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HOTT ALBUM!

BILL ENGVALL: “AGED AND CONFUSED!”

Overall response – HOTT-er! Than expected!

The best and worst thing about Engvall’s latest album, “Aged and Confused”, is that it’s unobjectionable but at the same time unapologetic.

Recorded in Chicago during the 2009 Just for Laughs Chicago festival, Aged and Confused finds Engvall raging (not really) against the inanity of everyday life: his relationship with his wife, taking vacations, “game nights” and the depressing prospect of going out to nightclubs at age 50. It’s all a little safe and pretty toothless, but the album has a real focus and point of view — it’s entirely about Engvall’s own life as he copes with getting older and struggles between settling into what’s comfortable and trying to keep things interesting and new. I like that the album has a unifying theme (it’s like the comedy equivalent of a “concept” album) and that Engvall just mines his own life for material. He reminds me a lot of Bill Cosby in that way.

I’ve used the words “safe” and “unobjectionable” to describe Aged and Confused, neither of which really suggest a laugh riot. I guess that depends on what kind of comedy you find funny; there are plenty of people that enjoy the kind of familiar and clean material that Engvall delivers. While I tend to go for comics that are more cutting, I can appreciate the sense of comfort that Engvall’s relaxed comedy can provide. Because Aged and

Confused is all about the plight of the suburban family man, it’s kind of universal — and, better yet, timeless (I could say the same about Jim Gaffigan, but his riffs are way more absurd and, as a result, more inspired). But too often when Engvall starts down a path that sparks my interest, he settles into something more disappointingly ordinary.

For example, he’s got a good line about the difference between “vacation” and “travel,” but bails on it too quickly to tell a story about a disastrous trip taken with his wife. That story is still amusing in the way that most of Engvall’s comedy is, but the setup shows greater promise than the routine provides.

I didn’t really laugh during Aged and Confused, but I still enjoyed listening to it — like an episode of a sitcom you’ve already seen twice but leave on anyway because it’s oddly comforting. I tend to like my comedy a bit edgier, but I can’t deny that there’s a big audience for the kind of stand-up that Engvall performs. For that audience, Aged and Confused should be a big hit. There’s a place Engvall’s style of comedy, and I guess I’m glad that the niche is being filled by such a nice guy.