Bill Cosby - Why Is There Air
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Music CD Cover
Artist: Bill CosbyEdition: Music CD
Format: Soundtrack
CD Release Date: 1998-04-28
Music Label: Warner Bros / Wea
Soundtracks:
- Kindergarten
- Personal Hygiene
- Shop
- Baby
- Driving in San Francisco
- $75 Car
- The Toothache
- Hofstra
Free Music Notes for Why Is There Air
Free Music Review: The Essential Bill Cosby: Cosby's First Tour de Force
Hit: 5 Stars
Bill Cosby's third attempt, WHY IS THERE AIR?, is a true comedy gem. Jerry Seinfeld attributes his desire to go into comedy as largely stemming from listening to this album. Perhaps what I enjoy the most about this third attempt is that it is the first album in which we get to hear Bill develop his bits for several minutes. With more room to work (almost forty minutes on this album), Cosby chooses to develop only eight bits. (Compare that to his second album, "I STARTED OUT AS A CHILD," in which Cosby squeezes an amazing 15 tracks into thirty minutes). Given the expanded length of the tracks, we get to hear Cosby develop his routines and his storytelling style really begins to take shape. Cosby simply can't be enjoyed in one minute segments. The power of his later albums is his ability to build you up across several routines to the point where you are rolling in the aisles.
In Cosby's second album, "I STARTED OUT AS A CHILD," only the first few tracks explored Bill Cosby's childhood. The rest of the album was still dedicated to the kind of observational comedy that defined his first album BILL COSBY IS A VERY FUNNY FELLOW RIGHT?. In this third album, Cosby begins to fully explore the themes that would define the rest of his comedic life. Almost the entire album is dedicated to Cosby's humorous and universal stories. Where we do find observational comedy, it is always placed in the context of Bill's life.
"Kindergarten" is an oft-forgotten piece about, well, you guessed it: Kindergarten. I recently listened to it and was instantly reminded of several episodes of the THE COSBY SHOW, since much of the material was used in Rudy's school experiences. My favorite line is when Cosby remarks on how difficult it was to go to school the first day, but by the second day he was totally cool: "Goodbye, Mother. Take care of yourself, won't you dear? I should be home...oh...12:30...quarter to one...somewhere around there. I might be late...I may have a little milk with the boys, you know what I mean? Tell Dad I'll see him around dinnertime."
"Shop" is a classic routine found on a few other collections in which Cosby reflects on his horrible performance in shop class, a practical joke, and a shop teacher who likes to get personal with personal insults. "Baby" is a hilarious piece about having children and the different perspectives men and women have on the subject of being pregnant. "Driving in San Francisco" is another classic routine in which Cosby pokes fun at the ridiculous hills in San Francisco.
"Hofstra" is a very interesting piece in virtue of the fact that it appeared, in a less developed version, on Cosby's second album. That track, titled "TV Football," is good, but lacks the development and polish that "Hofstra" shows. By listening to both and comparing, you can tell how much Cosby has worked the bit (in live performances) and developed it into an eight minute routine. It is fantastic and an interesting window into Cosby's comedic development.
In sum, Cosby is in complete control in WHY IS THERE AIR?. This album is a comedy classic and, together with REVENGE and WONDERFULNESS, is perhaps Cosby's best work. I highly recommend it for all ages.
Why Is There Air Poster
Another million seller (#19 in 1965)! Includes Personal Hygiene; Driving in San Francisco; The Toothache , and more.Cosby sounds fired up on this live one. "Kindergarten" kicks off the disc in fine fashion with the soon-to-be TV star's spot-on and kid-centered description of early grammar school. Cosby accurately captures the strangeness of a time when a lot of things don't quite make sense and you are constantly being told what to do. "Personal Hygiene" and "Shop" take us through junior high before we arrive at the comedian's tales of young adulthood on the disc's last five tracks. "Hofstra" closes the CD with an eight-minute depiction of a very bad college football team before and during another humiliating game. Cosby manages to turn the awful team's terror and suffering into an occasion for laughs. Like other Cosby albums from the '60s, Why Is There Air? is full of the comic's highly effective sound effects. --Fred Cisterna
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