L.A. Jail
Encyclopedia
L.A. Jail is a 1976 album
release by Richard Pryor
. According to the notes on the album it was recorded live at P.J.’s in Los Angeles
. The actual details of when and where it was recorded, as well as the question of whether or not Pryor approved of the release of this album are, however, debatable.
(No running times are listed on the album. These times are an approximation based on the watch of this article's original author.)
but before he recorded the 1974 LP, That Nigger's Crazy
. This is suggested both by the tone and content of the material as well as by the information available about this recording in the Goldmine Comedy Record Price Guide.
Sonically this album is uniformly consistent. There are no significant changes in the character of Pryor’s voice, the level of the volume, or the general sounds of the audience. On several different tracks there are problems with noises and distortion from the microphone which are all acoustically similar to each other. All of this suggests that the master tapes for this album were recorded during one set of performances with the same recording set up, the same engineer, and the same troublesome microphone. It is not, like some of Pryor’s unauthorized albums on Laff Records
, made up of sonically inconsistent tracks obviously recorded at different performances and different points during his career.
Two of the tracks on this album are taken from one of Pryor’s previously released albums. Tracks #1 and #7, "Arrested" and "Black Jack," on this album are the same as Tracks #8 and #14, "Cops/Line Up" and "Black Jack," on the Craps (After Hours)
album.
Since Craps
is known to have been recorded at The Redd Foxx Club in Hollywood this calls into question the assertion of this album’s own notes which state that it was recorded at P.J.’s in Los Angeles
. Many of these tracks appear later on the 2005 compilation album Evolution/Revolution: The Early Years (1966–1974) which does include detailed notes. According to the notes on Evolution/Revolution, the tracks on this album which also appear on Craps
were recorded at The Redd Foxx Club in January 1971. Those notes from Evolution/Revolution, however, do not include any information concerning the dates or venues for the other tracks which appear on both Evolution/Revolution and L.A. Jail.
The usually reliable Goldmine Comedy Record Price Guide also claims that Pryor authorized the release of this album on Tiger Lily Records. As most sources such as Robert Plante claim, however, the releases on Tiger Lily were usually unauthorized--Tiger Lily being, in fact, a tax scam operated by Morris Levy
, the Mafia connected head of Roulette Records
. The fact that several of these tracks are copies of tracks which appeared on an album that Pryor had previously released also supports the notion that this album was not authorized.
S1,T1 - "Arrested" - which appears on E/R as #30 - "The Line Up"
S1,T6 - "Bathrooms" - which appears on E/R as #16 - "Movie Stars In The Bathroom"
S2,T1 - "Black Jack" - which appears on E/R as #36 - "Blackjack"
S2,T2 "Groovy Feelings" - which appears on E/R as #12 - "I Feel"
S2,T4 "Chow Line" - which appears on E/R as #13 - "Jail"
"Farting Smells" includes material that is very similar to the tracks "Fartin’" from Craps (After Hours)
and "Farting" from Richard Pryor
.
"Funky People" is incredibly similar to "Smells" from Richard Pryor
.
"2001" is an almost verbatim recreation of a scene from the film 2001: A Space Odyssey
which Pryor will again recreate at the end of the track "Acid" from Bicentennial Nigger
. This track may also help date this recording since Pryor claims that his reason for recreating this scene was because he had just seen the movie and he couldn’t stop thinking about it. Assuming he saw the film during its original release, that would date this performance to the spring or summer of 1968.
. It’s Tiger Lily Catalogue Number is TL 14023. It’s listed as © 1976 by R.A.Inbows Ltd.
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
release by Richard Pryor
Richard Pryor
Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor was an American stand-up comedian, actor, social critic, writer and MC. Pryor was known for uncompromising examinations of racism and topical contemporary issues, which employed colorful vulgarities, and profanity, as well as racial epithets...
. According to the notes on the album it was recorded live at P.J.’s in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. The actual details of when and where it was recorded, as well as the question of whether or not Pryor approved of the release of this album are, however, debatable.
Side Two - ~20:15
- Black Jack
- Groovy Feelings
- Funky People
- Chow Line
- Judgement Day
- 2001
- Farting Smells
- Pimples
- Country Singer
(No running times are listed on the album. These times are an approximation based on the watch of this article's original author.)
Questions about this albums date and Pryor’s authorization
Although this album was not released until 1976 it was probably made during Pryor’s "transitional period"-- i.e. after he walked off the stage at the Aladdin Hotel in Las VegasLas Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
but before he recorded the 1974 LP, That Nigger's Crazy
That Nigger's Crazy
That Nigger's Crazy is the third official album release by Richard Pryor. It was recorded live at Don Cornelius' Soul Train nightclub in early 1974. This album won the Grammy for Best Comedy Album for 1974....
. This is suggested both by the tone and content of the material as well as by the information available about this recording in the Goldmine Comedy Record Price Guide.
Sonically this album is uniformly consistent. There are no significant changes in the character of Pryor’s voice, the level of the volume, or the general sounds of the audience. On several different tracks there are problems with noises and distortion from the microphone which are all acoustically similar to each other. All of this suggests that the master tapes for this album were recorded during one set of performances with the same recording set up, the same engineer, and the same troublesome microphone. It is not, like some of Pryor’s unauthorized albums on Laff Records
Laff Records
Laff Records was a small independent record label specializing in comedy and party records originating on the West Coast of the United States. Amongst their artists were Richard Pryor, Redd Foxx, LaWanda Page, George Carlin, black ventriloquist duo Richard And Willie, Kip Addotta, Belle Barth, Rex...
, made up of sonically inconsistent tracks obviously recorded at different performances and different points during his career.
Two of the tracks on this album are taken from one of Pryor’s previously released albums. Tracks #1 and #7, "Arrested" and "Black Jack," on this album are the same as Tracks #8 and #14, "Cops/Line Up" and "Black Jack," on the Craps (After Hours)
Craps (After Hours)
Craps is an album by Richard Pryor, released in 1971 on the Laff Records label. His second overall release , it was released during the comedian's transitional period from a middlebrow Cosbyized comic into a more improvisational, socially conscious, controversial brand of raw humor that Pryor would...
album.
Since Craps
Craps (After Hours)
Craps is an album by Richard Pryor, released in 1971 on the Laff Records label. His second overall release , it was released during the comedian's transitional period from a middlebrow Cosbyized comic into a more improvisational, socially conscious, controversial brand of raw humor that Pryor would...
is known to have been recorded at The Redd Foxx Club in Hollywood this calls into question the assertion of this album’s own notes which state that it was recorded at P.J.’s in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. Many of these tracks appear later on the 2005 compilation album Evolution/Revolution: The Early Years (1966–1974) which does include detailed notes. According to the notes on Evolution/Revolution, the tracks on this album which also appear on Craps
Craps (After Hours)
Craps is an album by Richard Pryor, released in 1971 on the Laff Records label. His second overall release , it was released during the comedian's transitional period from a middlebrow Cosbyized comic into a more improvisational, socially conscious, controversial brand of raw humor that Pryor would...
were recorded at The Redd Foxx Club in January 1971. Those notes from Evolution/Revolution, however, do not include any information concerning the dates or venues for the other tracks which appear on both Evolution/Revolution and L.A. Jail.
The usually reliable Goldmine Comedy Record Price Guide also claims that Pryor authorized the release of this album on Tiger Lily Records. As most sources such as Robert Plante claim, however, the releases on Tiger Lily were usually unauthorized--Tiger Lily being, in fact, a tax scam operated by Morris Levy
Morris Levy
Morris Levy was an American music industry executive, best known as the founder and owner of Roulette Records...
, the Mafia connected head of Roulette Records
Roulette Records
Roulette Records is an American record label, which was founded in late 1956, by George Goldner, Joe Kolsky, Morris Levy and Phil Khals, with creative control given to producers and songwriters Hugo Peretti and Luigi Creatore. Levy was appointed as director...
. The fact that several of these tracks are copies of tracks which appeared on an album that Pryor had previously released also supports the notion that this album was not authorized.
This album's connection to Evolution/Revolution
As stated earlier, in 2005, many of these tracks appeared on Pryor’s compilation album Evolution/Revolution. They are:S1,T1 - "Arrested" - which appears on E/R as #30 - "The Line Up"
S1,T6 - "Bathrooms" - which appears on E/R as #16 - "Movie Stars In The Bathroom"
S2,T1 - "Black Jack" - which appears on E/R as #36 - "Blackjack"
S2,T2 "Groovy Feelings" - which appears on E/R as #12 - "I Feel"
S2,T4 "Chow Line" - which appears on E/R as #13 - "Jail"
This album's connection to other Pryor material
Several of these tracks can also be connected with material Pryor will use on other albums."Farting Smells" includes material that is very similar to the tracks "Fartin’" from Craps (After Hours)
Craps (After Hours)
Craps is an album by Richard Pryor, released in 1971 on the Laff Records label. His second overall release , it was released during the comedian's transitional period from a middlebrow Cosbyized comic into a more improvisational, socially conscious, controversial brand of raw humor that Pryor would...
and "Farting" from Richard Pryor
Richard Pryor (album)
Richard Pryor is the debut album of comedian Richard Pryor. It was recorded live at The Troubadour in West Hollywood, California.-Track listing:#"Super Nigger" - 3:16#"Girls" - 3:25#"Farting" - 2:02#"Prison Play" - 9:12#"T.V. Panel Show" - 7:09...
.
"Funky People" is incredibly similar to "Smells" from Richard Pryor
Richard Pryor (album)
Richard Pryor is the debut album of comedian Richard Pryor. It was recorded live at The Troubadour in West Hollywood, California.-Track listing:#"Super Nigger" - 3:16#"Girls" - 3:25#"Farting" - 2:02#"Prison Play" - 9:12#"T.V. Panel Show" - 7:09...
.
"2001" is an almost verbatim recreation of a scene from the film 2001: A Space Odyssey
2001: A Space Odyssey (film)
2001: A Space Odyssey is a 1968 epic science fiction film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick, and co-written by Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke, partially inspired by Clarke's short story The Sentinel...
which Pryor will again recreate at the end of the track "Acid" from Bicentennial Nigger
Bicentennial Nigger
Bicentennial Nigger is a comedy album by the American comedian Richard Pryor. David Banks produced the album, while Warner Bros. Records released the album on a cassette tape in September 1976. It is often considered one of his most influential recordings. The CD version of the album was released...
. This track may also help date this recording since Pryor claims that his reason for recreating this scene was because he had just seen the movie and he couldn’t stop thinking about it. Assuming he saw the film during its original release, that would date this performance to the spring or summer of 1968.
Production notes
According to the liner notes, this album was produced by Black-Rain Music, released on Tiger Lily Records, and distributed by Roulette RecordsRoulette Records
Roulette Records is an American record label, which was founded in late 1956, by George Goldner, Joe Kolsky, Morris Levy and Phil Khals, with creative control given to producers and songwriters Hugo Peretti and Luigi Creatore. Levy was appointed as director...
. It’s Tiger Lily Catalogue Number is TL 14023. It’s listed as © 1976 by R.A.Inbows Ltd.