Richard Pryor: ...And It's Deep Too! The Complete Warner Bros. Recordings (1968-1992)

One can't help but feel both elated and sad when listening to this colossal overview of Richard Pryor's recorded work. Multiple sclerosis has silenced the greatest humorist of his generation, and that's tragic for Pryor. But it's also a heartbreaking loss for comedy, for, as these discs amply illustrate, the man who exploded the parameters of stage comedy in the '70s could have taken it in wild new directions. As it was, Pryor fleshed out Lenny Bruce's commitment to brutal honesty--and with a keener acting ability. This nine-CD set includes the comic's seven Warner Bros. LPs, plus a disc of previously unissued material and a rare 25-minute interview from 1983. Listening to the likes of 1974's That Nigger's Crazy and 1978's Live in Concert, it's obvious that while the man shaped comedy for decades to come, very few of those who've followed in his footsteps have anything near the talent, fearlessness, wisdom, or insight that Pryor possessed. Or the pain, for that matter. But as Pryor observed looking back at his peak years, "I was a drug-addicted, paranoid, frightened, lonely, sad, and frustrated comedian who had gotten too big for his britches." All those qualities come through loud and clear on these discs, but what he's left out is that, at the very same time, he was also very possibly the funniest man on the planet. --Steven Stolder