''Class Clown'' is the fourth album released by American comedian George Carlin. It was recorded on May 27, 1972 at the

Santa Monica Civic Auditorium Santa Monica Civic Auditorium is a multi-purpose convention center at 1855 Main Street in Santa Monica, California, owned by the City of Santa Monica. It was built in 1958 and designed by Welton Becket and as a concert venue, it has a seating cap ...

in Santa Monica, California, and released in September.

Background

At the time Carlin was relatively well known for tame satirical routines about the entertainment industry. His previous album ''

FM & AM ''FM & AM'' is the third album by American comedian George Carlin. This album was originally released in 1972 on the Atlantic Records subsidiary label Little David Records, later reissued on Carlin's Eardrum Records label. It was also included a ...

'' released the same year, showed that he was already drifting towards counter-culture icon, but ''Class Clown'' was a landmark. Besides musings about his youth, the album featured strongly directed remarks against the Vietnam War and his attachment to taboo topics. The album contains " Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television", which became the focus of government harassment in the year that followed, and perhaps Carlin's most famous calling card. Carlin continued to explore the use of profanity for the rest of his career. The album marks the first time Carlin used the word "fuck" in any of his recordings. In the liner notes, Carlin dedicates the album to

Lenny Bruce Leonard Alfred Schneider (October 13, 1925 – August 3, 1966), known professionally as Lenny Bruce, was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, and satirist. He was renowned for his open, free-wheeling, and critical style of comedy which ...

, "for taking all the risks". He also lists all the nuns and priests that worked at Corpus Christi School which he had attended as a child, and who are spoken of at length through the album. In a 2004 appearance on '' Inside the Actors Studio'' (episode 1013), Carlin explained that, "I wanted people to know that the disrespect that I had for the dogmatic aspect, and for the inconsistency, and in a lot of cases the cruelty of Catholic doctrine, was tempered with an affection and a gratitude that I had for this wonderful setting that I considered like a garden, where they let me grow, be a creative person and think for myself there, so I kind of wanted to kind of illustrate that, and go, thanks and no thanks".

Release and reception

Reviewing the record in 1973 for ''

Newsday ''Newsday'' is an American daily newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI", and f ...

'',

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

found Carlin's humor "organic" and wrote, "Like Bill Cosby, Carlin seems genuinely good-natured—his takeoffs on his old parochial school buddies are affectionate and respectful. This is probably why his political humor tends to go a little flat—he can't muster the sustained hostility it requires." ''Class Clown'' was reissued by

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

in 2000. It was also included as part of the 1992 '' Classic Gold'' collection, and ''

The Little David Years (1971–1977) ''The Little David Years (1971–1977)'' is a box set by American comedian George Carlin. It consists of his six albums recorded with the Little David record label, with an additional CD of previously unreleased bonus material, including "The ...

'' box set in 1999. In 2016, the album was selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry due to its "cultural, historic, or artistic significance."

Track listing

All tracks by George Carlin.

Side one

#"Class Clown: (a) Bi-Labial Fricative (b) Attracting Attention (c) Squeamish" - 16:06 #"Wasted Time - Sharing a Swallow" - 2:27 #"Values (How Much Is That Dog Crap in the Window?)" - 5:16

Side two

#"I Used to Be Irish Catholic" - 2:57 #"The Confessional" - 4:12 #"Special Dispensation - Heaven, Hell, Purgatory and Limbo" - 3:41 #"Heavy Mysteries" - 1:59 #"Muhammad Ali - America the Beautiful" - 4:35 #" Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television" - 7:03

Personnel

*Peter Abbott - editing, remixing *Barry Feinstein - photography,

production design In film and television, the production designer is the individual responsible for the overall aesthetic of the story. The production design gives the viewers a sense of the time period, the plot location, and character actions and feelings. Wor ...

References

{{Authority control George Carlin live albums Stand-up comedy albums Spoken word albums by American artists Live spoken word albums 1972 live albums 1970s comedy albums United States National Recording Registry recordings Little David Records live albums Albums recorded at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium United States National Recording Registry albums