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Bill Engvall - 15
Degrees Off Cool
By: George
Peden, CSO Staff Journalist
 If
I were to be keenly honest, comedy ain’t my thing. It’s pretty
much a hit and miss for me. One man’s laughter is another
man’s tears. I find that I’m often caught up in the boredom of
some comic shelling out droll and doss and it’s usually loud and
obnoxious. It’s not me. I laugh loudest at the acts who take the
time to embrace their life, their circumstances and, in doing so,
open up the possibility of a shared laugh. Many of today’s
comics can’t do that.
Bill Engvall can.
Engvall, a former
DJ and a veteran of six comedy albums and a recognizable touring
buddy of Jeff Foxworthy, is back on the shelves. His latest comedy
album, 15 Degrees Off Cool (Warner Bros. Records), is out now.
Engvall is one of
those guys you warm to straight off. He’s funny. He’s wicked.
He easily strikes the collective funny bone of those who can see
the amusing side of life and have the ability to laugh at
themselves. And that’s the charm of Engvall–he doesn’t take
it too seriously. He’s here for a good time. Engvall points his
humorous finger squarely at himself, and in doing so holds a
mirror up for the rest of us to examine our own flaws.
This is a good ol’
ordinary guy, a guy who has been treading the boards since ’86,
with his start in Dallas, Texas. The apprenticeship saw him chase
the talk shows, doing spots with Carson and Leno, to the wider
breakthrough of “Here’s Your Sign” in 1996. The album
charted on Billboard for 15 weeks and also showed the comedic
talents of Travis Tritt, who featured in the video.
Running at 50
minutes, Engvall’s latest is a commentary, a funny insight, into
the how, what and where of America. It’s a comedic snapshot that
shows even in these darkest of times: a good laugh is a
distraction people want and need. Bill Engvall delivers on both
counts.
Bill Engvall has an
ambition. He wants to be cool. But not super cool, just 15 degrees
off. The cool people, as Engvall tells us, are “right there”.
But for this comedian, he’s happiest being a little bent, a
little off center, a little devious. When he tells us about his
meeting with George Strait, it’s not the rambling of an
ego-driven celeb, rather it’s the awe-struck honesty of a fan.
And it’s that approach that is winning fans – well proven by
an almost full diary of upcoming shows on Engvall’s website.
Whether it is the
delights of arguing naked with your partner, to the joy of making
up, only to remember there’s 14 stairs to the bedroom and
you’re getting older, to the necessity of letting free, toxic
building internal gas, to the equivalent of the woman’s bad hair
day, the man’s “bad wiener day”...” I washed it, sat on
it, and now I can’t do a thing with it...” Engvall is the man.
Even at 15 degrees
off, Bill Engvall is cool. I don’t like comedy albums. I loved
this. That says it all.
Click on the CD cover to order yours!
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1. Argue
Naked
2. Slim Jims
3. Free Range Chicken
4. Ionic Breeze
5. Getting Older
6. Part Of Your Package
7. Wives And Nascar
8. Bad Weiner Day
9. Hurting Gas
10. 15 Degrees Off Cool
11. Fantasy Camp
12. Thunderbirds
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Related
Links:
Official Website
MySpace
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