The Next To Last Joan Rivers Album

Recorded in June 1968 at the Manhattan cabaret Upstairs at the Downstairs, this set captures Joan Rivers four years after her breakout on Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show. She is in the process of defining her signature style, though the volume is lower than the red-carpet persona she would adopt decades later. Instead of insult comedy, she delivers conversational, tightly constructed stories aimed directly at the expectations placed on 1960s women. She talks about the pressure to get married, the absurdities of single life at twenty-seven, and the grim realities of cooking. The women in the room react with the relief of being seen, while the men laugh at someone saying things she wasn’t supposed to say in public.

Originally released on vinyl in 1969 with a prophetically accurate title, the recording received its first CD reissue in 2015 via Stand Up! Records. The release includes an eight-page booklet featuring liner notes from comedy historian Kliph Nesteroff and Sarah Silverman. The tracklist documents a specific era of her career, focusing on topics like stewardesses, nurses, and the sheer desperation of trying to secure a diamond ring.