Plenty of comedians dabble in music, but
Harry Shearer is one of the few who could seemingly get away with an actual career crafting pop tunes if he suddenly lost the ability to be funny (or conjure the voice of C. Montgomery Burns).
Shearer has released several albums of comic songs (many written for his public radio series Le Show), and 2012's
Can't Take a Hint is one of his most pleasing and polished efforts to date. Clearly more interested in serving the song as he is in promoting his own career,
Can't Take a Hint features more tracks on which
Shearer plays bass than numbers where he sings lead, with the songwriter often handing off vocal chores to his guest stars, including
Dr. John on the celebration of cool weather "Autumn in New Orleans,"
Jane Lynch nailing the
Madonna parody "Like a Charity,"
Alice Russell and
Tommy Malone on the Motown-inspired contemplation of the Iraq War "Trillion Dollar Bargain," and
Jamie Cullum adding some swingin' cool to an homage to passing the buck at the Pentagon, "A Few Bad Apples."
Shearer's wife
Judith Owen also contributes her impressive vocal talents, as she has on his earlier albums, and
Shearer's frequent collaborator CJ Vanston produced the set, with the tracks expertly running the gamut from the Auto-Tuned hip-hop of "My Thing" to the lush,
Beach Boys-meet-James Bond pop of "Macondo."
Shearer writes solid melodies in a wealth of styles, and his lyrical barbs almost invariably hit their targets and score laughs doing it, though a few seem a bit past their sell-by dates; in 2012, making fun of Joe the Plumber is beating a horse that's not just dead but buried, and "Bridge to Nowhere" is a Sarah Palin take-off that's just as timely as its title. But the opener "Celebrity Booze Endorser" (with backing from
Fountains of Wayne) and the closer "Touch My Junk" are likely to remain relevant until our culture comes to its senses, and
Can't Take a Hint is smart, accomplished pop music that will entertain anyone with the good sense to be cynical in the 21st century. ~ Mark Deming