Rating:
Genre:
Country
Release Date: 02/24/2004
Country comedian and comic singer
Rodney Carrington hasn't had any hits, greatest or otherwise, in the conventionally accepted sense of the term. But
Greatest Hits is a two-disc compilation drawn from four albums --
Hangin' with Rodney (its tracks licensed from
Mercury Records),
Morning Wood,
Live: C'mon Laugh You Bastards, and
Nut Sack. The first disc features
Carrington's non-singing
standup comedy, the second songs.
Carrington has enjoyed commercial success with his albums by presenting redneck humor with a heavy complement of vulgar sexual commentary, poor taste (in
"Growing Up Poor -- Toughskins Jeans," he makes fun of the
Kennedy assassination), and bouts of intolerance toward Asian-Americans and, especially, homosexuals. Indeed, his obsession with gay people evidences an extreme homophobia that might benefit from therapy. But then, his
comedy routines probably are that therapy, though they don't help him overcome his problems. He covers much the same ground in his songs, while introducing musical satires as he sets his lyrics to everything from
Tex-Mex to
Frankie Laine-style Western
pop, and even (on one of two versions of
"Letter to My Penis"),
Frank Sinatra-style
traditional pop swagger. Despite his vulgarity,
Carrington reveals a wide streak of sentimentality, making it clear how dependent he is on his wife, and on the album-ending song
"Things We Didn't Know," one of two new tracks, he drops the joking completely in favor of a sincere, and cloying, tribute to his family. But maybe that shouldn't be a surprise; he's spent a lot of the album demonstrating that, despite his potty mouth, he's really just a softie.
~William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
;)
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