FIRST RUSH - Chris Rush
YEAR: 1973
LABEL: Atlantic
TRACK LISTING: Even Nice People Get T.V., Ca-Ca-Ah-Ah-Doody-Poo-Poo, Grass, Science Fiction, Jesus In a Dope Bust, Sister John Damian's Virgin School, Golden Zits of the Fifties, Mind Farts, Naked Ape, Blacula / Tar Baby, Abie's Magic Hat
IMPRESSIONS: This is one of those "naughty" comedy records you find deep in your parents' record collection when you're about 13. I'll always remember doing so, drawn firstly to the fantastic cover art. Not knowing what it was, I dropped the needle in the outer groove and encountered something truly hilarious. Sounding totally transgressive at the time with its naughty language and talk of drugs, now it seems more like a nostalgic trip back to the past I can envelope myself in like a snug blanket. While a comedy record from 1973 must needs be a tad dated, it actually remains very, very funny and the listener does run the risk of developing "laugh face": the hurting of the face and jaw caused by excessive laughter which an audience member actually experiences on the album itself. Long, long out of print, the album has finally become available on itunes and elsewhere.
MY FAVOURITE TRACKS: All of 'em . . . it's really one big stand-up routine, after all, and should be listened to in its entirety.
FACT SHEET: FIRST RUSH is Chris Rush's first album. Rush is one of the first comedians Ahmet Ertegun signed to Atlantic Records and was called "one of the true comedy greats" by his mentor George Carlin; who was financing Rush's one-man show before he died in 2008. Rush was a writer for NATIONAL LAMPOON starting in 1970. FIRST RUSH was certified gold. Two more comedy albums followed: in 1981 "BEAMING IN" and more recently "THERE ARE NO BONES IN ICE CREAM". Rush is the author of the book "MILKING THE RHINO" (with foreword by George Carlin) and has appeared on TV shows ranging from his mid-90's "FOOD FOR THOUGHT" comedy shorts on Comedy Central's "SMALL DOSES" to legendary late-night programme "NIGHT FLIGHT".
