Himself

BILL COSBY: HIMSELF is easily one of the funniest things I've ever heard. Even after having heard it (and seen it) so many times as to have various excerpts memorized, it's still hilarious! As far as Bill Cosby comedy is concerned, the only thing funnier than this CD is watching the DVD.

Unfortunately, this CD has been heavily edited. Less than half of the performance is here. Missing on the CD are the monologues about getting drunk, the bratty four-year-old Jeffrey on the airplane (one of my personal favorites), and passing the newborn's poopy diaper around (before "God put odor in the poo-poo").

I understand this performance was transferred to CD at a time when CDs were a relatively new technology and you just couldn't fit an exorbitant amount of time on one disc and still expect decent sound quality. But today, you can. So, I wish they (whoever the "they" happens to be) would take advantage of the new digital technology available and put the whole performance on CD (or on two CDs).

But even with all the edits, and without the complete performance, this edition is still worth the money, as your fits of laughter will often remind you.

Bill Cosby at his best. What more can you say. Bill is an expert at taking every day life and making it funny. Whether or not you are a Cosby fan or not, most people will enjoy this.

There is a picture of the "Bill Cosby:Himself" on the cover of the DVD but the DVD is audio only....just sound, no images! Very dissapointing. Suggest the title be renamed to Bill Cosby: an Audio version only of "Himself". However, I was and remain very appreciative of the Amazon service level in my efforts to re-order a Visual and Audio version of the DVD. Thanks, Bern

The tracks on this album were taken from Bill Cosby's stand-up movie of the same name. Along with "Why Is There Air?", this is my favorite Cosby album. "Same Thing Happens Every Night" will leave you in fits of laughter. "Chocolate Cake For Breakfast" is another highlight. There is also "The Grandparents" where Bill's father tells him "I brought you into this world, I'll take you out." This is a fantastic album (even though it's not the full performance) and a highly recommended purchase.

I first heard this album (on vinyl!) when I was a teenager. I am very happy that it is available on CD so that my kids who are now young adults can enjoy it. The humor has lost nothing over the years, and it makes me laugh just as much now as it did then. "Noah" is still a classic; listen to this rather than see "Evan Almighty" if you really want to laugh!