55 years ago, Richard Pryor (1940-2005) made his debut on records.  His self-titled album was an auspicious introduction for the man who would be recognized as one of the most significant and influential stand-up comedians of all time as well as a genuine film superstar, an accomplished writer, an Emmy Award recipient, Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize honoree, and five-time Grammy Award winner.  In 2021, Omnivore Recordings teamed with the Richard Pryor Estate for CD reissues of Richard Pryor (1968), Craps (After Hours) (1971), and Live at the Comedy Store 1973 (first released 2013).  On May 26, Stand Up! Records - along with Omnivore and Pryor's production company, Indigo - will reissue all three titles on vinyl.  Live at the Comedy Store, 1973 will be making its debut in the format.

The self-titled Richard Pryor album, released on Dove and Reprise Records and produced by Robert Marchese (no relation), was recorded live at Hollywood's famed Troubadour.  It marked a distinct move from his middle-of-the-road comedy as seen on such non-threatening programs as The Ed Sullivan Show and The Merv Griffin Show; listeners might have been in for a surprise when the LP opened with his "Super N---er" routine and continued with his sharp-edged observations about "Girls," "Farting," "Smells," and "Army Life."  From the cover artwork shot by Henry Diltz and designed by Gary Burden (who received a Grammy nomination for his efforts) to the material, nothing about Richard Pryor was typical or expected.  The ability to shock and provoke would become a hallmark of Pryor's comedy career even as his film roles moved him into the mainstream.  Omnivore expanded Richard Pryor with a second disc of 21 tracks previously issued on Rhino's box set Evolution/Revolution: The Early Years (1966-1974).   The upcoming 2-LP vinyl edition features the original album on LP 1 as remastered by Michael Graves and all of the bonus material on LP 2.  Greg Reierson has remastered the bonus material for vinyl and cut the lacquers.

The comedian's eponymous album is joined by an expanded edition of Craps (After Hours).  The 1971 album was Pryor's first for Laff Records and was recorded in front of a predominantly black nightclub audience at Hollywood's Redd Foxx Club.  (Foxx, the club's proprietor and a famously "blue" comedian, would find his greatest success starring in Sanford and Son, for which Pryor was once a writer.)  In these clubs, Pryor took his art to the next level, freed of expectations and censorship.  Here, he took on "Gettin' High," "Masturbating," "Religion," "White Folks," and other controversial topics with frequently outrageous, always hilarious, and most definitely off-color results.  Craps' 32 tracks have been joined here by four more cuts from Evolution/Revolution.  For the new 2-LP vinyl reissue, the remastered original album is on LP 1 with the first side of LP 2 presenting the bonus material.  Its second side features an etching of the album cover artwork.

The third release in Stand Up!'s campaign, Live at The Comedy Store, 1973 was recorded at the venerable West Hollywood club and onetime location of the popular Ciro's nightspot.  Tape rolled on the evenings of October 29 and 30, the first two of four nights Pryor would play there.  Having fully shed his inhibitions and the sometimes-tame material of his early days, the performer onstage was the confident, boundary-breaking comic who had found his original voice.  The Comedy Store stand would prove to be a warm-up of sorts for future engagements at Washington, DC's Kennedy Center and San Francisco's Soul Train Club.  The latter would produce Pryor's Grammy Award-winning, chart-topping 1974 album That N----r's Crazy, solidifying both his fame and his willingness to speak freely and frankly onstage. While Pryor was trying out new material, his already-impeccable timing was on full display.

Pryor is at the peak of his powers on such routines as "Street Corner Wino," "Wino and Junkie," and "Fighting."  The latter would become "The Back Down" on the '74 LP which closed with "Wino and Junkie."  Pryor also revisited material from Craps ("Masturbating," "Religion," "The Line-Up") and bluntly tackled "Nixon," "Cops," and "Black Movie Stars."  His material is both completely of its time and timeless, as his observations still retain relevance and the ability to shock today.  Pryor was a master at challenging his audience's preconceived notions of what was and wasn't appropriate to banter about; one can hear the occasional groans as well as the loud guffaws throughout.  Much of the material he performed nearly fifty years ago would still prove controversial - perhaps even more so - today.  Live at the Comedy Store, 1973 isn't for those who might be offended by strong language or provocative imagery; indeed, it revels in its outrageousness while reminding the listener that the funniest, most keenly-observed, and indeed, most powerful comedy can sometimes also be the most uncomfortable.

Much of Live at The Comedy Store, 1973 was first issued by Shout! Factory as a promotional CD exclusive for website purchasers of the label's No Pryor Restraint: Life in Concert box set.  Omnivore added five bonus tracks to the original 14 (the last of which cuts off due to the tape running out) for its CD release, all of which are reprised on the new, remastered vinyl presentation.  These include additional Comedy Store routines on "Jim Brown," "Death," "N----rs and Italians," "Black Films," and whether "Jesus Saves" plus an edit of "Street Corner Wino."  These bonus tracks were previously issued on past Pryor box sets and make their vinyl debuts here.  The Stand Up! edition arrives in three unique color versions and two different covers; both the original and expanded liner notes are included.  All versions are pressed on standard weight vinyl, and have a photo cover and a painted variant cover by illustrator/painter Jason Edmiston.

Look for all three titles celebrating the late Richard Pryor's groundbreaking comedy on May 26 from Stand Up! Records.

Richard Pryor, Richard Pryor [Expanded Edition] (Dove/Reprise LP RS 6325, 1968 - reissued Stand Up! Records, 2023) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

LP 1

1. Super N---er
2. Girls
3. Farting
4. Prison Play
5. TV Panel Show
6. Smells
7. Army Life
8. Frankenstein

LP 2: Bonus tracks from Evolution/Revolution: The Early Years (1966-1974) (Rhino R2 78490, 2005)

1. Peoria
2. Improv Pt. 1
3. Heart and Brain
4. Taxi Cabs and Subways
5. Playboy Club
6. Rumpelstiltskin
7. Slippin' in Poo Poo
8. Birth Control
9. N---er Babies
10. Faith Healer
11. Black Power
12. I Feel
13. Jail
14. Directions
15. Movie Stars in the Bathroom
16. War Movies
17. The Army
18. Hippy Dippys
19. Hank's Place
20. Improv Pt. 2
21. Mankind

Richard Pryor, Craps (After Hours) (Laff LP A-146, 1971 - reissued Stand Up! Records, 2023) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

LP 1

1. Gettin' High
2. F--k from Memory
3. Big Tits
4. Gettin' Some
5. The President
6. Ass-Hole
7. The Line-Up
8. Masturbating
9. Religion
10. Black Preachers
11. Being Born
12. Blow Our Image
13. I Spy Cops
14. Sugar Ray
15. White Folks
16. Indians
17. Ass Wupin'
18. Got a Dollar
19. Pres' Black Baby
20. Dope
21. Wino Panthers
22. After Hours
23. 280 Pound Ass
24. Crap Game
25. Insurance Man
26. Black and Proud
27. Gettin' the Nut
28. F--k the Fa---t
29. Jackin' Off
30. Snappin' Pussy
31. Fartin'

LP 2

1. Whorehouse Pt. 1
2. Whorehouse Pt. 2
3. Wino and Junkie (Alternate Version)
4. Attica (Behind Those Walls)

Tracks 32-35 from Evolution/Revolution: The Early Years (1966-1974) (Rhino R2 78490, 2005)

Richard Pryor, Live at The Comedy Store, 1973 (Omnivore OV-432, 2021 - reissued Stand Up! Records, 2023) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

1. Introduction
2. Street Corner Wino
3. Wino and Junkie
4. Fighting
5. Masturbating
6. Dope
7. Sex
8. Religion
9. Acid
10. Black Movie Stars
11. Cops
12. The Line-Up
13. Nixon
14. Celebrities in the Audience
15. Death
16. N----rs and Italians
17. Jim Brown (Alternate Version)
18. Black Films
19. Jesus Saves
20. Street Corner Wino (Evolution/Revolution Edit)

Tracks 1-14 from Live at the Comedy Store, Hollywood, CA, Shout! Factory CD PRO-00072, 2013
Track 15 from ...And It's Deep, Too!: The Complete Warner Bros. Recordings (1968-1992), Warner Bros./Rhino 76655, 2000
Tracks 16-20 from Evolution/Revolution: The Early Years (1966-1974), Rhino 78490, 2005