The first album I completely obsessed over was Bill Cosby’s "To Russell My Brother, Whom I Slept With." In fact, to this day, I can recite the entire 22 minute conceptual piece b-side to it without assistance. As years went on, I ended up with Cosby’s entire discography and loved all of it, but "Russell" still stands out (perhaps due to childhood bias) as a shining star. Now, I’m sure you’re wondering why I bring this up……
Since around Christmas, I’ve been obsessing over the edits of will become Patton Oswalt’s second "proper" album which we recorded in Austin last month. Oh sure, I co-produced the first album and I produced all of the EPs and dumb little one-off things, but this album (due out in June) has been my singular responsibility and is now permanently etched into my cerebellum. I know my wife has grown tired of hearing it, my puppy is too cute to grow tired of anything, and me? I’ve fluttered between knowing what I’m listening to and thinking I’m a mad man over the past ten days or so.
Working on this album has given me a whole new appreciation for what actual record producers do. Fussing over mixes, overdubs, mastering, the whole nine yards. Hell, I’m working on a live stand up comedy album, and it’s a lot of work! However, with that said, I do think that this Patton album will easily fit in the pantheon of all time great comedy albums alongside records by Redd Foxx, Richard Pryor, Lenny Bruce, Steve Martin, Bill Hicks and a few others that I can’t think of right now (it’s 3 a.m. and I’m drop-dead tired).
I’m so honored to be working on this album and I’m giddy to hear what people have to say about it because, in all honesty, I think it’s going to be an instant classic. In the meantime, get a mug of hot chocolate, download this mp3 and pretend you’re a 9-year old listening to this for the gabillionth time and you’ll get a glimpse of what was flowing through my noggin in 1978 as a kid sitting on the living room floor of my parent’s suburban house.
Bill Cosby – To Russell, My Brother, Whom I Slept With