Richard Pryor
Omnivore, 2021
8/10
The legendary Richard Pryor’s debut self-titled album sees the reissue treatment thanks to Omnivore Recordings, and the classic is restored and expanded on a double CD that includes 21 bonus tracks as well as new liner notes from Scott Saul.
Originally released in 1968, Richard Pryor sees the comic genius at the start of his colorful career, as the first disc offers the original record, where Pryor’s unorthodox brand of sketches include the many impersonations on “T.V. Panel Show”, while “Prison Play” allows his inimitable storytelling to draw us in. “Super Nigger”, Pryor’s favorite track, starts the album and takes issue with the whiteness of superheroes, as he views a black man as the hero and Clark Kent a janitor.
The second disc compiles outtakes and sketches from the out of print Evolution/Revolution: The Early Years (1966-1974). The tracks are remastered by Grammy recipient Michael Graves, and further solidify Pryor’s improvisational, eccentric, and often perceptive observations on being a black man in a white dominated society.
Not only did Pryor make legions of new fans with this first effort, but he nabbed a Grammy nomination for Best Album Cover, too. During a time when Black Lives Matter has truly changed the way that America looks at social and political issues with regard to the Black Community, Pryor’s comedy is more relevant than ever, and here it’s preserved in a fine package that long time fans and first time listeners will appreciate.
Travels well with: George Carlin- Class Clown; Eddie Murphy- Eddie Murphy