"Rusty Warren is the comic whose albums your parents hid in the closet and forbade you to touch--and you obeyed, unless like me you merely waited until they left the house and then dropped them on the stereo. I laughed until I cried, and receiving this CD was very much like meeting a very dear friend you haven't seen in much too long a time.By modern standards, Warren's act is fairly mild--but in the 1950s and 1960s it was more than enough to blow the doors off the nightclub scene and get her banned from conservative communities, not to mention radio and television. And like the legendary Sophie Tucker and Mae West, Warren relies more on the lost art of sexual innuendo than on open expletive. She also has tremendous charisma, and in these two recordings you can feel the power of her spell.Both offerings on this CD are from among her earlier recordings. The sound quality of KNOCKERS UP is a bit rough, and the tempo of Warren's performance on SONGS FOR SINNERS is perhaps a shade, er, laid back--but no matter how you look at it, this is still the Queen of Classic Blue Comedy working near the top of her, er, form. Are you ready for the ballad of Red River Sally? How about a rousing rendition of Roll Me Over, Lay Me Down, Do It Again ("now all the virgins sing the chorus!")? Or one of the naughtiest versions of Frankie and Johnny you've ever heard?Yes, it's a trip down memory lane to a simpler time. But it's a good trip, and if you enjoy this brand of 1950s comedy you won't regret the time or money spent. "Just a little female trouble, dear"--from one of comedy's great but now sadly neglected treasures. Open up the bar, invite a few friends in, and put Rusty on the stereo. You won't regret it.--GFT (Amazon.com Reviewer)--"
Mild ripoff
Bill Ritch | Atlanta | 01/16/2006
(1 out of 5 stars)
"This is a very short CD -- obviously recorded at a club. The audio quality is not very good. That could be forgiven if the CD were packed with several live shows. Excerpts from two shows is not enough.
Additionally there is NO information booklet so I have no idea where and when these sets were recorded.
Look for a better collection of Rusty's remarkable performances."
Wish there was more
Ben Hume | Dover Foxcroft, ME | 03/01/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I was given six of her LP's and wish they were available on CD.
Her humour is timeless and such Great fun.
Hope you can get her other LP's on CD It's what comedy SHOULD be. Funny not Foul mouthed."
Great Performer -- Poor transfer to CD
GQ in LB | Long Beach CA USA | 11/15/2008
(3 out of 5 stars)
"I agree wholeheartedly: Rusty Warren was a great performer; w-a-y ahead of her time. Using only innuendo and double-entendre -- and not a word you couldn't say on radio or TV back then -- she still managed to convey explicit sexual ideas that got her banned from the air-waves and many conservative communities. Almost ironic: explicit without expletives.
These wonderful performances did not deserve the shabby treatment they got from whoever transferred them from vinyl to CD. Muddied sound and the tracks all run together.
Buy it for the nostalgia -- but don't expect much in the way of sound quality."
A bawdy bit of fun!
Hunter W. Johnston | Memphis, TN United States | 07/06/2008
(3 out of 5 stars)
"It is like being in a Bawdy British Pub. The language is not for the prudish, but if you like to raise a glass and have a laugh over a crude jest now and then and sing a silly song, then pour a drink and sit back and smile and laugh to this CD."