Bill Cosby - I Started Out As a Child
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CD Details
Artist: Bill CosbyEdition: Music CD
Format: Soundtrack
CD Release Date: 1998-04-28
Music Label: Warner Bros / Wea
Soundtracks:
- Sneakers
- Street Football
- The Water Bottle
- Christmas Time
- The Giant
- Oops!
- The Lone Ranger
- Ralph Jameson
- Medic
- My Pet Rhinoceros
- Half Man
- Rigor Mortis
- The Neanderthal Man
- T.V. Football
- Seattle
Music reviews of I Started Out As a Child
Music Review: The Essential Bill Cosby: The Sequel in Which Cosby Hits His Stride
Rating: 4 Stars
In my opinion, Bill Cosby hits his full stride in "I STARTED OUT AS A CHILD," the album named for the hilarious opening line of the first track. While one could see his potential in his first album, BILL COSBY IS A VERY FUNNY FELLOW RIGHT?, it is in this album that Bill first begins to explore topics concerning his childhood. In fact, the first half of the album is dedicated to such exploration; the second half is largely observational humor in the same style as his first album. The album would eventually go on to win the Grammy award for Best Comedy Album in 1964. It was well deserved.
The opening two tracks are my favorite tracks on the entire album: "Sneakers," in which Bill recalls the wonderful excitement of getting a pair of sneakers, and "Street Football," in which Bill describes a hilarious street football game and recalls the ridiculous plays a quarterback would call in the city. It still makes me laugh whenever I hear the line: "Cosby...you go down to third street...catch the "J" bus. Have them open the doors at thirteenth street...I'll fake it to you." Now, I can write out the line, but in order to do it justice, you just have to hear the absolutely perfect delivery that Cosby has. It is wonderful to listen to Bill develop his conversational style further, often leading into his bits with nothing more than "I remember when...". Bill Cosby is, perhaps, the best comedic storyteller of his generation.
But beyond his storytelling, Bill's observational humor is particularly sharp and, as always, timeless. "Oops" is a hilarious sketch that tries to imagine what a doctor says when he makes a mistake like the rest of us. "The Lone Ranger," a hilarious montage about the old radio drama, makes me laugh even though I've never heard the original program! Bill manages to setup all of his jokes without my knowing anything about the show he is referring to! Another interesting thing to mention about this sketch is that it is his complete bit about the Lone Ranger. I had originally heard this sketch on a different collection, but this particular track contains two extra minutes of material. The rest of the bit is hilarious.
"Medic" is one of the few bits inspired by his time in the Navy and explores the precarious life of a wartime medic. "T.V. Football" is an early rendition of a piece that would later appear on several live albums and collections. The piece is about when he was on the football team and was instructed not to touch "certain areas of your body" because the game was televised. Hilarity ensues after Bill takes a hard shot to a particularly sensitive area of the body. While the piece is undeveloped here, it is interesting to listen to how Bill massages the bit over time, eventually arriving at a hilarious routine.
All in all, Bill's second attempt in "I STARTED OUT AS A CHILD" is much stronger than his first. The audience appeal is much wider, ensuring that there is something for everyone. One only wishes that the album were longer so that Bill could develop his work even further. His next two albums would increase in length, from the thirty short minutes of this album, to forty minutes on his next attempt, all the way up to forty seven minutes by his fourth album. As the album length grew, Bill's style really began to shine. No longer did a bit have to be squeezed into a one to two minute window. Still, it is interesting to see the doctor of comedy at work in this shortened format. I highly recommend "I STARTED OUT AS A CHILD" to any fan of Bill's work or to anyone that enjoys stand-up albums. If you like good storytelling, you can't get better than this.
Description of I Started Out As a Child
Here's a slice of Cosby before he became a major television star. At this point in time, the main appeal of I Started Out as a Child is its innocence. Recorded live at a Chicago club in 1964, the disc is a product of a now-quaint American scene, as yet untouched by the radical social changes that were just around the corner. Cosby pulls in the listener by introducing his only mildly humorous stories in a warm, intimate tone. Then he switches to using a variety of animated voices and vocal sound effects to get laughs from a responsive audience. If you want to enjoy the gentle ambiance and warmth of another time, this CD is for you. However, Cosby's at-times charming, skilled performance isn't enough to make this dated material funny. --Fred CisternaMiscellaneous CDs
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