His Royal Hipness

Amazon.com
His Royal Hipness was as unique as they come, an eccentric white cat who made his mark by recasting familiar tales--from Shakespeare, the Bible, and beyond--in a frantic spray of black street lingo, jazz-speak, and hipster jive. In Buckley's mind, Jesus became "The Nazz," Gandhi "The Hip Gan," and explorer Vasco da Gama "Cabeza de Gasca." That would be adventurous now. It was simply unheard of in the 1940s and 1950s when Buckley was plying his trade, entertaining audiences he called his Royal Court. He was too weird to be more than a cult figure, but his defiant persona, deep individualism, and comic sense of cool certainly influenced the likes of Mort Sahl, Lenny Bruce, and even Bob Dylan. Gone, wailin' stuff. --Michael Ruby

Tracks:

The Nazz
Gettysburg Address
The Hip Gan
Cabenza de Gasca, The Gasser
Jonah and The Whale
Marc Antony's Funeral Oration
Nero
People (Epilogue)

Amazon.com

His Royal Hipness was as unique as they come, an eccentric white cat who made his mark by recasting familiar tales--from Shakespeare, the Bible, and beyond--in a frantic spray of black street lingo, jazz-speak, and hipster jive. In Buckley's mind, Jesus became "The Nazz," Gandhi "The Hip Gan," and explorer Vasco da Gama "Cabeza de Gasca." That would be adventurous now. It was simply unheard of in the 1940s and 1950s when Buckley was plying his trade, entertaining audiences he called his Royal Court. He was too weird to be more than a cult figure, but his defiant persona, deep individualism, and comic sense of cool certainly influenced the likes of Mort Sahl, Lenny Bruce, and even Bob Dylan. Gone, wailin' stuff. --Michael Ruby

Customer Reviews:

What is Hip?.......2006-06-06

I have known about His Royal Hipness, Lord Buckley, since I lived in Greenwich Village lo these many long years ago. This is a cat that was hip before there even was hip. In fact I believe all the beat poets and beatniks and, later, hippies, learned how to speak by hearing this cat wail. It is a shame that this is a studio recording and not a live gig. That is where he was his most amazing. He would get into raps that kept climbing and climbing until you thought that he could not get any higher, and then goof on that. I have always loved him, and I always will. Just like 'Bird- Buckley lives!

Are you there?.......2002-06-24

I'm reviewing this item now because Oliver Trager's _Dig Infinity_ has just been published. I highly recommed Trager's biography, but if you want to meet His Lordship you'll have to listen to him. Trager's book includes a CD, and readers will want to know that there isn't much overlap between that one and this one.

"This one" is a re-release of _The Best of Lord Buckley_ and it includes some of his greatest raps (notably, of course, "The Nazz," deservedly his most famous). A different recording of "The Nazz" is also included on the Trager CD, and so is a different recording of "People." But that's as far as the overlap extends.

If you haven't heard Lord Richard Buckley before, I don't really know how to explain to you who and what he was. Was he an entertainer? A saint? A scoundrel? A bodhisattva? A con man? A raconteur? A shaman? A swindler? An evangelist? A shameless moocher? An artist? An agent of God? A prankster? A drunk?

Well, yeah.

Above all, His Lordship was a sweet cat who blew a solid ace lick, one of the gonest, wailin'est cats who ever stomped this sweet swingin' sphere. This CD -- so far as I know the only Buckley CD currently available -- includes the best of his best, though of course there's a lot of fine material that just isn't here. If you haven't met the Hip Messiah yet, do yourself a favor and give this a listen. And have a look at Trager's biography too.

On the Road with Lord Buckley.......2001-09-11

Plunging into Lord Buckley is like taking a leasurely swim through the mind of Jack Kerouac, or Sam Spade.

"Hey, Jonah?"
"What is it, fish?"

Everything with a time and a place, and this word is *it*, the thing and everything. Swoop this scene -- it's great.

A great *writer!*.......1999-10-30

For inventiveness with the spoken word, few even approach the genius of Lord Buckley. This recording is not hysterically funny (although it is not without laughs, either). What makes it so enthralling is not humor, but the sheer delight of Buckley's wordplay, and his thorough knowledge and love for humanity and for his subjects. The last track is among the most touching 40 seconds on record. If you buy this CD, you will find yourself thinking "What in the world did I do?" about 5 minutes into it. Twenty minutes later, you'll be thinking: "This is bloody marvelous!"

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