Lenny Bruce

Let The Buyer Beware (2004)
7-1/2 Hours Of Mostly Unreleased Lenny
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He helped advance stand-up beyond "jokes," rewrote the rules regarding which ideas could be addressed from a stage, became the sacrificial lamb of the 50s/60s censorship ground war, spent a lot of time in court... and died a junkie - nearly broken by legal fees and an inability to get work. Trailblazer... iconic martyr... the father of modern day free expression. Lenny did, indeed, die for our sins. Well... at least the ability to talk about them. Yet, to this day, many still have a hard time understanding why Bruce is held in such high regard. He's often considered more acute than 'funny,' and relished his characters (and their outrageous flaws) far more than a punchline, which sometimes left confused patrons wondering what he was even talking about. It wasn't the heroin. It was his rapid fire, stream of consciousness delivery - loaded with hip, 50s jazz dialect, Jewish angst, obscure references, show biz lingo, character voices and narcotic-fueled insight. His monologues were filled with so much verbal shorthand and so many elusive sidetracks that those who lagged behind were forced to wait for the dirty words just to join in the laughter. Yet, unlike most comics (and comedy albums), Bruce's work actually gets better with repeated listens. Once his mind's narrative has been canvased a few times, Bruce's dizzying thought process makes more sense with each listen, each triangulation, each connected dot. It's why those who know Bruce's work, those who listen for the ideas, swear by it. This Hal Willner produced box set is a gold mine of archival Bruce. It's not really a best of, though plenty of his great bits are here. This may not be the best place for newbies, but seasoned listeners will marvel at the depth of material. Hear an unedited "Hubert's Museum" from Disc 3. Track listings in Comments.