The companion CD to the Blue Collar Comedy Tour: One for the Road film is a scattershot release. Having stretched themselves a bit thin with a television series, a satellite radio station, and solo excursions into big Hollywood movies, there's a noticeable drop in enthusiasm from
Jeff Foxworthy and
Larry the Cable Guy.
Foxworthy's "Redneck Dictionary" and assorted fashion tips are nothing more than his "You Might Be a Redneck" routine retooled slightly, while
Larry's set is just plain sloppy and uninspired. Like
Foxworthy,
Bill Engvall falls back on his old ways, but he sounds more comfortable doing it and delivers a pleasant if unmemorable set.
Ron White, on the other hand, sounds ready to break out into bigger and better things with hilarious material that makes the first disc worthwhile. The second CD has the key track, the loose and incredibly fun "Our Favorite Jokes," which features all four members just tellin' jokes, front-porch style. After that, it's the gang looking and laughing at old pictures -- something that just doesn't work without the visuals -- and a sentimental song from Jerome McComb that cloyingly tells Blue Collar Tour backstage stories of spit cups mistaken for Cokes. None of it sounds like it was meant to share album space together, and while "Our Favorite Jokes" and
White's set are good reasons for mega-fans to check this release, everyone else can skip this minor effort. ~ David Jeffries