Steven Wright: I Still Have A Pony

Steven Wright came on to the comedy scene in the ‘80s. What made him stand out from the crowd was his deadpan delivery, a voice that conjured up Buster Keaton’s persona, and his unique perspective of the world, which had similarities to another artist that broke out in the ‘80s, Gary Larsen of The Far Side.

2007’s I Still Have A Pony is the follow-up to his 1985 comedy album I Have A Pony. Most of the material appeared previously on his Comedy Central special, Steven Wright: When the Leaves Blow Away, which was recorded in May 2006 at The Historic Elgin Theatre in Toronto, Canada. The remaining material was recorded at the same month Winter Garden Theatre Centre.

Wright’s stand-up style is reminiscent of George Carlin. He plays with language (A friend of mine is on the Ouija Board of Directors), the absurdities of our culture (I bought a new camera. It’s very advanced. You don’t even need it), and can be just plain silly (One of my grandfathers died when he was a little boy). He can switch from the philosophical (I’m wondering how my life would have been different had I been born one day earlier. Then I’m thinking maybe it wouldn’t have been different other than I would have asked that question yesterday) to the profane (In high school, I went out with two different girls. One was like the girl next door if you lived next door to a whorehouse), yet they all sound natural coming from him

He delivers quick one-liners (I think it’s wrong that only one company makes the game Monopoly), tells surreal stories, like the time he walked through an airport after forgetting to take off his seatbelt, and performs songs. Out of the three on this album, the best is the “Friends of Mine Song,” which ranks alongside classics Bruce McCullough’s “Dave” and The Nails’ “88 Lines” as funny songs about people. Wright’s song tells stories about friends who died, like Dennis who “was killed breaking a wishbone/ Nobody knows if it was an accident or suicide/ They don’t know what he was wishing for.”

The common denominator in Steven Wright’s comedy is that he generates a lot of laughter. Fans of Wright will enjoy this CD as will those discovering him for the first time.