Sam Kinison's 1986 debut album
Louder Than Hell was genius standup comedy. He was a loud, rude, unapologetically vulgar party animal -- and remarkably insightful.
Kinison also earned small acting roles, most notably as the scene-stealing history professor in the
Rodney Dangerfield movie Back to School. The former preacher had made a mark on pop culture as a "rock & roll comic" by the time of his second album, 1988's
Have You Seen Me Lately? "Rubber Love" caused a controversy with
Kinison's comments on safe sex, homosexuals, and AIDS. Warner Bros. even caved and placed a sticker on the album saying the contents did not reflect its corporate views. "The Story of Jim (Bakker)" is an appropriate lambasting of the fallen, hypocritical TV evangelist and his "innocent" mistress Jessica Hahn, who actually became one of
Kinison's lovers. "Mother Mary's Mystery Date" is another daring, funny commentary on religion as
Kinison speculates on Joseph's skepticism of the Virgin Mary's immaculate conception.
Kinison acknowledges his audience's uneasiness with religious jokes on "Heart-Stoppers" and admits God might punish him with death; the bit eerily foreshadows
Kinison's future. "Buddies" outlines a specific, X-rated prank that a man's friends may perpetrate on him while he's drunk. On the hysterical "Sexual Diaries,"
Kinison advises men to be wildly creative and aggressive lovers. That way, he argues, if your woman leaves you for another man, he has a lot to live up to. "The Butt and the Bible" and "Parties With the Dead" are beyond tasteless, which, in
Kinison's hands, guarantees hilarity. "Wild Thing" is a reworked novelty version of
the Troggs' hit. The most disturbing track is "Rock Against Drugs."
Kinison disgustedly mocks anti-drunk-driving campaigns, but in 1992 he was killed by a drunk driver in a car crash. ~ Bret Adams