For those unaware, on Monday, October 29th, 1973, Richard Pryor hit the Comedy Store for night one of a four-show run, the recording of which yielded one of the greatest comic documents of all time.

Following the release of his iconic debut album, Richard Pryor, in 1968, Pryor further sharpened his skills and delivered the comedy classic Craps (After Hours) in 1971, but he never stopped pushing forward.

In preparation for a Kennedy Center show in Washington, D.C., and a February 1974 Soul Train Club date in North Beach, San Francisco (which would produce the top-selling That Niggers Crazy), Pryor booked four nights at the then-relatively-new Comedy Store on West Hollywood’s Sunset Strip to woodshed new material.

It was never intended to be heard beyond its original audience, but luckily for us, tape not only rolled, but survived.

Fourteen tracks were originally issued in 2013 as a limited-edition promotional CD given away with copies of the No Pryor Restraint: Life in Concert box set sold on Shout! Factory’s web site.

Six additional Comedy Store performances found their way into the public earlier as bonus material on 2000s …And Its Deep Too!: The Complete Warner Bros. Recordings (1968–1992) and Evolution/Revolution: The Early Years (1966-1974) in 2005.

Now, all 20 tracks are pulled together for the first time and available on Live at the Comedy Store, 1973, due for July 23rd, 2021 release by Omnivore Recordings on CD and Digital.

1. Introduction
2. Street Corner Wino
3. Wino & 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 [Bonus Track]
16. Niggers & Italians [Bonus Track]
17. Jim Brown (Alternate Version) [Bonus Track]
18. Black Films [Bonus Track]
19. Jesus Saves [Bonus Track]
20. Street Corner Wino (Evolution/Revolution Edit) [Bonus Track]

After a very quick introduction, this quite hysterically memorable, albeit definitely restrained live set continues on with bouts upon bouts of hysterical audience laughter for skits such as the near ten minute Street Corner Wino (and his hatred for the Ice Cream Van neighborhood music), the conversations heard between both Wino & Junkie, the brilliantly funny Fighting, the .25 second Masturbating skit, and then we get the first reflective intakes of his within Dope, his fathers words to him about Sex, and then comes his rendition of touring healers within Religion.

Next up, Pryor explains the difference between white and black folk when it comes to taking Acid and the trials and then the heartfelt tribulations of not getting the roles he went up for in Black Movie Stars, which are in turn backed by the short but sweet Cops, his time spent in The Line-up, a short political anecdote about Nixon (where he also thanks the crowd for coming out, especially given that it was a Monday), and then we get a long piece about Celebrities in the Audience that brings the original album to a close.

The bonus tracks includes how Pryor informs us that he’s a big deal in Peoria, whilst recounting how his folks dealt with Death, which is followed by how the Mafia has been infiltrated within Niggers & Italians, another political jab follows within Jim Brown (Alternate Version), a skit on the music within Black Films is brought to the fore, with this expanded edition rounding out on the pain of the crucifixion within Jesus Saves, closing on an Evolution/Revolution Edit of Street Corner Wino.

Noted Pryor expert Reggie Collins produced this new set along with Jennifer Lee Pryor and Grammy® Award winning producer Cheryl Pawelski. Packaging features new liner notes from Cory Frye and restoration from Grammy® winner Michael Graves.

Frye in his notes declares, As time has shown, there is no death with Richard Pryor. He may have left us in 2005 (after whole decades that would have killed lesser men), but his own afterlife’s proven immense, minus the eight-billion harp-happy m***********s he once described practicing on some distant cloud. Here is a chance to catch him just as he begins to live — again.

Omnivore Richard Pryor Live At The Comedy Store - Official Trailer

Official CD Purchase Link