Lenny Bruce Albums (13)
'Live: San Francisco 1966'
Release Date 11/8/2005
Tracks 1
Label Koch
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What The Critics Say
This is the soundtrack to director John Magnuson's 1966 film that captured Lenny Bruce in his penultimate appearance at San Francisco's Basin Street West. An equally fascinating and depressing document, this is a rare look at Bruce as an artist persecuted for his logical approach concerning law enforcement, race, sex, and, especially, religion. In the age of ADD where most "comedy discs" have 20 tracks, the bits are under two minutes, and derivative commentary with clever titles like "The Worst Dentist I've Been To," "Car Alarms," and "Find the Smell" predominates, it's imperative to keep Lenny Bruce's material readily available as an antidote to the aforementioned. Both the DVD and CD are available on Koch. ~ Al Campbell, All Music Guide
'What I Was Arrested For: The Performance That Got Lenny Bruce Busted'
Release Date 12/14/2004
Tracks 11
Label Get Back
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What The Critics Say
Originally released in 1969 by Douglas Music, this performance was given a wider re-release in 1975 thanks to Casablanca. It's amazing what just a few years can accomplish in terms of changing social values -- by the time this was re-released, there wasn't really a whole lot here that would get people too upset. The title of the album is a little bit misleading, because Lenny Bruce talks about the performance in San Francisco that got him busted. In other words, those expecting the cops to storm onto the stage at the end will be disappointed. The album itself is short, at just only 24 minutes, but the material included here is certainly thought-provoking: "Dirty Toilet" draws a parallel between dirty toilets and dirty words and how most of the time it's our perception that causes the problem; "To Come" is a riff on the two words in the title, complete with percussion; and "A White White Woman and a Black Black Woman" neatly exposes the hypocrisy involved in the question "would you want your sister to marry one?" by bringing physical attractiveness into the equation. The funniest bit here is "Blah Blah Blah," the track where Bruce discusses his San Francisco obscenity bust, and recounts the relish with which the judge and police got into repeating the word that got Bruce arrested in the first place. While there are a few bits that seem designed more for absurdity than for provocation (notably "I Just Do It and That's All" and "The Perverse Act"), the album as a whole is certainly worth seeking out, but look for the 2000 reissue from Knitting Factory, which cleans up the sound and reinstates the collection's original name, To Is a Preposition; Come Is a Verb. ~ Sean Carruthers, All Music Guide
'Warning/Lenny Bruce Is Out Again'
Release Date 1/21/2004
Tracks 30
Label Sicsicsic
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'Shut Your Mouth and Open Your Mind: The Rise & Reckless Fall of Lenny Bruce'
Release Date 6/17/2003
Tracks 7
Label Chrome Dreams
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What The Critics Say
At first glance, the premise of a 70-plus-minute audio biography on Lenny Bruce may seem irresistible to enthusiasts of the controversial comic and First Amendment martyr. But what 2003's Shut Your Mouth and Open Your Mind: The Rise & Reckless Fall of Lenny Bruce possesses in potential, it lacks in execution. Keith Rodway's somewhat disjointed text -- which is narrated by Robin Clifford -- is presented in seven primarily chronological chapters. Complementing -- at times distractingly so -- the recitation is a recurring musical motif. The anachronistic light techno pop is completely out of context. However, its cardinal sin is that it is almost unbearably annoying. While factually accurate, the presentation is heavy on the more salacious details of Bruce's life and subsequent death. Conversely, comparatively little is examined pertaining to his drug and sex-fueled madness, which he then turned into an artistic/political statement. To its credit, "The Story of a Boy and His Father Who Spoiled Him" devotes a fair amount to Bruce's early life and the unfettered insolence that paved his chosen pathway to indulgence. Scattered throughout are a variety of vintage soundbites and clips -- some of which feature Bruce on-stage -- in extremely low-fidelity vinyl recordings. In fact, both the comments from Sally Marr, Bruce's mother and particularly those of his wife, Honey Bruce, are practically inaudible thanks to the copious surface noise. "The Funniest Man in the World" commences as a teenaged Bruce served for two years (1941-1943) during World War II on the U.S.S. Brooklyn as a gunner's mate. Although when returning stateside he reunited with Marr, she was reticent to encourage him to become an actor or standup comedian. Bruce's infamous debut public appearance on the Arthur Godfrey-hosted Amateur Hour radio show -- described here as a "false start" -- is followed by the crucial meeting with Joe Ancis, who became a mentor to Bruce. Ancis' ability to improvise and work off an audience, as opposed to simply retelling well-worn jokes, would become a crucial device in Bruce's comedic arsenal. As the title suggests, "Honey" is dedicated to the mutually impaired relationship between Bruce and his wife. Even as he could not stand to live with her, he was equally tormented by the prospect of being without her. This would lead Bruce to nark out his own wife -- who was working as a stripper in Hawaii at the time. His inability to sustain a meaningful relationship heavily informed his work with a new level of cynicism, if not downright detestation. Bruce's burgeoning rise to national and international infamy is traced on "So Sick and Dirty" with a retelling of his true-to-life account of the breakthrough gig at Ann's 440 in San Francisco. In this segment, noted British drama critic Kenneth Tynan speaks about his impressions of Bruce's scathingly raw performance style, one in which there are no stones left unturned and absolutely no taboos that remained unexplored. Of course, it was not long before that ultimately led to being "Busted!" As if he didn't have enough problems, Bruce's considerable infatuation with narcotics made him an easy target, while his legal "Trials and Tribulations" were taking a collective toll on his creativity and, frankly, his sanity. The concluding "Who Are the Thought Police?" is one of the more revealing tracks. An audio vérité montage exposes the artist's increasing unwillingness to perform his old schtick and his blatant "tryin' to make a buck" mindset. His rapid decline came shortly after an arrest at the Café Au Go-Go in N.Y.C. This kicked off one of the costliest obscenity legal battles to have ever graced the American annals of jurisprudence. It also meant that Bruce would become and remain a pauper for the rest of his life. None of the all-too-gory details are spared, including actualities from his flatmate, famed audio engineer John Judnich, who found Bruce's body on August 3, 1966. But it is "Dirty Lenny" who gets the final word with a quick joke about finding salvation through the admission of frivolous sins. ~ Lindsay Planer, All Music Guide
'To Is a Preposition; Come Is a Verb'
Release Date 9/12/2000
Tracks 11
Label Knitting Factory
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What The Critics Say
Following Lenny Bruce's death in 1966, his mother allowed Douglas Records to release these tapes that Bruce wanted to use in court during his obscenity trials as part of his defense. Bruce couldn't believe he was being continuously arrested for his words. He wanted to use these tapes as proof to the judge and jury that he was not obscene, but that his bits were simply being taken out of context. Bruce chose to ignore the irony that these same tapes contained many of the bits that got him arrested in the first place. To Is a Preposition, Come Is a Verb is not only an early representation of the type of humor that would open the door for Richard Pryor, Sam Kinison, George Carlin, and many others, but more importantly provides a dangerous glimpse into the world of censorship and where it can lead. The fact that Lenny Bruce, whose morality is evident on these tapes, could have been arrested numerous times because of what he said to an audience paying to hear his words, then endlessly harassed by the police because of it, remains a travesty. The proof is included here. ~ Al Campbell, All Music Guide
'Live at the Curran Theater'
Release Date 8/17/1999
Tracks 6
Label Fantasy
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What The Critics Say
Lenny Bruce's Live at the Curran Theater documents his 1961 concert in San Francisco. This double-disc set includes his entire stream-of-consciousness monologue, which spans organized religion, civil rights, politics, drugs, his legal troubles and obscenity. ~ Heather Phares, All Music Guide
'Live: Busted'
Release Date 12/12/1995
Tracks 17
Label Vipers Nest Gold
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'The Lenny Bruce Originals, Vol. 2'
Release Date 9/24/1992
Tracks 18
Label Fantasy
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What The Critics Say
This 75-minute disc includes the entirety of Togetherness (1959) and most of American (1960); the two missing tracks from American can be found on Fantasy's The Lenny Bruce Originals, Vol. 1. This compilation of early material has a slight edge over Originals, Vol. 1 because of the somewhat sharper, more sophisticated bite and the presence of one of his most celebrated routines, the 20-minute "The Palladium." ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide
'The Law, Language and Lenny Bruce'
Release Date 1/1/1974
Tracks 2
Label Spector
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'Midnight Concert'
Release Date 1/1/1971
Tracks 9
Label United Artists
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What The Critics Say
How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Well, first you take a flight to Boston, then you try to charter a flight. On February 4, 1961, Lenny Bruce battled the elements to make it back to New York in time for his midnight Carnegie Hall show. During the first part of the Midnight Concert show, Bruce free-forms about his trip, the weather, and the acoustics of Carnegie Hall. Later on he goes into more serious matters, like a kidnapping, communism and the flag, homosexuality, and, most controversially, what would happen if Christ and Moses showed up in modern-day New York. You can definitely hear the parts of Bruce's style that influenced George Carlin in this performance, especially in the section dealing with homosexuality and the goofing around with the microphone early in the set. Despite the mostly unstructured format of this performance, it's still pretty coherent, a nice side benefit of this being recorded in the early '60s instead of his later, more rambling years. It's worth noting that this (very short) release was taken from the same concert that was later released in an extended form as The Carnegie Hall Concert; if you own that album, this one won't give you anything you don't already have. ~ Sean Carruthers, All Music Guide
