In Other Words

Standup comedienne Kathleen Madigan makes her major-label debut with In Other Words, a witty and wonderful effort that's just too short. Madigan's greatest strengths are her balancing of the cynical and approachable and her equal-opportunity antagonism. There's edgy material underneath her everywoman delivery as Madigan skewers both George W. Bush and Ted Kennedy, along with lesser targets like Larry King and Oprah. Her Bush rant on "Politics" is the highlight of the album, with Madigan pointing out how the president always re-explains things that don't need re-explaining (Madigan as Bush: "Osama bin Laden is hiding in a cave, people. In other words, he's playing peek-a-boo"). Effortlessly transitioning from one topic to the next, the album flies by in what seems like a lot less than the 47 minutes it is, which makes minor complaint number one that the listener is left wanting more, much more. Minor complaint number two has to be the yelping, guffawing audience member who is way too loud and impossible to ignore, but parents might also have an issue with Madigan's flippant tossing around of the "F" and "MF" cuss words, something unexpected if you've only encountered her on Leno or Letterman. Longtime comedy fans, on the other hand, will appreciate how she recalls the brassy and brash Rusty Warren at times, or how she can riff on family life like a more acerbic, golden-age Bill Cosby. Anyway you slice it, In Other Words is such a great throwback to the days when standup wasn't all character-driven or "indie" that one has to wonder why the majors didn't call her up sooner.