Shelley Berman
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Sheldon Berman
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Chicago, Illinois, USA
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Shelley Berman
devoted much of his time to acting in the '90s after spending the
lion's share of the previous two decades semi-retired, but this album,
recorded at one of Los Angeles's best-known comedy clubs, shows his
talent and instincts as a standup comic remained as sharp as ever. Live
at the Improv features both fresh material and Berman reprising routines from his classic albums of the '50s and '60s. While somewhere along the line Berman
seems to have developed a fondness for dialect gags (such as the Latino
room service operator in "Hotels" or the presumably Eastern European
translator in "International Conference"), for the most part this finds Berman
firmly in touch with his neuroses and diving into them with comic
panache. The new recordings of "Department Store," "Neurosis," and
"Father and Son" are different but not necessarily inferior to the
original performances, and the passage of time has added a gravitas to
"Father and Son" that separates it from the version on Outside Shelley Berman.
And while new bits like "Argued with My Pants" and "Soap" are on the
lighter side of his spectrum, they're consistently funny and show he
hasn't lost his touch (and the latter's construction as a series of
letters is a clever variation on the telephone call routines that helped
make him famous). Folks wanting a perspective on why Shelley Berman's
classic albums were so path-breaking ought to dig up some of his
vintage Verve recordings, but longtime fans will find plenty to enjoy on
Live at the Improv. [Live at the Improv was previously released as Live Again! by the Chuckle label, and also issued in an edition by Laugh.com.] ~Source Allmusic.com
01 Introduction: Argued With My Pants
02 The Department Store
03 Hotles (Coat Hangers, Toilet Seat, Soap, Room Service)
04 I'm Not Doing The Airplane Material
05 International Conference
06 Neurosis
07 Embarrasing Moments
08 Fathers & Sons .jpg) |  |
KTel
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Stand-up
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Enjoy!
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