August, 1997
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Something Funny Going On Gay and Lesbian Comedy Albums

by Gregg Shapiro

When Entertainment Weekly ran its "Who's The Funniest Person Alive? A Complete Guide to The 50 Greatest Comedians Today" cover story in their April 18, 1997 issue, I thought it was just a clever ploy to get people's minds off of "tax time." You know, make them laugh, so it won't hurt so bad. But then I got to thinking. At the same time, the Spertus Museum of Judaica (in Chicago) was running a fascinating and informative exhibit on Jewish comedians, and there seemed to be a rash of funnier than average comedy albums being released. And even though Roseanne's sitcom was going off the air after nine years at the end of this season, comedians such as Paul Reiser, Brett Butler, Drew Carey, Jerry Seinfeld, Anthony Clark, and of course, Ellen DeGeneres, continued to rule the airwaves. There really was something funny going on!

The trouble with comedy albums is that after a few listens, you know the routine by heart, but you still can't hum it. In the case of the late Allen Sherman, who was featured in the Spertus Museum exhibit, you actually could hum his jokes. One of the all-time greatest writers of parody lyrics, he was perhaps best known for his novelty hit "Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh!" My Son, The Greatest: The Best Of Allan Sherman (Rhino) culls 19 tracks from Sherman's seven full-length albums. This disc is a treasure and still makes me laugh out loud (especially on "Sarah Jackman" which is sung to the tune of "Freres Jacques," and "Harvey And Sheila" which is sung to the tune of "Hava Negilah"). In fact, the good people at Rhino Records should be commended for their extensive catalog of reissued comedy albums.

Also of comedic interest are the four-disc sets The Complete 2000 Year Old Man by Carl Reiner & Mel Brooks and The American Comedy Box 1914-1994: But Seriously... which features "Pioneers" such as Smith & Dale, "Radio & Movie" performers such as Abbott & Costello, "Musical Comedians" such as Tom Lehrer, "Political Humorists" the Capitol Steps, "One-Liners" such as Joan Rivers, "Storytellers" such as Shelley Berman, the "Sketch Comedy" of Cheech & Chong, "Characters" such as Moms Mabley, and "Stand-Up" comedians such as Buddy Hackett, to name a few. Speaking of Rivers, I hope that Rhino reissues her fabulously funny What Becomes A Semi-Legend Most album soon.

If you listened to Ellen DeGeneres' hysterically funny Taste This (Atlantic/Lava/Soda Jerk), before her public "coming out," you'd never have known that she was a lesbian. Not that it matters in this particular instance (with such classic Ellen routines as "Airplanes," "Scary Things," "Cat In Heat," "Phone Call To God," and "Public Bathrooms"), but then you listen to Nothing In My Closet But My Clothes (Uproar) by Suzanne Westenhoefer and you wonder how much funnier DeGeneres would be if she did "gay" humor (whatever that may be). What I really mean is that Westenhoefer can make us laugh, and also make us laugh at ourselves (which DeGeneres does, but in a more self-deprecating way). The closest thing to being a give-away of DeGeneres' now publicly acknowledged sexuality is her routine about her cat. I say this because Westenhoefer also has a routine about her cat(s) called "The Animals" which has a quality about it that she shares with DeGeneres. Other fits-of-hysteria inducing bits on the Westenhoefer disc include "Bugs," "The Gun," "The 700 Club," "Purse Bearer," and "The Christian, The Dyke and My Mom." Ironically enough, both DeGeneres and Westenhoefer recorded their comedy albums in Portland, Ore. Perhaps they know something we don't.

The 16-track, The Best of Lesbian Comedy, Vol. 1 (Rising Star Records), features nine lesbian comedians, and one duo. The aforementioned duo, Dos Fallopia, appear on the disc seven times, their comedy bits excerpted from their album My Breasts Are Out Of Control. There are instantly recognizable names, such as Lea DeLaria, Kate Clinton, Georgia Ragsdale, Karen Williams, Sara Cytron and Karen Ripley, alongside less familiar (although no less funny) performers as Lacie Harmon, Vickie Shaw and Amy Boyd. Even though the material on this disc is very funny, I do have one quibble. The quality of some of the recordings (Vickie Shaw, Georgia Ragsdale, Amy Boyd, Karen Ripley) are amateur, at best, and that detracted a little from my total enjoyment.

The aforementioned Lea DeLaria has her own comedy disc out, Box Lunch (Rising Star), which is something of an enigma, as comedy albums go, because DeLaria also performs four serious musical numbers. Anyone who heard DeLaria's cover of "The Truth About Christmas" on the gay & lesbian winter-holiday disc Winter Moon, knows that she is more than capable of carrying a tune. DeLaria also has a reputation for being something akin to the Sam Kinison of queer comedy. A self-described "clitoris on legs," DeLaria wastes no time in getting to the point of her jokes, many of which are what they used to call "blue." Many of the jokes are funny, but the language is nasty. So be forewarned, the "Parental Advisory, Explicit Content" label on the cover applies to listeners of all ages.

Divas Of Distinction
From the sultry cover photos to the variety in the 18 songs on Take Honey West Home (West Recordings), this much-anticipated debut disc by Honey West (a.k.a. Don Auxier) was well worth the wait. Those of us fortunate to have seen Honey perform live will recognize familiar songs from her repertoire. "The Hot Daddy Medley" (featuring "My Heart Belongs To Daddy," "I've Written A Letter To Daddy," and "Daddy") and "The Rainy Day Medley" ("Here's That Rainy Day," "Here Comes The Rain Again," and "Come In From The Rain") are performed in wonderful arrangements on the disc. West's notorious love of the songwriting of Carole Bayer Sager, as well as standards spanning the pop spectrum including "Rockaby My Baby," "Beginning To See The Light," "My Funny Valentine," and "Bridge Over Troubled Water" (my personal favorite) demonstrate her uncanny ability to make a song better by making it her own. While the concept of having a duet by such beloved transgendered performers as Ms. West and Alexandra Billings on the track "50 Percent"/"I Knew Him So Well" was a truly inspired idea, the results lead me to wonder whether Charlene Unger (a.k.a. Peter Mohawk) was unavailable at the time of the recording. Ms. Billings' solo on "I Knew Him So Well" is not up to par, and suffers in light of West's prowess. Only when she is singing in her own key (as she does when she sings with West on "50 Percent") does Billings really get the chance to show her stuff. Listeners also get to hear West as a disco diva on her cover of The Beatles' "Dear Prudence" and "Take Me Home Tonight." What was most amazing to me was the similarity between West's and Boy George's vocals, especially on "Dear Prudence;" it was connection I'd not made until now. Finally, the gorgeous "Love Just Passed Me By" (from the movie Butch Camp) deserved to be a hit on adult contemporary radio stations across the nation.

Like West, Linda Eder is most familiar to audiences via her live (stage musical and concert) performances. On It's Time (Atlantic), her latest studio album, she continues to stake her claim among the distinguished divas. Working in her favor is the fact that she found someone (professionally and romantically) to write songs for her. Frank Wildhorn, who co-wrote the musical Jekyll & Hyde (in which Eder stars), wrote or co-wrote 13 of the disc's 16 songs. Fittingly, "Someone Like You" (from Jekyll & Hyde) is included here, as are two songs from other Wildhorn-related shows. They are "Candle In The Window" (from The Civil War) and "Only Love" (from The Scarlett Pimpernel). Wildhorn's non-stage-musical songs are also a varied lot. From the tear-jerker balladry of "I Don't Know How To Say Goodbye" to the empowering words and music of "I Want More" and "Big Time," in Eder's more than capable hands (and vocals) these songs are presented in the most perfect of settings.

Honey West will be performing as part of the "Dance Party" segment of Queerstock during Northalsted Market Days Aug. 17.

Tom Yore will be performing at Queerstock during Northalsted Market Days on 8.17.97

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