Cledus T. Judd might be the most surprising success story in '90s country music. After all, who would have guessed that country music wanted a
Weird Al Yankovic of their very own? Then again, country has a new comedy cause celebre each decade or so, and it was inevitable that a cornpone
Weird Al would surface at some point. Of course, song parodies have been a staple of country comedy for years, but
Judd's sensibility was straight out of
Yankovic -- copying the original arrangement and recording to a T, only with wacky lyrics. And, like
Weird Al,
Cledus' stuff doesn't work if you're not familiar with the originals or if you just don't buy into the whole schick. If you're down with
Judd, however, you'll find that his catalog is every bit as consistent as
Yankovic's -- he hits the mark with each of his parodies, and his original songs are strong, too.
Juddmental, his fourth album, is fundamentally no different than his first three efforts, and it is no better and no worse. That's not laziness -- that's consistency. If some of the jokes fall a little flat ("Coronary Life" is disgusting, not funny, and the
Ricky Martin sendup "Livin' Like John Travolta" is misguided), there are plenty more that do work (particularly "Shania I'm Broke" -- strange how
Shania brings out the best in
Cledus). And it's hard not to smile when
Judd twists Garth Brooks' alter-ego Chris Gaines into Waite Gaines. So, if you've never liked
Cledus before, this ain't gonna change your mind. But if you have, you'll find
Juddmental to your liking. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine