Stephen Lynch Releases 3 Balloons
New album Mixes Clever Humor and Solid Guitar Work
Apr 14, 2009 Michael Irvin Arrington
Stephen Lynch's humor is not for the easily offended.
New listeners who only know him from his critically-acclaimed role as the male lead in the Broadway musical, The Wedding Singer, are likely to be shocked. HIV/AIDS, Anne Frank, Christopher Reeve's accident, Margin Gaye's murder, and the Rodney King beating are just a few of the targets of his wit on 3 Balloons, Lynch's newest album of comedy and music. The album hits more often than it misses -- and mixes in some pretty good guitar playing from the Tony Award nominee, to boot.
Album Highlights
The album's funniest cuts might be its shortest entries. In a series of four "Dear Diary" skits, Lynch imagines the thoughts that certain famous (and infamous) people might have shared in their journals shortly before moments of tragedy. The premise holds great potential for success and failure, but Lynch's interpretations -- complete with a smooth guitar background -- make the jokes work. (Sharing the names of the diary writers would spoil the jokes.)
The next shortest track, "A History Lesson," depicts Lynch as a grade school teacher who uses his guitar to detail key events in world history: "Ben Franklin went out one night / Tied a tree to the end of a kite / Electricity struck so bright / Write it down, motherf***ers."
"Crazy Peanuts," a (mostly) reverent modern re-telling of the lives of Charlie Brown and his friends, should provide plenty of laughs for listeners who grew up on Charles Schulz's comics and television specials.
Room for Improvement
However, not all of Lynch's comedic efforts are equally fruitful. In fact, a couple fall flat. "Fishin' Hole" is not entirely without its merits, but the ultimate joke of the song is one that takes far too long to develop. "The Ballad of Scarface," a summary of the film's plot, is not a bad song, but it is not a particularly funny one, either. "America" is a folksy and satirical ode to patriotism, but it lacks the larger laughs of the album's better material.
And the album's final track, "Hallelujah," is too predictable; a love song deteriorates into nothing more than an expression of gratitude for his lover's oversized breasts. The clumsy arrangement of the material makes the joke payoff less than rewarding.
Professor Arrington's Grade
Stephen Lynch's 3 Balloons will find a grateful audience among the comedian's older fans. Newer ones, however, might not enjoy the more juvenile pieces -- i.e., the funnier ones -- on the album. The album has its highs and lows, and the highs are enough to warrant a solid B.
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