Review of George Carlin: Back in Town (1996) by Alexander Z — 27 Mar 2011

A lot of fans of Carlin fall into one of two camps: liking only his early stuff or only his later stuff. I love both, and I think this special represents the best of both worlds. First of all, Carlin is on.

Even for him. Right out of the gate he is ranting with the most perfect precision and timing on all the hot-button topics ranging from abortion to the death penalty and other such fare for half the special.

Then, out of nowhere he switches to his classic wordplay and observational humor that made him great in the 70s, before finishing off with a bang. My favorite hour in all of stand-up.