Search - Douglas Byng :: Naughty Nights

Monty, er, Douglas Byng--anything but a drag

Lee Hartsfeld | Central Ohio, United States | 09/23/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Long before the cast of Monty Python donned women's apparel and uttered long-winded absurdities in affected upper registers, British cabaret comic Douglas Byng was portraying old Egyptian "Queens," messy old mermaids, and worm-weary trees. This collection covers 1933 to 1938, nearly his entire recording career, save for an oustanding retrospective LP in 1963 on the Ace of Clubs label. Byng was profoundly gifted at wordplay, and, if these recordings are any indication, he was a dynamic and charismatic performer. Few comics of any type register so well on recordings; it's as if his humor was designed for the 78-rpm disc. For those (like myself!) who aren't used to this brand of British humor, it's best to start with the hilarious "I'm a Mummy," followed by "I'm a Tree," "Louisa from Pisa," and the tragic and salty Old Testament tale of Lot's wife ("Mrs. Lot"). The excellent liner notes point out that Byng wrote most of his own material and that he was a spontaneous wit--certainly, there's a kind of spontaneous energy that almost leaps from the grooves of these records. The sound restoration is superb, and contained herein is an era of comedy that merits preservation, like the "gummy" Mummy of Track 20: "With earwigs in my brassiere and no free hand to scratch, I'm a Mummy, hey, hey." Become, in all probability, the only person on your block to own this hilarious gem."