When Rock gets rolling, he can be as funny a comedian as we have these days. His HBO series has nicely showcased his comic range and his interview style has repeatedly demonstrated that his lightning quick wit is as sharp as they come. Rock's previous CD, Roll With The New, was a blistering full-tilt tirade that ranks among the best comic recordings of the decade. Bigger & Blacker contains plenty of funny stuff, but it's just so obscene and filled with so much nasty sex stuff that you about have to go off for a drive by yourself just to listen to it. Maybe invite your best friend--but you won't be listening to it with your folks.

Obviously this isn't Rock's intent, but what he fails to consider is that the best thing about comedy, especially recorded comedy, is being able to share it with other people. If you're going to listen to it over and over, you want to turn people on to it, so you can enjoy it vicariously as they get their first listen.