Richard Pryor – Craps (After Hours)

Stand Up! Records

£37.78

Format: 2 x 12" Vinyl
Catalogue No.: SUR239
Barcode: 609461022417
Release Date: 09 Jun 2023
Genre: Comedy

“The crown prince of comedy.” That’s how Richard Pryor was introduced at The Redd Foxx Club—and how he was known throughout the world. Was he also a righteous fool? No doubt. Was he a king among kings? That, too. And did he sire generations to follow in his comedic dynasty? You’re goddamned right he did. “'Craps' (After Hours)” finds Pryor at perhaps his most carnal, deeply ruminating upon (when not absolutely enjoying) all the ways fleshly pursuits from fighting and fornicating to drinking and drugging distract us, destroy us, and make us utterly human. Along the way, we get classic Pryor character studies, from the men enjoying the stage that was a Saturday night police lineup to the unfailingly polite white clientele of the whorehouses in his childhood environs, fathers ready to defend their daughters’ long-since departed honor, preachers enlivened by their personal relationships with God, tricks plying their trade while lying through their teeth, and, of course, Wino & Junkie, those staples of the streetcorner. Perhaps the most astounding thing is realizing that, in 2023, not a moment of these records feels out of date or distant; it’s all right there, the troubles of our times, unfolding then as they unfold now. At least then we had Richard Pryor to guide us through.