If there’s anything admirable about
Jackie Martling’s act in 2010, it’s that after decades of being associated with Howard Stern and benefiting from the shock jock’s loyal, attentive fans, the comedian can still shock an audience that’s well beyond familiar with his dirty act. You can hear the Stern/
Martling fan base -- and in
Martling’s case, the two are always connected -- gasping repeatedly on
Snart, his bawdy and mostly unquotable 2010 album that pulls its material from a bunch of East Coast shows performed during 1999-2009. Besides the naughty novelty number “And I’m Thinkin’ About You” plus a self-deprecating bit about when he left the Stern show (which in charmingly sloppy
Martling style, shows up on this collection twice), the rest of the set is "The Joke Man" living up to his nickname. It’s as if
Henny Youngman went a deep shade of blue as the comedian digs up every old dirty and/or politically incorrect joke your dad or granddad might have told around the water cooler. While
Martling fans have been here before,
Snart has a higher laugh count than most of his other albums, besides being sequenced and paced as well as a random set of jokes can be. Also, it’s longer than expected (snicker), clocking in at over 78 minutes. One of the few you might be able to get past the kids: “Two old ladies sitting in Vegas are playing slot machines. First one goes ‘Did you come on the bus?’ and the second one goes ‘Yeah but I made it look like an asthma attack!’”
Snart indeed. ~ David Jeffries