Various Artists - Now That Sounds Kosher!

Artist:

Various Artists

UPC:

826663033625

Description:

Personnel: Marty Kaniger (vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, dobro, banjo, mandolin, background vocals); Shari Famous Foos, Henry Phillips, Mark Cohen (vocals); Don Raymond (electric guitar); Ed Tree (dobro); Mark Indicator (violin, fiddle); Regina Klein (accordion); Zinovy Goro (clarinet); Vince Ciavarella (baritone saxophone, synthesizer); Dennis Croy (upright bass, bass guitar, fretless bass); Craig Fundyga, David Logerman (drums); Rosanne Limeres, Bob Wayne (background vocals).
Liner Note Authors: Richard Foos; Howard Leib; Jean Borah; Steve Kurland.
Recording information: Sunburst REcording, Culver City, CA.
Unknown Contributor Role: Wayne Peet.
It`s practically impossible to underestimate the presence of Jewish culture in American comedy, considering how many noted funnymen were Jewish (from Groucho Marx and Milton Berle to Jerry Seinfeld and Lewis Black), and how frequently the idiosyncrasies of Jewish life became the subject of their humor. So it`s hardly surprising that the folks at the Shout Factory label (who used to make a career out of such things at Rhino) have put together Now That Sounds Kosher!, a collection of novelty songs which milk the Jewish-American experience for melodic laughter, with the artists ranging from such icons of Jewish comedy as Mickey Katz and Allan Sherman to several inspired unknowns (and actual goy Weird Al Yankovic, whose "Pretty Fly for a Rabbi" shows he`s done his homework). For the most part, the big names with the longest track records deliver the best material, most notably Mickey Katz`s superb song parody "Duvid Crockett," Kinky Friedman`s scabrous "They Ain`t Makin` Jews Like Jesus Anymore," and Mel Brooks` epic "The Inquisition" (from his movie The History of the World, Part I), though Rabbi Joe Black`s twangy take on "The Dreidel Song" and Steve Kurland`s "Famous Jews" also rank high on the chuckle meter. Unfortunately, some of the newer material feels more like padding than anything else, and it`s a shame that "Be True to Your Shul" and "Take a Walk on the Kosher Side" appear here in re-recorded versions (dig up the long out of print compilation Rhino Royale for the originals), but most of this disc offers a healthy portion of good laughs and hey, it`s a lot more fun than anything Barbra Streisand or Barry Manilow have done for us lately. ~ Mark Deming

Track Listing:

DISC 1

1. Duvid Crockett - Mickey Katz
2. Sir Greenbaum`s Madrigal - Allan Sherman
3. Yodel Dreidel - Rabbi Joe Black
4. Thank God I`m a Jewish Boy - Allan Lieberman
5. Famous Jews - Steve Kurland
6. Be True to Your Shul - Beach Boychiks
7. Don`t Worry Keep Kosher - Guns `N Charoses
8. Pretty Fly for a Rabbi - Weird Al Yankovic
9. As Kosher as They Wanna Be - 2 Live Jews
10. They Ain`t Makin` Jews Like Jesus Anymore - Kinky Friedman
11. Inquisition, The - Mel Brooks
12. (I`m Spending) Hanukkah in Santa Monica - Tom Lehrer
13. You`ll Never Get the Party Started - Mrs. Pinkus
14. Man of Constant Tsuris - Soggy Matzoh Boys
15. Take a Walk on the Kosher Side - Yid Rock
16. Holy Days - Allan Lieberman
17. Learning to Dance the Hora - Shlock Rock
18. (It`s Good to Be) A Jew at Christmas - What I Like About Jew

Album Information

Release Date:

01/25/2005

Type:

Collection

Genre:

Comedy

Subgenre:

Music Comedy

Label:

Shout! Factory

Producer:

Richard Foos; Howard Leib; Jeff Palo; Marty Kaniger; Bob Wayne; Richard Foos (Compilation); Howard Leib (Compilation)

Catalog Number:

30336

Original Release Year:

2005

# of Discs:

1

Studio/Live:

Studio

Mono/Stereo:

Stereo

Portions copyright 2005 Muze Inc. All rights reserved.