Redd Foxx
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John Elroy Sanford
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Dec 09 1922 – Oct 11 1991 age 68
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"Uncensored" sees Redd
Foxx seeming very relaxed as he delivers joke after hilarious joke.
The audience is with him, he's with them, and it all makes for a very
pleasurable, uplifting and genuinely funny listening experience.
He
tells of unfaithful wives, cannibal chiefs, the origins of certain black
expressions, contemplates what would happen if only Liberace, Johnny
Mathis and Sonny Liston survived WWIII and even relates a story of
Moses, St. Peter and "J.C." playing a friendly game of golf. He tells
one tale after another to an audience that is very hugely enjoying
itself.
The title of the CD might fool you. Foxx's material is
not explicit. It's more implicit and subtle, and this was the man's
genius. Unlike today, a comedian couldn't just come out and "say it."
He had to be crafty about it or face whatever would ensue, be it
censorship, arrest, or some other consequence. Foxx was one of the
masters of this type of craftiness. This is why, in my opinion, his
stuff is infinitely more clever than most of the raw stuff that's out
there today.
One of the other things that made Foxx great was
his interplay with his audience. Behind the raspy voice, pinpoint
timing and wonderfully bawdy humor, was a caring, sensitive man who was
aware that, perhaps, his audience really needed to let go. Many times,
you can hear him say, "Go on and laugh, honey" or "You can laugh out
loud here, friends." Also, to his credit, in all the recordings I have
of Foxx (and I have a few), he was never cruel with the people that came
to see him, unlike so many comedians of today. This undercurrent of
true sensitivity amidst all the laughs, at least to me, was what made
Foxx a truly great comedian.
Foxx
saw hard times when he was starting out in comedy, and I get the
impression that he was sensitive to the fact that perhaps some of his
audience might've been going through some hard times, as well. Even
years after the material was initially recorded, whenever you let Redd
Foxx take a spin on your turntable or in your CD player, be it in the
form of Uncensored or any of his many other albums, you end up in a
better mood. I'm sure his audience of the time felt the exact same way.
Performed in front of an African-American audience, Uncensored sees Redd
Foxx seeming very relaxed as he delivers joke after hilarious joke.
The audience is with him, he's with them, and it all makes for a very
pleasurable, uplifting and genuinely funny listening experience.
He
tells of unfaithful wives, cannibal chiefs, the origins of certain black
expressions, contemplates what would happen if only Liberace, Johnny
Mathis and Sonny Liston survived WWIII and even relates a story of
Moses, St. Peter and "J.C." playing a friendly game of golf. He tells
one tale after another to an audience that is very hugely enjoying
itself.
The title of the CD might fool you. Foxx's material is
not explicit. It's more implicit and subtle, and this was the man's
genius. Unlike today, a comedian couldn't just come out and "say it."
He had to be crafty about it or face whatever would ensue, be it
censorship, arrest, or some other consequence. Foxx was one of the
masters of this type of craftiness. This is why, in my opinion, his
stuff is infinitely more clever than most of the raw stuff that's out
there today.
One of the other things that made Foxx great was
his interplay with his audience. Behind the raspy voice, pinpoint
timing and wonderfully bawdy humor, was a caring, sensitive man who was
aware that, perhaps, his audience really needed to let go. Many times,
you can hear him say, "Go on and laugh, honey" or "You can laugh out
loud here, friends." Also, to his credit, in all the recordings I have
of Foxx (and I have a few), he was never cruel with the people that came
to see him, unlike so many comedians of today. This undercurrent of
true sensitivity amidst all the laughs, at least to me, was what made
Foxx a truly great comedian.
Foxx
saw hard times when he was starting out in comedy, and I get the
impression that he was sensitive to the fact that perhaps some of his
audience might've been going through some hard times, as well. Even
years after the material was initially recorded, whenever you let Redd
Foxx take a spin on your turntable or in your CD player, be it in the
form of Uncensored or any of his many other albums, you end up in a
better mood. I'm sure his audience of the time felt the exact same way.
01 Thanksgiving Day 0:45
02 Bye, Bye 1:18
03 Sex In The Dark 0:42
04 Cannibal Customs 1:06
05 Mink 0:26
06 Colored People 2:03
07 Mashed Potatoes 0:23
08 School 0:33
09 No Dogs Allowed 0:46
10 Miracle Golf 0:55
11 Slack And Pack 0:50
12 Sugar Ray Robinson 0:13
13 Facing The Truth 1:25
14 End Of The World 1:29
15 Horn Blowing 0:19
16 Well Pussy 0:35
17 Grand Central Station 0:44
18 The Hat 0:54
19 Tarzan's Tell 1:27
20 International Redd 0:34
21 Mop Bucket 0:44
22 Memories 0:48
23 Pregnant 0:22
24 War Stories 2:28
25 Goodies From A Nut 1:32
26 The Wrong Zipper 2:15
27 Old People 0:31
28 My Old Lady 1:03
29 240 Big Ones 1:29
30 Dogs 1:58
31 Poverty 0:17
32 Ooh! 0:38
33 Joe Lewis 1:04
34 Confusions 1:11
35 The Dental Drunk 0:45
36 There Was 1:00
37 A Prayer 1:01
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