I bought the new Ted Chippington box set. Just the job, Chief, I said to myself. I was feeling like a horse…Champion.
But it’s such a disappointment. £15 for 4 hour-long CDs (good) which shatter the myth of Ted (tragic). There’s loads of repetition and it proves he was a terrible comic at first. Not even amusingly deadpan, just crap (admittedly this was in his Eddie Chippington days). It’s painful to listen to the same set several times and to hear him being barracked every time. It gets better later on and the Vindaloo years are great but the overall effect is to shatter this belief I have carried for 20 years that Ted Chippington is a comedy giant.
And the box set is cheap in every way. The mastering is appalling – great chunks of performance that haven’t been cut up even though there are natural breaks (a 53 minute gig on CD1 is the worst) and recording to CD from scratchy vinyl. Sides of records mastered in one block. Shoddy. I haven’t got to the end yet (his ‘Reverend’ years) but whereas I thought I’d lap it up, I’m having to force it down.
Oh Stewart Lee, so much to answer for. Now where’s the Frank Sidebottom fan club membership….Statistics: Posted by Johnny Anarchy — Thu Oct 18, 2007 6:48 pm
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