Richard Pryor’s first albums to be rereleased on vinyl

Recordings capture his 'evolution from nightclub comedian to the voice of his generation'

Richard Pryor’s first two albums are to be re-released as newly remastered vinyl LPs.

As well as the self-titled Richard Pryor and Craps (After Hours), record label Stand Up! Records is also releasing Live At The Comedy Store, 1973 on vinyl for the first time.

Pryor released his self-titled album in 1968, when he was starting to change his style from being a mild-mannered storyteller in the mould of Bill Cosby to finding his own, edgier, voice.

Scott Saul, author of Becoming Richard Pryor, wrote in his liner notes for the Richard Pryor reissue: ‘What you hold in your hands is something precious: both the landmark debut that was, and the piece of cultural dynamite that might have been. In its original form, Richard Pryor [the album] alerted the world that Pryor had stepped out of Bill Cosby’s long shadow and developed a style — surreal, nervy, improvisational — that was all his own.’

The album was recorded at the Troubadour in West Hollywood, and is being released as a double disc. Sides one and two are the original, but newly remastered, album, while sides three and four offer bonus material recorded at the same time, originally issued as tracks on the CD Evolution/Revolution.

First released in 1971, Craps (After Hours) was recorded at a time when Pryor was performing at nightclubs that drew an almost entirely black audience, having previously nurtured his career in front of predominantly white crowds. Omnivore Records say: ‘In these lively black clubs, he could say anything he wanted and those parts of himself that had been buried, by shame or censorship, could now serve as his creative fuel.’

In his introduction to the package, Dolemite Is My Name co-writer Larry Karaszewski writes: ‘This fascinating collection chronicles how Richard Pryor evolved from 1960s nightclub comedian to being the voice of his generation. The performances capture the moment where Richard Pryor stopped being polite. Where he took off his suit and tie and gloves. Where Pryor began to reflect what was happening in the streets and in the counterculture.'

Craps (After Hours) is also released as a double disc – the remastered original recorded at The Redd Foxx Club in Hollywood in 1971, plus material from Evolution/Revolution: The Early Years and No Pryor Restraint: Life in Concert. Side four is an engraving of the original cover art for Craps (After Hours).

For some unknown reason, possibly a mix up at the record factory, some of the original 1971 LPs were pressed with a comic referred to as Hotshot Hogan on the B-side – but he has been lost to history.

Live At The Comedy Store, 1973 was recorded at the West Hollywood comedy club, which had opened 18 months earlier

His performance was never meant to be heard beyond its original audience, but 14 tracks were originally issued in 2013 as a limited edition promotional CD – and all 20 were out together for a CD release in 2021. It is this which is now to come out on vinyl

Here’s a clip: