This is NOT a Dane Cook comedy album. It is a modern rock sampler, and not a good one at that.
In fact, the only reason Cook’s name is on this is because, at the time, he was a hot comedy property and so anything associated with him was guaranteed to sell like gangbusters. Hence, some up-and-coming artists attach themselves to the project and, bang, instant exposure! Cook’s only appearance is between songs, with short snippets of dialogue (not stand-up bits, but jokey phone calls, unfunny asides and stuff like Cook pouring water on a fellow comedian’s taxes and saying “This is not Taxgasm.” Har har).
So with the “comedy” bits thrown out, the listener is left with a dozen rock songs, some of which are quite good, including My Rich Friends’ “Everything You Wanted” and Truepenny’s “Straight To Video.” Tandemoro turns in a chilled-out tune called “The Movers & The Shakers” that sounds a little bit like Sublime meet the Violent Femmes, while “Don’t Lie Down” by Jealousy Curve updates the Stone Temple Pilots for the My Chemical Romance crowd.
Ride the Blinds goes back in time for a bluesy classic rock sound on “Got To Get It,” which sounds almost like the early Stones, and it’s a relief to hear bands still using this music for inspiration. I’m so grateful to hear a series of guitar solos these days, I dare to call this the best song on here. The Black Angles even use a harmonica (!) in what sounds like a Stooges throwback song in “Bloodhounds On My Trail;” it’s better than Mateo Denali’s rather boring ska/reggae mix “What I Give” or ColdFusion’s “On My Own,” which is generic nu-metal that has been done to death.
The set closes, after Cook’s tribute to his fans, with the instrumental and mandolin-driven “First Lullaby” by The Angel/Devil, lending an air of hope to the proceedings. But it’s not enough to salvage what feels like a superfinger given to Cook fans by Rhino. Be warned; this has almost nothing to do with Dane Cook, but as a sampler of new blood in rock music, this isn’t half bad. Shame on Rhino, though, for not marketing it as such.
