Search - George Carlin :: Parental Advisory

Formidable look at the English language, just sublime

Andrius Uzkalnis | Reading, Berkshire, United Kingdom | 09/19/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"George Carlin is an extraordinarily strong expert of the language: he looks at it, thinks about it, then thinks about it some more and twists and places the bits in the way you never thought possible.Pair it with his consummate delivery skills: timing, pitch, slow climb to the peak - he is a true professional. And he is not just "bursting with energy" like some lesser comedians who substitute silly meaningless clowning on stage for professional comedy delivery: Carlin's energy is masterfully and skillfully channelled towards achieving his goal of lighting the fire of the audience.It is hard to believe the record is now 12 years old. It sounds fresh and the best tracks (Rape Can Be Funny; Feminist BJ; and the pinnacle of linguistic joy, Offensive Language) are absolute gems in the outstandingly rich collection of George Carlin."

A Celebration of Vulgarity (and So Much More)

Steev Proteus | nowhere in particular | 08/24/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This CD represents some of George Carlin's best material, in my opinion. His treatise on language, which he developed for many years, was never funnier or more provocative than it is here. Perfection. Unlike the other reviewer, I was not offended by the cancer riffs; I see this as part of his systematic breakdown of verbal decorum. Good taste is thrown out the window at the outset: Carlin begins by promising not to use any euphemistic or otherwise indirect language. Good taste in common speech serves no useful purpose other than concealing the truth. It is through his series of shocks to the system that he is able to build to the serious points he makes (in very humorous ways) both along the way and at the show's end. By first confronting the audience with uncomfortable material on subjects such as cancer and rape (a particularly funny bit, as some have remarked here), he is able to let the audience know that they need not fear censure or censorship, that it IS okay to laugh at things, even if they're unpleasant; at a George Carlin show, anything can be discussed openly and made light of, all the better to put it a distance so as to examine them more objectively, unfettered by moral judgment or the kind of "soft langage" Carlin rails against so vitriolically, the language that stifles pure individual expression and conceals the truth. The points he makes on the subjects mentioned above, as well as racism, and of course the prevailing themes of the hypocrisy of censorship and of politically correct language, are all very blunt and to the point, and delivered with all the cynical eloquence of a man who's been around for awhile, and doesn't like much of what he sees. The message is pessimistic in some ways, but Carlin's singular command of language (ranging from the scatological to the intellectual sometimes in midsentence) makes the material almost impossible not to listen to. I am glad that there is a comedian out there who can tell a string of fart jokes and go on a few minutes later to make an important sociological point. Carlin is not just a great comedian, but a great thinker. It'll be a real pity when he croaks."

A fine scathing effort

Othersider | Texas | 03/15/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Anyone who has followed Carlin over the course of his career can observe his "downward spiral" into the world of cantankerous, irritable social criticism. As far as that goes, this CD is hilarious, but never at the expense of humor, unless you're offended - of course, even if you are, you might still be laughing. It's a different Carlin than the guy who brought us "Shoot" and "Seven Words You Can Never Say On Television", but hilarious nonetheless."