JEAN SHEPHERD
Will Failure Spoil Jean Shepherd? (Collector's Choice)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson

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If you're already hip to Jean Shepherd, you may skip this paragraph. Okay, remember the holiday classic film, A Christmas Story? The one about the boy who wants a BB gun for Christmas so bad he can barely think of anything else. It was written by Jean Shepherd, who also provided the narrative voice of the adult Ralphie. But that was just a sidelight for Shep. He began a career in radio in 1948 in Cincinnati and continued until his death on October 16, 1999. His radio shows were as provocative as they were hilarious. During the beat era he did standup comedy and released albums, which brings us up to speed.

Will Failure Spoil Jean Shepherd was released in 1961. It's standup comedy recorded in a club. Despite the fact that he talks about such things as Playboy Bunnies, Little Orphan Annie decoder rings and companies that no longer exist, this doesn't feel dated. Except when he says "chick," which he does now and then. Or when he says "boy, there was a babe... You run into that baby and you've gotten yourself in the FAN, daddy." Or when he says just about anything else he says. Okay, it's dated in indelible ink, but that's what I love about it. It's a snapshot of a time and place, of nightclub humor on New Years Eve, 1960, but not just any night club humor. We're talking about one of the most natural talents to come down the pike since... since... Well, I can't think of anyone to compare because any name I come up with would be apples and oranges in the case of Jean Shepherd. I recommend this album, but I also recommend you do a google search on his name and look for the website that has archives of his old radio shows. You can download them in MP3 or RealAudio formats, and they're well worth collecting. To those of us who have been doing so for a long time, the release of this album is sweet icing on the cake.

© 2002 - DJ Johnson