America's Funnyman - CD

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After having made his artistic name known via a couple of singles, ol' Neil took the big plunge with the full-length America's Funnyman, clearly designed to get him up to the level of attention that such comics as Bill Cosby and Robin Williams made with their own records. A pity, then, that his unique artistic gifts once more come to the fore to trip him up instead of prop him up -- one might even say it was intentional on the part of the producers who assembled the recordings, apparently done at locations ranging from Las Vegas to Modesto. No misstep, no three-person audience, no glaringly bad reference or awkward pause is left uncaptured or erased -- it's Neil Hamburger, warts and all. To his credit, he seems almost aware of the fact that even as he dies a death on stage at the hands of his often abusive and sometimes directly confrontational audience -- at one point an enthusiastic youth takes over the mike to yell "METALLICA!" -- his own thwarted efforts will provide entertainment for those listening in after the fact. Moments of silence are invoked for George Burns to be welcomed by applause, cutting-edge mid-'90s references about "Bill and Hillary," "Newt Gingrich," "OJ," and others fail to win over the crowd, points where Neil bares his soul are met with endless giggles or not a word. Then again, sometimes all he has to do is say "Condoms" and it sounds like a classic sitcom -- or even a classic sitcom laugh track. There's also a version of the classic "Zipper Shtick," not to mention the new masterpiece "The Top Ten -- Censored!" Truly, Neil Hamburger doesn't have the easiest of existences but, as he says at the start, "That's my job, going around and making people laugh." ~ Ned Raggett, All Music Guide