Reissue producer: Lisa Cortes.
Includes liner notes by Shelby Meadows Ashford and Darius H. James.
All material written by Richard Pryor.
Digitally remastered by Drew Lavyne (A.L.L. Digital, New York).
These live performances date from the late 60s or early 70s--before Pryor's material began to focus so strongly on racial issues. Of course, Pryor was funny even before he started using the N word in his album titles, and he's certainly funny here, albeit in an unexpectedly laid back way. The best bits here include a riff on White Protestants (he's sympathizes with them because they have nothing to blame their failures on), a conversation between a heart and a brain (the brain has been naughty), and a convincing explanation of why you can't get into heaven with straight hair. THE WIZARD OF COMEDY is classic stand-up comedy as only Pryor can do it.