Lenny Bruce - Comedy & Controversy: The Original Albums 1958-61 - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Jonathan Winters was an American comedian, actor, broadcaster, TV presenter, artist and author who received eight Grammy nominations for Best Comedy Album during his career. He had a troubled childhood and developed his comedy persona as a response to his emotional traumas, and won a talent competition which led to a job as a DJ where his comedy gradually took over the show. He was a constant sufferer from nervous breakdowns and bi-polar disorder, which contributed to his approach as a pioneer of improvisational stand-up comedy, with a gift for impressions and mimicry, developing a range of characters that he used in his act - as he said himself InchI was fighting for the fact that you could be funny without telling jokesInch. This 3-CD set comprises the complete contents of his first five albums, all on the Verve tag - InchThe Wonderful World of Jonathan WintersInch, InchDown To EarthInch, InchJonathan Winters In Concert Here's JonathanInch, InchAnother Day, Another WorldInch and InchHumor Seen through the Eyes of Jonathan WintersInch, all of them recorded in front of a 'live' audience. It naturally includes many of the routines which made him famous on TV. For those unfamiliar with his work, it's a great introduction to a highly individual entertainer, and for those revisiting his work from those times, it's a feast of comedy very much of it's era, but which laid the groundwork for later performers

The Comic Strip is a group of British comedians who came to prominence in the 1980s. They are known for their television series The Comic Strip Presents... which was labelled as a pioneering example of the alternative comedy scene. The core members are Adrian Edmondson, Dawn French, Rik Mayall, Nigel Planer, Peter Richardson, Jennifer Saunders and Alexei Sayle, with frequent appearances by Keith Allen, Robbie Coltrane, Lanah P and others. The series debuted on the 2nd November 1982, the opening night of Britain's brave new Channel 4.

Stan Freberg was a comedian, broadcaster, writer and actor who was best-known for his satirical radio shows and recordings during the 1950s and '60s. Starting his career providing the voices for cartoon animations at Warner Bros., he graduated in the late '40s to being a screen actor in satirical roles. He appeared on a 1947 by Cliffie Stone's Barn Dance band before starting recording for Capitol under his own name in 1951, specialising in doing parodies of current popular songs and styles, and had nearly twenty charted hits during the '50s - quite a feat for comedy material which was out of the pop mainstream. This 45-track 2-CD set comprises the A & B sides of singles which were released during the period, and naturally features all his hits, including the No. 1 InchSt. George and The DragonetInch, along with other Top 20 classics like InchLittle Blue Riding HoodInch and the marvellous satirical takes on InchThe Yellow Rose Of TexasInch, InchSh-BoomInch, and InchCryInch. This was a fascinating and highly individual strand of the recording business of the era, when satirical comedy and social commentary of all kinds became popular during a time of social and musical upheaval, and this collection is an entertaining memento of one it's most distinctive practitioners