Published on Dec 11, 1997
Denis Leary, I love ya. You came onto the scene so unexpectedly,
with your stream-of-consciousnness rants about anything and
everything and turning the comedy world on its ear.
But Denis, I really gotta rip on ya and your 1993 debut
No Cure For Cancer. Oh, it’s not that I hate it – far from
it. But it’s incomplete.
After making a mark with his MTV spots and his fantasizing about
Cindy Crawford, Leary brought his one-man show to the small screen
and released the soundtrack from the same show. As a bonus,
No Cure For Cancer includes a studio version of “Asshole,”
the song he used to open the show, as well as two other
tracks,”Traditional Irish Folk Song” and “Voices In My Head.” These
last two are kind of throwaways – especially when you discover that
there’s material missing from the live rant.
It’s not uncommon for comics to release shorter versions of
their shows on the corresponding album. Robin Williams did it,
Dennis Miller did it – why not Leary?
But when you watch the full video of the show, you realize that
what was left off was just as funny – and even moving. I really
wish I had heard Leary’s take on having children and the
responsibility of being a parent when I received this in the mail
some years back. (‘Course, since Leary’s act is just as much visual
– you don’t get to see him “die” at the end of the show – it pays
to spend the $2 at Blockbuster to see this.)
Minor points aside, Leary proves himself to be both a powerful
social critic who draws on his own life experiences as well as
someone who looks at the world of political correctness and takes a
leak on it. Whether it is his irreverent look at the world of
drugs, of which he once was a part of, or it is a near-sacrilegeous
comparison between Jesus Christ and Elvis (not postage-stamp
Elvis), Leary is able to create mental pictures that make us laugh,
make us think, shock us.
Some may brand Leary to be this generation’s Lenny Bruce for
generously peppering his routine with the word “fuck”, but this
comparison really isn’t fair to either comedian. In a sense, Leary
creates a caricature of himself on stage – I don’t really believe
he is as pissed-off of a person as he portrays. I think he just
channels his disapproval of what he sees to create his
character.
Be warned, though, that
No Cure For Cancer is a brutally honest delivery of standup
comedy and social commentary, and remains one of the finest comedy
albums I have ever heard. I have yet to pick up his latest release,
Lock ‘N Load, but if it is anything like his first effort, I
am sure I will be as entertained and disturbed as much as the first
time.
But Denis, next time, please think about putting the whole
routine on!