Harland Williams Har-Larious CD

Artist, actor, musician, and -- believe it or not -- children's author Harland Williams can definitely be Har-Larious, but it takes awhile for him to get there on his Comedy Central debut. He's simply telling jokes at the beginning of this St. Louis-sourced show and they're hit or miss, mostly hit but sometimes uncomfortably miss. He seems tripped-up by the non-reaction some of his jokes receive, but after a couple hit the target, he relaxes and lets loose his inner Harland. This means stringing together nonsensical words to explain improbable situations or interacting with the audience in an acerbic way that suggests Don Rickles on acid. The fact that the whole front row seems to work at the same Arbys sets Williams off on a funny bit that displays his underexposed skills at improv. His bit on the "Al Quedas" attacking buildings with blimps is very funny, but like a whole lot of Har-Larious, seeing the chin-less wonder deliver it would be even better. Mitch Hedberg and Dane Cook got the deluxe treatment from Comedy Central with loaded CD/DVD combos being released before Williams' mere CD. It's a shame, since the audience's enthusiastic laughter at what are just pauses on-disc must mean the rubbery one is doing the facial contortions and awkward movements that play no small part in his rise to cult fame. As it is, Har-Larious is beneficial to the fan since his earlier, self-released albums are hard to come by, but unfortunately, this isn't the breakthrough package it could have been. ~ David Jeffries

Audio Mixer: Steve Rossiter.

Recording information: Funnybone, St. Louis, MO (09/2005).