Album Review: Rodney Rude - Live (1984)

The first, and probably the most iconic comedy album by legendary Aussie comedian Rodney Rude, Live is probably his most tame, and yet one of the funniest albums in his catalog.  The swearing here is nothing compared to his later stuff - the C word is everywhere on anything post Not Guilty, but it still manages to pull off some piss funny gags, notably that referring to the Rambo movie First Blood as a story about a 12 year old girl, and of course, the foreign-sounding bloke who'd just fallen off the balcony at the movie theatre.  This is Rodney Rude in a more traditional stand-up style, and there isn't much in the way of shutting down hecklers, which forms the basis of most of the humor of the latter albums.  Either way, it's piss funny and bloody good.  And despite being long out of the touring scene, Rude is still the most potent antidote for whatever depressing aspect of modern society ails you.  Unfortunately, thanks to political correctness and the power afforded to the thin-skinned by the social justice brigade, you are unlikely to encounter a comedian like this ever again, for fear that the cancel culture will quickly render them without a career.  And that's a shame, for sure.  A great comedy record, by an Aussie national treasure.  A

Album Review: Rodney Rude - LIVE - Rats Arse Tour (1995)

Think of comedians with a predilection for profanity and Billy Connolly is probably the most likely candidate to come to mind.  His prowess with the F word has enthralled and amused audiences around the world for decades, whilst simultaneously installing himself as some sort of a paragon among comedians for his combination of storytelling and politically correct humor in which no subject matter is spared from ridicule and criticism.  And whilst he may very well be one of the most beloved comics in history, there is invariably an element of society, a puritanical fringe who is diametrically opposed to profane humor in any way, shape or form, dedicated to making their objections to his choice of comedy vocation well known.  And of course, it gets them nowhere.  Closer to home, I've long found myself indulging in the anti-PC, foul-mattered dirty humor of Australian comedian and musician Kevin Bloody Wilson, who himself has carved out a rather sizable niche audience dedicated to his profanity-laced, country-themed ditties, bringing into his fold of fans and admirers the likes of famous faces such as Elton John and Prince Charles.  And from Kevin Bloody Wilson I eventually found myself becoming a fan of another Australian 'blue' comedian, Rodney Rude. Often mistaken for one another, their approach to peddling schoolyard smut to the masses differs markedly.  Kevin Bloody Wilson stuck to singing dirty ballads, whereas Rodney Rude stuck to a unique brand of stand-up comedy in which taboo jokes were fired out one by one with impeccable comedy timing and with no regards for moral constraints.  Like Kevin Bloody Wilson, Rodney Rude was all about foul language, dirty jokes, and politically incorrect subject matter.  The second album that I bought of his, LIVE - Rats Arse Tour, is one of the finest recordings he has to offer.  Taking the piss out of everyone from Michael Jackson to Ray Charles to Rolf Harris, nobody is given lenient treatment from Rodney. I listen to albums like this as a form of respite from an ever-increasing politically correct world where offending someone is near on effortless.  I am forever thankful albums like this exist to offset the turgid thin-skinned BS we are expected to accept in ever-increasing amounts, in a world where laughing at ourselves or using humor to negotiate taboo subject matter is nowadays the greatest crime of them all.  A+