Hillbilly Homeboy

Tim Wilson, who combines standup comedy with comic country songs in about equal proportions, has a song called "The Ballad of John Rocker" that is given two renditions — the "club" and "studio" versions — on Hillbilly Homeboy. It's more than a little ironic to hear Wilson criticizing the embattled baseball player in song since the singer/comedian has been known to make humorous remarks little short of Rocker's serious ones about race. But Wilson is on much better behavior here than he sometimes has been in the past. While his humor remains Southern and rural-oriented, he has purged it of some of its more bigoted aspects. (Of course, he's not entirely de-fanged.) He has even bleeped out all the bad words, presumably so that the material can be played on the radio, though the effect is irritating on the commercially released album. Humor can be very local, and those outside of Wilson's Southern milieu may miss the jokes. A good rule of thumb for the potential buyer is to ask yourself how much you know about NASCAR. For example, do you know who Dale Earnhardt is? If not, this is not the album for you, since you won't catch many of the references. If so, you probably already have a couple of Wilson's earlier albums, or you've heard him on your favorite morning radio show, and you should know what to expect.