CD Reviews

Steven Wright | I Have a Pony

Warner Bros. (2009)

By TED DROZDOWSKI | June 9, 2009

4.0 Stars

"I used to be a parking attendant in Boston at Logan Airport. I parked jets. They let me go, though, 'cause I kept locking the keys in them." So begins Cambridge native Wright's 1985 Grammy nominated debut album, which triggered a revolution in American comedy.

Mainstream humor shifted from the situational to the surreal and absurd, and Boston and LA became the cities that propelled an upsurge in the popularity of comedy not seen again until Comedy Central became a cultural powerhouse on the cusp of the 2000s. Billed as a "deluxe anniversary edition," this re-release also includes a DVD of Wright's 1985 HBO special.

That disc offers the same material enhanced by the visuals of Wright's trademark deadpan delivery, which makes his deftly daft one-liners the cranial equivalent of Buster Keaton's pratfalls — a hilarious and timeless lunatic tonic.

Related: Wright stuff, Interview: Judy Gold, The political virgins, More

Topics: CD Reviews , Cambridge, Buster Keaton, Steven Wright, More

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