Let's Not Make Love

Robert Klein [1] greets the safe-sex era of the early 1990s with a musical plea to just keep things platonic. Let’s Not Make Love is an audio release rather than a traditional televised hour, capturing the veteran comic as he transitions from his signature “child of the fifties” persona into a middle-aged man observing a shifting cultural landscape. The title track, a comedic anthem about the anxieties of dating in the nineties, anchors the album and spawned a promotional music video featuring cameos from Joan Rivers and Bob Costas.

Released by Rhino Records, the project stitches together live recordings from multiple venues, including Bananas Comedy Club in Fort Lee, New Jersey, and Broadway’s Nederlander Theatre. At this point in his career, Klein was an established elder statesman of stand-up who had essentially invented the HBO comedy hour fifteen years prior. The tracklist reflects a performer settling into domesticity and middle age, featuring extended bits on parental dynamics in “Father Doesn’t Always Know Best” and the rising tide of get-rich-quick television in “How To Buy Real Estate…And Hair”.