Otherwise, here’s a definitive ranking of all George Carlin albums:Ģ0. Some of the albums from his discography are omitted, such as compilation releases, bonus discs found in box sets, as well as interview-only releases, such as a 2002 album called George Carlin on Comedy. One of the advantages of ranking the albums as opposed to the specials is that it allows us to cover Carlin’s entire career, including his pre-1970 years as a clean-cut comedian. Therefore, as much as his albums after his first 1977 HBO special are basically audio-only versions of the specials themselves, their ranking might not be the same as my previous list. Yet listening to it without any visual distractions makes his passion about the subject come through that much more potently. His rant about how euphemisms soften the English language from the 1990 album, Parental Advisory, is a direct audio rip from his special from the same year, Doin’ It Again. On the other hand, some of his performances might get a boost in intensity and clarity when listened to, like the pissed-off sermon of an angry philosopher who’s had it up to here with bullshit. This tiny bit of physical comedy that gives a hilarious button to the bit is of course lost in the audio release. In order to further solidify his point, he puts on the goofy smiley face of a dead relative looking down from the clouds, waving and giving thumbs up like a drunk football fan at the nosebleed seats. One clear example is from It’s Bad For Ya, his last special before his death in 2008: While engaged in one of his favorite past times, mocking the hypocrisy and stupidity of organized religion, he ridicules the belief that dead loved ones might be looking down and smiling on their still-living relatives. Of course a lot of the visual appeal of Carlin’s act is lost when experienced on an audio-only format.
It takes a special kind of genius to make painstakingly detailed material come off as heated stream-of-consciousness rants.Īs brilliant and meticulously constructed as Carlin’s written material was, it was his kinetic and carefully choreographed stage presence that really sold a lot of his bits. The brilliance of his method of delivery lay with the fact that he was always meticulous about his work, slaving over every word, almost never deviating from his writing, while performing it with the grace and dedication of a Shakespearean actor.
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Religion just happened to fit the bill, along with evil, manipulative politicians, a materialist society, an overtly PC culture that softens language to build an overly sensitive world, and the all-around general stupidity of human nature.Įspecially during the final two decades of his career, he proudly wore the badge of being the ‘cranky, unhinged, angry old man railing against a corrupt and misguided society’ that made his performances seem like raw and unfiltered regurgitations of his innermost complaints and grievances. Yet Carlin didn’t just hate religion, he hated hypocrisy, bullshit and willful ignorance, especially the American kind. Carlin fans should immediately point out the paradox of using a religious allegory while describing this great comedian, actor, artist, performer, philosopher and all around fearless shit-stirrer, since he was once of the first fervent anti-religion advocates in mainstream entertainment. Before I specifically get into the audio albums, I’d like to remind you of my general thoughts on George Carlin, as taken from my list ranking all of his comedy specials:Īs far as I’m concerned, the holy trinity of comedy consists of Richard Pryor, George Carlin and Bill Hicks.
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