Search - Ray Stevens :: I Have Returned

Hilarious!

Jerry McDaniel | 08/30/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"this album came along on MCA in 1985. the album cover is a spoof of General MacArthur in case nobody knew. This is the album in which "The Blue Cyclone" is presented in it's full two part length. I clocked the song a long time ago and i believe that each part is roughly seven minutes each. 14 or 15 minutes for one song is unheard of {except perhaps Don McClain's tedious "American Pie"}.I play "Armchair Quarterback" all the time minus the beer...i replace that with ordinary soda pop! I like the part in the song about "..if Howard Cosell came in now they'd never get out alive" and "don't go outside 'cause the neighbor's dog bites everything he sees". For pure Ray Stevens classic non-sense "The Pirate Song" is the one for you. this Gilbert and Sullivan satire is laugh out loud funny particularly everytime the gay pirate chimes in with "i want to sing and dance". In the sophisticated humor department "The Haircut Song" uses so many jokes and non-sequitur that some listeners will not understand why Ray delivers gibberish in the role of the southern barber. also, in this politically correct time {i'm not a fan of political correctness} there's something on every song that someone will find offensive. I've found that most people take offense to almost anything these days. Stereotypical humor goes back to vaudeville and burlesque houses. Ethnic humor the same way: on "Hugo the Human Cannonball" we hear Ray exclaim in a broad Italian accent: "are ya rea-dy Hu-go?" and the response "i'm a-rea-dy pa-pa!". the gay pirate on the other song is sure to offend the gay community. the gay barber on "The Haircut Song" is another stereotype that the '90s generation has been programmed to protest. On "Vacation Bible School" we hear the tale of a preacher who gets drunk and does impressions of Greta Garbo and Gary Cooper! The only 'harmless' song by political correct standards is "Kiss a Pig", but seeing how nobody is allowed to offend anyone intentionally or not, i wouldn't be surprised if a group of pigs wouldn't protest that song before they meet their maker in the butcher shop! just a thought! great CD all the same."