Dave Foley's comedy album debut comes almost 20 years after his comedy troupe, the Kids in the Hall, left television, and almost 15 years after his gig on the sitcom NewsRadio ended. Who knows how many fans he picked up hosting Celebrity Poker Showdown, but the beloved Kid takes a dark turn on
Relatively Well, an album that fesses-up on the "dry spell" he's experienced when it comes to face time on television, along with all the horrible repercussions that came with it. Unable to keep up with child support payments -- payments the comedian claims are based entirely on his much more lucrative NewsRadio days --
Foley paints a Kafka-esque picture of owing 400-percent of his monthly income to his ex-wife, who lives in Canada, where he's likely to be arrested if he ever sets foot. Not funny stuff at all, but it all happens on a cut called "Arrest That Puddle," and if that doesn't display the man's gift packaging the dark bits of life in something absurd, this devastating, and to be fair, one-sided tale of a family crumbling evolves out of a bit where the Kids in the Hall party with a 19-year-old and "willing" -- as they say -- Uma Thurman. It's also a poignant bit, and one that's surprisingly funny plus shockingly not uncomfortable, but save some gross jokes ("Corpses are the low-hanging fruit on the prison rape tree, probably just below dwarves") this is the charming, easygoing, and sarcastic
Foley of yore. He's at full force when talking about his mid-life crisis of libido vs. ability, offering that sex is like "Going to a
Bruce Springsteen concert. This is awesome and I can't wait till it's over and we're back home talking about what fun we had." "Ya gotta play hurt" is the sex tip hockey taught him, and when it comes to that good old "edge," "Closeted Atheists" and some mean riffing on the Westboro Baptist Church are progressive power punches veteran fans will appreciate. Shame it took so long, and shame its reason for being is so depressing to hear, but
Relatively Well overcomes these obstacles, and every
Foley fan who's been missing his wit should get their fill here. ~ David Jeffries