Aged and Confused (Warner, 2009)

"Aged and Confused" is the sound of Bill Engvall not aging gracefully, but going into middle age gently kicking and screaming. Much of this comedy release explores how it feels to be reluctantly 50, in a youth-driven world. For instance, a bit titled Clubbing at 50 expresses the utterly uncomfortable atmosphere of aging men clearly out of place among the bright lights and electronic music of modern day clubs.

However, Engvall is at his funniest when describing family vacation trips. His idea of the perfect vacation is a comfortable chair and an adult beverage in hand, whereas his wife's concept always involves a lot of busy activity. With both Shark Frenzy and Zip Line, Engvall illustrates vacation trips gone terribly wrong, with hilarious results. Engvall also discusses why our world is seemingly going to hell. For example, during his opening monologue, he tries - and fails - to make sense of a man who was stopped by airport security because he had a rock inside his rectum. The strange man explained that having the stone between his cheeks, so to speak, helped "relieve the stress of flying." Granted, Engvall may not have his life completely together; but at least he's better off than that poor buttocks stoner. And like most of us, Engvall's psyche is balanced somewhere between complete contentment and a guy who strolls through airports with a rock up his butt.