Blue Collar Comedy Tour Rides Again (Warner, 2004)

"Blue Collar Comedy" is one of the most popular TV shows on the WB Network. And the "Original Blue Collar Comedy Tour" was a hit and the DVD still a bestseller at Amazon. So it's unlikely you've never heard of these guys, and you've probably already formed your opinion of their acts.

This CD will do nothing to change that opinion. It is indeed more of the same, only a little bit racier. (Sometimes a lot racier in the case of Ron White, not a regular member of the TV ensemble.) If you like the TV show and the last movie, you will definitely like this one. If you didn't, you won't. It's that simple.

So instead of a review, let's consider catchphrases. All of these comedians have one, and all they have to do is utter them, and their fans roar with laughter. Bill Engvall's is "Here's Your Sign," Ron White's is "Tater." (Both of these presuppose knowledge ofearlier routines not included on this CD.) Larry the Cable Guy has "Get 'er done," (which doesn't seem to mean much of anything.) They might want to take a lesson from Foxworthy, who has the most famous catchphrase of anybody and, tellingly, does not say it, even though you can feel the audience waiting to explode when he does.

There's a case to be made that these blue collar guys deserve the name of their ensemble; they work a lot harder than they have to. Why go to all that trouble writing jokes when you can just grin and recite your respective catchphrase?