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Comedy Reviews - CD - Bill Cosby - I Started Out As A Child

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Bill Cosby
I Started Out As A Child,
Originally released in 1964
Warner Brothers
31 minutes

I Started Out As A Child is a very early Bill Cosby comedy CD and a minor one at that. This is good, clean comedy, of course, but there are no absolute classics on this particular release aside, perhaps, from Street Football with the quarterback calling the play: "Cosby. You go down to Third Street and catch the J bus. Have him open the doors at 19th Street. I'll fake it to you."

In many ways, I Started Out As A Child was recorded at a time when Bill Cosby was still looking for his voice as a stand-up comic. There is a little bit of everything here although, as the title suggests, childhood stories are already at the center of the material.

This particular Cosby comedy CD features a very rare appearance by another of his brothers, James in the track Christmas Time about waiting for Santa Claus.

The Giant is a childhood memory of perceiving his father as a giant (although the fact Cosby mentions his father would booze it up is definitely different from what we are used to hearing.)

Still, any kid who has heard his father come home and hang his pants will connect to Cosby's reaction when he hears the change fall out and roll on the floor. Oops! is probably the track most often played off this CD. It is about a doctor making a mistake, "Oops!"

Aside from Street Football, the other very good track is Lone Ranger -another comedy radio favorite-- on how Tonto would always get beat up in the show. Cosby fans will recognize TV Football as an early version of Hofstra on Why Is There Air?

The rest of the tracks on this particular Bill Cosby comedy CD are of minor interest.

Track list:

Sneakers
Street Football
The Water Bottle
Christmas Time
The Giant
Oops!
The Lone Ranger
Ralph Jameson
Medic
My Pet Rhinoceros
Half Man
Rigor Mortis
The Neanderthal Man
TV Football
Seattle

Other Bill Cosby Reviews

Oh, Baby: another very good if different Cosby cd. 1991 on the Geffen label.

When I Was A Kid: When I Was A Kid, originally released on the Uni label in 1971 and now available on Geffen, is a collection of childhood stories from Bill Cosby' s stand-up days after he left the Warner Brothers label.

Bill Cosby Is A Funny Fellow, Right!: probably the Bill Cosby album or comedy cd everyone is most familiar contains his classic and memorable Noah bit comprised of Noah: Right! Noah: And The Neighbor, and Noah: Me And You, Lord.

The Very Best of Bill Cosby: definitely not the very best of Bill Cosby.

To Russell, My Brother, Whom I Slept With: Title track worth the price of the CD

Wonderfulness: Contains Chicken Heart, Go Karts, Tonsils and other good stuff

It's True! It's True!: A high school student could have done a better job with an old cassette copy, a tin can, and a piece of string

200 MPH: another classic though lesser-known Bill Cosby comedy CD

Revenge: Features three back-to-back absolute classics: Cool Covers, 9th Street Bridge, Buck Buck

The Bill Cosby Collection: contains some of his most offbeat and hard to find stand-up comedy bits.

Why Is There Air?: Bill Cosby comedy CD contains $75 Car, Shop, and other good stuff

Himself: Bill Cosby DVD with The Dentist, Brain Damage, Naturan Child Birth, Chocolate Cake For Breakfast and other good stuff.

Ghost Dad: almost decent family fare

Leonard Part 6: 1987 Golden Raspberry Award winner for worst picture

Bill Cosby - Just For Laughs 2006: A giant show by the giant of comedy

Cosby And The Kids: The best Bill Cosby stand-up comedy CD compilation.

The Cosby Show - Season 3: A classic situation comedy that was excellent in its early years.

Bill Cosby - Montreal, July 25th 2009: This comedy giant is still a giant.