Although ribald comedian
Redd Foxx sold literally millions of long-players from the 1950s through the 1970s, poor and often unscrupulous business practices left the 'Party Album' pioneer broke and with no control over a majority of his recorded legacy. This CD reissue of "I Ain't Lied Yet" (1994) features a prototypical
Foxx nightclub act circa the late 1960s/early 1970s. As with a majority of his vintage titles, there is no liner information indicating the origins of the performance(s) contained within. However,
Foxx's usual modus operandi is to weave a variety of tales and yarns with a loose sexual and racial motif threaded throughout. In essence, that was the beauty of his provocative patter. As he was not a terrific storyteller,
Foxx developed unique forms of delivery and segues to keep his somewhat limited subject matter interesting and perpetually fresh. As such, "Prose & Poetry" -- which is basically a few minutes of lascivious limericks -- and the tale of post-coital rationalizations on "Makin' Sandwiches" have been included on a number of other shows, and dozens of additional releases. Another example on this patter is "Atlanta, GA" -- in which
Foxx relates the differences between the relaxed pronunciations prominent among Southerners -- such as "poor" being shortened to simply po'. After establishing the premise with the regional precursor, he injects the racier entries like ho' ... for, well, you can guess. Although somewhat short, for fans of so-called 'blue humor,'
I Ain't Lied Yet is a definite good time with
Foxx at the top of his quick-witted game. The audio quality, while a bit muffled, is fully audible, and replicates the night club atmosphere with glasses clinking, drink orders being barked out by already intoxicated patrons, and the loose howls of attendees at the often profane punch-lines. ~ Lindsay Planer