Ode To An Ex-Wife (LKM, 2000)

One unforeseen result of the compact disc revolution (and compact record packaging) has been the death of album art and innovation. It's unlikely you'll ever see another coin-shaped album (a la Grand Funk Railroad's "E Pluribus Funk") or a CD that folds out into a desk (Alice Cooper's "School's Out," which also carried a pair of panties, something else that won't fit on a CD jewel box).

But "Big Harry" Johnson is trying to remedy this sad situation. "Ode To An Ex-Wife" is packed in pretty pink gift wrap, replete with bows and "To" and "From" labels to fill in. The CD itself is not round but shaped like what initially appears to be a heart, until you notice the kiss mark and realize it's actually a derriere. Unfortunately, Mr. Johnson seems to have exhausted his ingenuity on the CD and its case. Things slide rapidly downhill once you open this 4-song EP. The title tune with its chorus of "Eat (excrement) and Die" is too vituperative to be amusing. All the humor of "I Faked Mine Too" is in the title. Likewise with "I Hate Every Bone in Your Body But Mine." "Is That a Pistol in Your Pocket" doesn't even fit the theme of this theme album; it's a witless rehash of Rodney Carrington's "Dancing With a Man."

This album carries � and deserves � a Parental Advisory label. But you probably already figured that out, right? When an artist's name itself is explicit, that's a pretty good tip-off. (LKM, Box 870301, Stone Mountain, GA 30087)