Performed in front of an African-American audience, Uncensored sees Redd Foxx seeming very relaxed as he delivers joke after hilarious joke. The audience is with him, he's with them, and it all makes for a very pleasurable, uplifting and genuinely funny listening experience.He tells of unfaithful wives, cannibal chiefs, the origins of certain black expressions, contemplates what would happen if only Liberace, Johnny Mathis and Sonny Liston survived WWIII and even relates a story of Moses, St. Peter and "J.C." playing a friendly game of golf. He tells one tale after another to an audience that is very hugely enjoying itself.
The title of the CD might fool you. Foxx's material is not explicit. It's more implicit and subtle, and this was the man's genius. Unlike today, a comedian couldn't just come out and "say it." He had to be crafty about it or face whatever would ensue, be it censorship, arrest, or some other consequence. Foxx was one of the masters of this type of craftiness. This is why, in my opinion, his stuff is infinitely more clever than most of the raw stuff that's out there today.
One of the other things that made Foxx great was his interplay with his audience. Behind the raspy voice, pinpoint timing and wonderfully bawdy humor, was a caring, sensitive man who was aware that, perhaps, his audience really needed to let go. Many times, you can hear him say, "Go on and laugh, honey" or "You can laugh out loud here, friends." Also, to his credit, in all the recordings I have of Foxx (and I have a few), he was never cruel with the people that came to see him, unlike so many comedians of today. This undercurrent of true sensitivity amidst all the laughs, at least to me, was what made Foxx a truly great comedian.
Foxx saw hard times when he was starting out in comedy, and I get the impression that he was sensitive to the fact that perhaps some of his audience might've been going through some hard times, as well. Even years after the material was initially recorded, whenever you let Redd Foxx take a spin on your turntable or in your CD player, be it in the form of Uncensored or any of his many other albums, you end up in a better mood. I'm sure his audience of the time felt the exact same way.
