Not to diminish the idea that
Louis C.K. has helped raised the genre of standup comedy to an art form-- he has, on a
Lenny Bruce level, but in a much more connectable manner -- but if the man has a "gimmick," it's that he's the most honest comedian in America and has earned this title with material that doesn't represent his true self. For all the distaste and hate he throws his childrens' way, he's a nurturing, loving father when one reads between the lines, and when it comes to the ire he shoots machine gun-style across the crowded masses, it's all fantasy, because never has there been a man trying to find his way in the world as hard
Louis C.K.. Put it this way, on
Oh My God (a 2014 album sourced from a 2013 television special) the inconvenience of a sentimental goldfish funeral ("My Daughter Likes Fish") is the comedic problem, but
C.K. is really, underneath it all, ticked that the world won't stop for such sweetness, innocence, and poignancy. The track "If Murder Was Legal" ("... or just a misdemeanor, like you get a letter a letter in the mail and go 'Aw shit, they had a camera there…'") is this id unleashing at its utmost, and could very well be the zeitgeist of
C.K. routines ("If murder was legal, kids would behave very differently, because mostly it would be kids murdering their own kids") if there weren't already so many examples. When it comes to other consistencies,
Oh My God is as lean, mean, and crafted as the man's earlier shows, even when his mega-success would allow for some loosening and laziness. A bit of divorce talk, plus the overall theme that getting older blows, helps to separate this release from the other excellence, but otherwise this is
C.K. in top form, aka his comfort zone. ~ David Jeffries