Comedy vinyl classics

Very cool. I used to several blocks from him in Allston, MA, in the mid-80s. You could have knocked me over with a feather when we chatted for a while on the same MBTA train and he was gentle and soft-spoken. I got to know a number of Boston area comics back then.

 

Even though I'm a huge Bonzos fan, for some reason they did not spring to mind when I first saw this thread. I think it's because (hilarious as their records all are) I think of them as musicians first and comedians second. Or as musicians who happen to be very funny, rather than comedians who happen to make music. But certainly, every one of their records has moments that make me laugh out loud.

 

Gorilla (their first) or Tadpoles (their third) are the best albums to start with as far as accessibility. By contrast, the Vivian Stanshall album mentioned upthread (Sir Henry at Rawlinson End) is a masterwork, but it's extremely British, to the point I've needed repeated listenings to even understand some of what he's saying, due to the slang/dialects/accents on display.

 

My particular favorite is 'Round The Horne' as heard on the BBC in the mid sixties, featuring the one and only Kenneth Williams
who would sometimes break from the script to exclaim 'Why am I doing this rubbish , I am an Actooor' in his nasally voice. He also featured in a regular skit
with Hugh Paddick as a gay couple called 'Julian and Sandy' featuring their various business ventures , it was most notable due to the fact that Homosexuality was a criminal
offence in the UK until the late sixties and that the actors used a gay slang known as 'Polari', somehow it all got passed by the very stuffy ex Eton/Harrow BBC controllers!
My wife [ as southern as a southern belle can be] is completely addicted to our records and cd's of 'Round the Horne' and the 'Julian and Sandy' skits.
An acquired taste is probably required for Tony Hancock , a comedian/actor who began on radio in the late fifties and then graduated to TV in the sixties.
Angsty paranoid depressed loner type scenarios with titles like 'The Blood Donor', which I have on vinyl as recorded from BBC tapes.
I am not a fan of Derek and Clive' but a massive aficionado of 'Pete And Dud ' , especially the way they try to make each other laugh after coming up with a deadpan quip.
Last and by no means least a mention for the 'Goons', an anarchic compendium of silly voices and daft scenarios put together in the fifties by Peter Sellers , Spike Milligan, Micheal Bentine and
Harry Secombe , music by George Martin!

 

The thing about the Bonzos is they were also a hell of a band. Some great pop songs there.

 

When I lived in the UK I was intrigued by occasional mention on radio and magazines and then later in the first 'Rolling Stone Album Guide' of 'The Firesign Theatre' and their various records .
I moved to the US some 16 years ago and picked up most of the 'Firesign's' recorded output in a local thrift store for very little outlay.
Hate to say it but the titles of the albums are funnier than the contents '

 

In addition to many listed above that I know word-for-word (eg. the Pythons), here are some others:

I Have a Pony - Steven Wright

 

You mean , you mean,,,,,,,,,,,,,,you mean ........you could not get into "We Were Wrong' mmmmmmppff 'The wind blew my skirt up and frightened the horses'
Is that too British for you?

 

You're not alone, I don't get them either.

 

Norman Gunston - The Popular Ballad Animal and Nylon Degrees.





These are probably only known by Australians, and are loved by those familiar with his TV persona.

 

Some Frank Zappa fans may know Gunston from a concert Zappa did in Australia where he appeared that was a Vaulternative CD.

 

Dr. Murray Banks - a New York Jewish psychiatrist who really wants to be a standup comic. He combines the two - Jewish standup humour underlying serious messages regarding mental health. I used to have a lot of his records, which unfortunately were stolen and I haven't been able to replace many of them. Two example images below.

I love the Kinsey cover - it was the first of his LP's I bought (in very poor condition). Bank's presentation on this record is explaining the key findings in the Kinsey Report (1948), a revolutionary and controversial book when released which demystified and helped normalise attitudes towards humans sexual behaviour.

 

I had this as well. My mother bought it for me, and I remember being disappointed that it wasn't a younger Groucho. But it turned out to be pretty good. Groucho was slow and methodical - not what you'd expect after seeing his movies (he was pretty old at the time) - but his timing was impeccable. I wouldn't mind hearing it again.

 

This is true. Zappa was one of many international celebrities who were interviewed for his TV show. Gunston's bumbling and amateur presentation would relax and take them off-guard and disguise Gunston's (Garry McDonald)'s quick and very sharp wit (often directed at himself), resulting in genuine relationships built and hilarious interviews. There are probably lots of his interviews on YouTube.

Here is the Zappa interview, I don't think it is one of the best but it's still good (Gunston's interview with British TV All in the Family actress Sally Struthers show him in fine form). At the end of the harmonica jam Gunston plays (deliberately poorly) the theme music to the (national broadcaster's) ABC news broadcasts. The ABC was a common theme in his humour. Gunston appeared on stage with Zappa when he toured Australia due to this interview.

 

b

On The Ning Nang Nong
Where the cows go bong
And the monkeys all say boo

 

I found a VG+ Parlophone UK import of this in a Brooklyn used record store for all of five bucks!

 

Wes Harrison- You Won't Believe Your Ears My dad had this in his collection and I played it constantly in the 60s. I should dig it out and see if it's held up.
Others I have already mentioned are the Woody Allen- Standup Comic. Woody was a great standup. I understand why the Firesign Theatre is impenetrable to some of the people posting, but they can be hilarious. I think the most accessible thing they ever did was The Further Adventures of Nick Danger from How Can You Be in Two Places at Once When You're Not Anywhere at All.

If that doesn't do it, I'm not sure there's a way in to their particular brand of humour.

 

Let's not forget about all those wonderful records by Tom Lehrer.

 

The Vatican Rag!

 

I love the original run of Python LPs from Another Monty Python Record to Contractual Obligation Album.

The Peter Cook & Dudley Moore LPs too, particularly the Decca ones, I have listened to countless times.

 

Here's some great comedy records - some very wet, some very dry. Some already mentioned. I like hearing the tracks appearing at random between a sequence of songs. Short sharp bursts.

 

Just a small handful I can remember that I have on vinyl:

 

Pretty sure he was also known, at least for a time here in New Zealand. I've got a short clip of him on a Kiwi chat show in 1979 somewhere on my computer.

 

Great album, have that one on vinyl too!

 

Wonderful thread and pictures! I don't own one single Comedy album but should pick one up. I see lots of good choices in the thread.