Rodney Carrington
King of the Mountains
They always say, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” That may be true for the literary world, but as comedy albums go, you can take one look at this cover and know exactly what you’re going to get. The only question that remains: Will a nearly endless collection of locker room material remain consistently funny?
For me, the answer was yes. I found myself laughing all the way through, even when hearing it for the second and third time. Carrington’s delivery is half of the fun, but it would all be for naught if his material wasn’t top-notch. And for the most part, it is.
Carrington’s humor is risque without being offensive, which is a tough line to walk, especially since the content of his jokes is often explicit. How do you pull of such raunchy material without sounding like a sexist pig? Carrington expertly balances the scales by portraying himself as so hapless and physically inadequate that it’s amazing he’s had any contact with a woman at all. Most of the biggest laughs come when he is at his most self-deprecating, like when he’s losing a boxing match with his twelve year-old son (“Christmas with the Kids”) or noting that he’s completely subservient to the whims of his wife’s moods (“Wheel of Fortune.”) As for the biggest laugh, all I can put in print is that it comes during the “Yoga” track and it’s made “I’ll split it with ya” my latest catchphrase.
One of the coolest things about Rodney Carrington is that he’s a pretty darn good country singer. Radio stations who are too timid to play “The One in the Middle” could never spin “Show Them to Me” or “Rhymes With Truck”, he could totally school all the country singers who try to be funny, not to mention some of them who try to stay in tune. If you’re easily offended by R-rated humor, then I can’t recommend this album to you, though I doubt you read this anyway after taking a gander at that album artwork. But if you’re looking for country humor, it doesn’t get any better than Rodney Carrington.
I’ve read up a little on prior releases by Rodney “Show Them to Me” Carrington when I was ordering the DVD for a gift. Many people, though they liked this album claimed it was “tame” compared to his usual material….I’m officially intrigued. iTunes here I come!
I Like the album artwork!!!!!
I have to agree with Kevin. This is classic Rodney, yet the material is fresh and new. It’s hard to keep a comedy schtick going for a long time, and only the great ones have. I’ve been a fan of Rodney for years, and my only complaint with this album is that it was too long in getting here. It’s totally hilarious, and if you can stand a bit of R-Rated raunch, its a blast.
To expand on one of Kevin’s points, Rodney is a fantatic singer in his own right. I think this album proves the quality of his chops as we’ve never seen before on the track Angel Friend. A touching tribute to a close friend that passed away, humor has no real part in this song. It is so real, so touching, that it was actually played at several funerals and memorials.
Great album from a country genre that branches away from the Blue Collar routine, but maintains its real and rooted integrity.