Search - Judy Tenuta :: Space Goddessy

Live set from the Queen of Candypants

J. Collins | 07/16/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Hopefully, if you're taking the time to read this review, you LIKE Judy Tenuta. A lot of folks don't....Judy's got a schtick, which she schticks to come hell or Roseanne. If you dig her angsty antics or just have to laugh at her self-reverential postures, this album shouldn't disappoint you. Like most of her other albums, this one is recorded live, and was presumably recorded in LA. Tenuta gets sassy with Calista Flockhart, Cher, Seigfried & Roy, and Martha Stewart. Most of those bits are a tad dated by now (a year later, roughly), so enjoy 'em while you still remember yesterday's gossip. Still, the "Believe" sendup will be remembered ten years from now...Inevitably, the Divine Miss T lashes out with fat-phobic jokes, and some of this material is just tired. The "No Pigs In Coach" is a re-tread of earlier monologues, and there are other tracks ("Givers and Takers," "What Women Want," for example) that recycle the tenets of The Book of Judyism. Only one of the five songs ("I Can Tell") should be familiar to fans; "Boss of the Bed" is Judy as dominatrix, "Too Small" is a small joke and a short track, "Mass Murderer" is a genuinely funny and morbid track, and "Undercover" is a clever take on 'straight-acting' gay men.As usual, there are some great jokes, a slew of funny Judyisms, and a lot of raunchy patter. Some of the gay-friendly humor is welcome, but other times it seems that the Goddess is patronizing her audience. (At one point she asks if there are any straight people in the audience, and there's almost dead silence in response.) I don't think there's any question that this album will appeal to Judy's core audience, though she tends to stick to the same topics from album to album. As a mixture of decent-to-great new material and plenty of timeworn bits, this is an above average listen in my opinion."