Classic Gold Norristown PA

Classic Gold

George Carlin

Eardrum Records, 1992

REVIEW BY: Christopher Thelen

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 08/21/1997

At the height of his career, George Carlin was to the comedyworld what Howard Stern is to radio today: the bastard child whohad the courage to say what was on his mind, even if it wentagainst what was popular at the time. In fact, Carlin's own battlesagainst obscenity (the classic "Seven Words You Can Never Say OnTelevision") mirrors some of the struggles Stern has had with theFCC.

Carlin has always been a master social critic, and a collectionof his early work, Classic Gold, is evidence of that skill, as well as hishumor.

The two-disc set is a re-packaging of Carlin's first threealbums, FM & AM, Class Clown and Occupation: Foole. (I remember that my dad had FM & AM when I was a small child; he had to keep therecord on a high shelf in a closet to keep me from it.) You canhear Carlin's reputation grow as he moves from playing a smallvenue ( FM & AM) to finding out he won a Grammy while on stagein front of a larger audience ( Occupation: Foole). But while his audience grew, so did hiscaustic wit and criticism of the Vietnam War.

You do have to keep an open mind when listening to some of hisbits. "I Used To Be Irish Catholic" tells of his split withCatholicism, though he handles the subject tastefully (being aRoman Catholic, I wasn't offended). And you'll definitely want tokeep the kids away for some of the routines, especially "SevenWords You Can Never Say On Television." (It is interesting to notethat, 25 years later, the list still is accurate.)