Lewis Black - Rules of Enragement

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Music reviews of Rules of Enragement

Music Review: Edgy Topical Comedy
Rating: 4 Stars

There's a lot of material on this CD, in minutes. There's a lot of material, actually, in terms of quality rantings by Mr. Black. His CD's begin with something about the area where the concert is being recorded. In this case, it is Minnesota. This is actually pretty cute. He moves from this to the weather, a standard for Black. Where Seinfeld might ask "What's the deal with...", Black just tosses out his insights as a kind of running commentary on Lew's life. He's angy about the stuff he's stuck with (the weather), and angry about stuff that is happening (corporate greed).

So. He is talking about New Zealand and Italy, places where he has travelled. He manages to include some thoughts on drinking, which is something he generally talks about (favorably). The edgiest material is about "Greed", the corporate variety. I don't know of anyone who has expressed the outrage better. Looking at the folks who stole a billion from Adelphia, he asks (well, screams) whether their plan was to have their own space program? He is not a big fan of Martha Stewart. Listen. Draw your own conclusions. The way he ties Martha to gayosity is totally original. This guy is original. I don't know how much farther he can take some of this stuff (like the way he moves the subject to Martha in the first place).

There's a rhythm to these collections. It's one long monologue with the F word used a zillion times. There's a similarity between Black and Sam Kinison. They use their voices to express a lot of emotion. Sam was raw. Black is totally self-deprecating. Sam took everything too far, bounced back, and died tragically south of Vegas as he re-emerged. There is something delicate about talent like this. I still remember Ernie Kovacs.

I've heard that the great sitcoms (television) generally are built around the comedian who captures the moment. At one time, that was Bob Newhart. More recently, it was Seinfeld. The joke is that the shows are about nothing, but they are shows that project the vision of the comic. Lewis Black is stretching to the point where he could be that comic. Apparently, that's been discussed, but I don't know. I wonder how much of the edge would come off.

It's been a long time since I thought anyone was really funny. There are people who can deliver good monologues, like Leno or Letterman. Those jokes are pretty standardized. There are people I think are funny, like Chris Rock, but they seem to lack depth. Most of the movies that are described as having a comedic element are black comedies, like the recent Jack Nicholson stuff. Lewis Black is very special. I hope the entertainment world finds a good spot for him, not that there is anything wrong with what he is doing. It's easy to see that he could get too edgy, and that the constant stream of profanity limits his appeal. I'd love to see material of this quality come out every year, and just buy the CD. I hope Lew does what is best for Lew and he can continue to share his insights without too much contamination.

Description of Rules of Enragement

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