Gabe Kaplan's "Holes and Mellow Rolls" especially the title track.

Rodney Dangerfield's first album.

Somewhat later stuff: Steve Martin, Steven Wright, Emo Phillips, and Sam Kinison. Some of Stephen Lynch's stuff is out there but hilarious.
 
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Randy Watson

Randy Watson

+1 on Hedberg and Regan. Saw Mitch in Cincy about three weeks before his death, unbelievably funny-and my wife kept commenting on how skinny and bad he looked. Patton Oswalt is very funny as well if you can get past his annoying political rants.
 
Doc4

Doc4

Stumpy in cold weather
Staff member
Bob and Ray ... STOA

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_8u1VHCPZ8[/YOUTUBE]

for the new stuff ... Jimmy Carr!

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRZb-Be0UUM[/YOUTUBE]
 
Bertilak

Bertilak

One of the funniest things I've seen (not just heard) was Gilbert Gottfried's version of the Aristocrats joke. This is a joke so filthy and so BAD that it makes one cringe to listen to a telling of it. It cannot be recommended to even the slightly prudish (one hesitates to recommend it to ANYONE for fear of what they will think of you forever after).

The joke itself is of the shaggy dog variety and depends entirely on the skill of the comedian to pull it off. In less than expert hands it will remain simply an embarrassment. Even an expert will likely be unable to save it from being truly bad.

There is a DVD where MANY comedians tel their version of this joke -- yes, it depends SO MUCH on who tells it and how it is told that it doesn't get repetitive. Gilbert Gottfried's telling is a masterpiece. There are a few other good versions on the DVD but GG's outshines them all. If I remember correctly they even cut away from his performance once or twice just to give you a chance to catch your breath and wipe the tears.
 
S

sfbobus

Redd Foxx from about the late 50's or 60's. The laundry detergent skit. Not for prudes. Pretty edgy for that time. And yes I am that old.
 
Mr_Amazing

Mr_Amazing

Robert Paulsen said:
One of the funniest things I've seen (not just heard) was Gilbert Gottfried's version of the Aristocrats joke. This is a joke so filthy and so BAD that it makes one cringe to listen to a telling of it. It cannot be recommended to even the slightly prudish (one hesitates to recommend it to ANYONE for fear of what they will think of you forever after).

The joke itself is of the shaggy dog variety and depends entirely on the skill of the comedian to pull it off. In less than expert hands it will remain simply an embarrassment. Even an expert will likely be unable to save it from being truly bad.

There is a DVD where MANY comedians tel their version of this joke -- yes, it depends SO MUCH on who tells it and how it is told that it doesn't get repetitive. Gilbert Gottfried's telling is a masterpiece. There are a few other good versions on the DVD but GG's outshines them all. If I remember correctly they even cut away from his performance once or twice just to give you a chance to catch your breath and wipe the tears.
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Gilbert's was good, but I thought Bob Sagat's was great. Those two were way above any of the others IMO. The DVD is called "The Aristocrats."
 
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