Raymond Devos remains the most virtuosic of French-speaking comedians, the absolute master of an art in which language becomes a dizzying playground. The first CD brings together live recordings made between 1956 and 1959 at the Alhambra, Les Trois Baudets, and Bobino. Here we discover Devos in full ascent, a tightrope walker of words, whose sketches such as “La mer démontée,” “Caen,” “Le plaisir des sens,” and “Les contraventions” already reveal a unique architecture: a taste for paradox, rhythmic precision, and that rare ability to unsettle reality through the very logic of words. The second CD expands this portrait with rare and unexpected material: a sung repertoire, a poetic cycle, as well as a foray into theatre. A landmark anthology that captures both the genesis of a major body of work and the stage energy of an artist at the height of his powers.