NEIL HAMBURGER
Laugh Out Lord (Drag City Records)
Reviewed by Holly Day

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Neil Hamburger is the greatest sad-sack comic out there, delivering his lines as though he's confessing to an inattentive bartender instead of an actual audience. His act ranges from telling really bad jokes about pop stars, political figures, the Unibomber, and Scientologists, to stories about his family life, dealing with divorce (his ex-wife sent him a coupon to receive "deluxe treatment" at the local abattoir), as well as lots of heckling from audience members who are apparently only impressed when Neil Hamburger does his "famous" "Zipper Lips" song and dance routine. It's a very subtle and highly self-deprecating album (as is the bulk of Hamburger's work) but also very funny in a painful, groaning-because-it's-so-bad sort of way.

© 2003 - Holly Day