Folkways/Broadside, 1967. New Copy Gatefold
Very free-flowing poetry from a group of artists that includes older beats and younger hippies -- all gathered together for the New York Workshop In Nonviolence! The album's got a bit of an ESP Records sort of feel -- not in an avant jazz way, but in the manner of the freely open style that some
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Folkways, 1954. New Copy
A very cool record! Langston tells the story of jazz, using snippets of work from the Folkways catalog -- like tunes by Louis Armstrong, Baby Dodd, Ma Rainey, Leadbelly, and others -- all sewn together in a rich narrative on the history of the music, delivered with some surprising illumination by
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Folkways, 1950s. New Copy
A wonderful collection of work from Langston Hughes -- material pulled from a handful of albums recorded for the Folkway labels in the 50s, all of which are pretty darn great and long out of print! Hughes' writings are well known -- part of a rich tradition of African-American expression in the
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Folkways, 1977. New Copy Gatefold
A pretty cool collection produced by Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee -- focusing on famous speeches by important female African-Americans -- mostly focusing on the civil rights era, but also featuring an early speech by Ida B Wells. Ruby reads the speeches, and works include "I Am A Black
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Folkways, 1981. New Copy Gatefold
One of the coolest records we've ever heard from beat legend Allen Ginsberg -- not just a record of his famous poetry, but one that also features him on harmonium as well! There's a really weird, dark sound to the record -- as Ginsberg plays harmonium and sings/speaks his own words -- older themes
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Folkways, 1966. New Copy Gatefold
A wonderful early bit of psychedelia from an academic perspective -- a record that features Timothy Leary, Ralph Metzner, and Richard Alpert -- all reading from the book The Psychedelic Experience A Manual Based On The Tibetan Book Of The Dead! The album's divided up into two sections -- "G
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Chess, 1963. Very Good+
Cover has some water damage near the bottom -- a tiny bit of peeling on the front, and some staining on the back.
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Atlantic, 1972. Very Good+
No music -- and as far as we can tell, the whole album's lifted from bits that appeared in the hit TV show. Not that that's a problem, though, as Carroll O'Connor, Jean Stapleton, Rob Reiner, and crew never fail to please. Bits include "Breasts", "Archie & Maude", "Arc
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Atlantic, 1971. Very Good+
Yipes, this must have been a clear indication of just how popular the show really was! The album's little more than bits lifted off the TV soundtrack -- with bits that include "Why God Made Hands", "Sweety Pie Roger", "VD Day", "God is Black", and "Jury
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Loma/Warner, Late 60s. Very Good
Nothing psychedelic here, but in our book Redd Foxx is always a trip! The set's a classic batch of live material cut for the Loma label -- with Redd very much in his own element, performing before a very well-lubricated audience at the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas! The album's a lot funnier than
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Columbia, 1982. Very Good
Remember when Eddie Murphy used to standup? We do! Cut around the time he was still on SNL, just before Delirious came out and filled with hilarious skits like "Buckwheat", "Talking Cars", "Hit By A Car", "Drinking Fathers", and "Black Movie
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Atlantic, 1975. Very Good+
Redd Foxx doing is thing live in '75 at the Apollo -- his return to recording after 12 years without a comedy album! You Gotta Wash Your Ass was cut while Sanford & Son was still in production -- making this blue performance a gritty return to form for Foxx! It isn't as flamboyantly raw as
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Fantasy, 1959. New Copy
A beautiful beat-era relic! This is one of the few albums that San Francisco-based Fantasy records cut of famous beat poets reading their own work -- and it's probably one of the most enduring! Ginsberg reads "Howl", "Footnote To Howl", "Sunflower Sutra", "Superm
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Takoma, 1972. New Copy
Charles Bukowski in all his glory -- reading his own material before a very lively (and probably lubricated!) audience -- bringing all his own vocal tones into play with his earthy writing -- which makes us love the words even more than in printed form! The set was recorded in San Francisco in the
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Folkways, 1967. New Copy Gatefold
A seminal set of righteous underground poetry -- a key bridge between the earlier work of Langston Hughes and some of the bigger spoken sides of the 70s by artists like Gil Scott-Heron or Wanda Robinson! As the title promises, there's a definite undercurrent of jazz in the work -- but mostly in
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Fantasy, Mid 60s/Early 70s. New Copy
Issued after Lenny's death, but a record that contains some of his best bits ever! In fact, the later date of the album probably allowed Fantasy to get away with some rawer material, so you'll hear more of the "true" side of Lenny -- especially on the album's live tracks. We think this
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Folkways, 1980. New Copy Gatefold
A hip batch of underground poetry tracks -- collected together by the Before Columbus Foundation, a group dedicated to promoting the works of African-American and Native American artists! Despite the 1980 date, the collection has a feel that's similar to earlier righteous poetry albums on the
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ESP, 1966. New Copy
One of the weirdest recordings we've ever heard from Timothy Leary -- a 1966 set that features mostly shorter spoken bits on a variety of topics -- done by Tim in a very odd sort of style -- almost like he's a bit shy in the recording studio! There's a slightly self-conscious feel to the record
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Fantasy, 1959/1960. New Copy
A Lenny Bruce 2-fer -- 2 classic albums back to back on a single CD! First up is the album Togetherness -- classic early Lenny Bruce work on Fantasy -- a groundbreaking set of tracks that features some great shorter snippets, plus a few of the longer, more drawn-out routines that soon became Bruce'
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Loma/Collectors Choice, 1967. New Copy
Excellent stuff -- one of Redd's high-quality albums for the Loma label, arguably some of his finest ever -- because the recording quality is always high, and the material is pretty fresh throughout! If you only know Foxx from his work on TV, this album is a key example of the genius that got him
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