Doug Benson: Unbalanced Load

by John Delery

Doug Benson doesn’t use vastly different building blocks than other comedians to create his jokes; he just plays with them better. You can’t help but applaud his 100-percent-natural mischievous delivery or laugh at a guy who’s having as much fun as Benson is onstage.

But then you hear Unbalanced Load, the title of Benson’s new CD, and you think, Whaaaaaa? Benson, the prankish “pro-weed professional humoredian,” is suddenly seditious, dangerous, maybe even Charles Manson-y. Naaah! The release from Comedy Central Records is impishly silly, exactly like its merry stoner creator.

The guy who sounds as if he’s always high goes as low as telling TWO knock-knock jokes during his 55-minute set — dare you not to cry laughing at them, even after repeated listens.

The aforementioned gags are part of an inventive premise: a monotone guide at Hoover Dam who harbors a secret desire to be a comedian. That’s just one highlight of the 15 tracks (well, 16, counting the not-so-hidden and gleeful bonus track). On two other meta-clever tracks about segues and hecklers, Benson basically and ingeniously whispers, “Psst! I’m poking fun at my profession. Don’t tell anybody,” another reason this is one of the best comedy CDs of 2009.

Purchase Unbalanced Load by clicking the graphic below.