Customer Reviews

3 Balloons

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Longtime fans of Stephen Lynch know that the strength of his work isn't in slick production values or complex musical arrangements, but instead comes from the delivery and content of his outrageously funny lyrics. Unfortunately, his newest album puts far more emphasis on studio-grade musical accompaniment than it does on making the listener laugh in startled amusement.

"3 Balloons" is a solid collection of musical comedy that is wholly listenable, yet fails to rise to the level of Mr. Lynch's previous albums on the funny-meter. I don't regret buying it, but I find myself oddly satisfied and disappointed by the result after years of waiting for a new album from him. Hopefully the new material will shine when played live -- there's a reason that virtually all comedy (stand-up) albums are recorded live these days, and "3 Balloons" is a good example of how studio-manufactured comedy can fall flat.

Certainly not his best work. Both my husband and I agreed it sounded too polished and produced. More like he was worried about trying to make a pop music song, rather than his normal comedy stuff. Intellectual humor, just not that funny this time around. Disappointing...

First of all I think Stephen Lynch is a GREAT talent. Excellent voice, with a great range, and terrific songwriter and entertainer as well. I downloaded this album about a month ago and for the most part he plays what his audience wants to hear, kind of "explicit" over the top stuff that makes you laugh, I think sometimes though thats the easy path for sales.
A few tracks on this CD really show his talent. Ballad of Scarface is one of his best works, so is Peanuts. Neither one just tries to grab you with explicit lyrics, both stand strong on their own words and music. Thats where I think Lynch shines.
I hope he doesn't keep going for the shock value as much (kind of reminds me of Stern or Opie & Anthony, when you start to drop creativity and only try for "shock" value, it diminishes your talent and lowers your common denominator audience).
My personal opinion is Stephen Lynch and this CD are excellent, just want to see him keep going forward showing off his talent for writing, and that stellar voice, and not try and dumb it down so much.
Saw him recently in Poughkeepsie and he puts on an excellent show, look forward to seeing him at Carnegie Hall in October.

The long awaited fourth album for Stephen Lynch fell short of my expectations. This was his second studio album and in my opinion his weakness album of any of the four. I am a much bigger fan of his live performances and the interactions with the crowd. This album lacks comedic value and emphasises music. This album is also without many of the songs he performed on tour leading up to this album such as "Dirty Sanchez" which was co-written. I hope he plans on recording a live album in the near future to upstage this one. On a postive note there are redeeming tracks such as "Crazy Peanuts", "A History Lesson", and "3 Ballons" to a certain extent along with the Dear Diary segments but they are all overshadowed by luckluster songs such as "Ballad of Scarface", "Medieval Bush", and "Fishin' Hole". If you're a fan already I'd still say purchase the album but if you're looking for something new and exciting go elsewhere.

Stephen Lynch is, without the doubt, the most talented comedic musician working today. His ability to play the guitar, his beautiful voice, and the way he writes would easily allow him to be a main-stream modern rock musician, but he chooses to be himself and apply his talents to make us laugh.

Unlike his last two albums this one is recoded in a studio, like his first one. It was both a good and bad choice for Mr. Lynch. With an audience we find ourselves laughing with the audience and this works for his comedy talent. However, live albums limit his musical options allowing him to only use a guitar. This is where 3 Balloons shines the most. The musical compositions he has produced sound amazing, far more elaborate and pleasant to listen to than his other albums.

This comes at a cost: Not all of the songs are hilarious, in fact a few of them only have a few truly funny moments, but they are all very strong songs none the less. Obviously everyone has their own opinion, but I believe this is Stephen's strongest album to date, a little better than Superhero, and miles ahead of The Craig Machine, which I believe to be his weakest album.

If you're a fan of Stephen's music, both for his musical talent and funny lyrics then you will not be disappointed with this album. It is a great combination of A Little Bit Special and Superhero (all the good parts, none of the bad) and it has been worth the wait.

Dear Stephen,

You rock. Your previous CDs were hilarious. At your performance in Wash DC in March 2009, you played a few of the new songs, and they sounded awesome. Later, my gf & I listened to the '3 Balloons' cd and after about 10 minutes, we looked at each other and said "WTF is this!?!?!"

You are a brilliant musician and live performer. Don't let the producers take over your albums and make them sound so vanilla!

Your voice + guitar = funny as hell. There's no need for the extra instruments and highly perfected sounds. If we want homogenized crap, we will look in the pop section.

Keep up the good (live) work!

I have been a huge Stephen Lynch fan since the first Comedy Central special and have seen him in concert several times(and will again in May)and always look forward to a new Lynch album. Unfortunately, 3 Balloons is the weakest entry so far in the Lynch catalog, and contains the first Stephen Lynch songs that I fast forward past (Fishin' Hole and Ballad of Scarface). While previous releases have mixed vulgarity with cleverness in an "I can't believe he said (sang) that and it's hilarious and I am SUCH an a-hole for laughing!" kind of way, 3 Balloons is mostly just vulgar without being particularly clever or innovative...missing is the usually wry humor and tongue-in cheek delivery that would elevate the material above something you'd hear from a drunken frat boy.
It might be the audience interaction aspect that I'm missing. Lynch's two previous albums have been live recordings and benefitted from his(apparently) off the cuff interactions with the audience. Indeed, Lynch is at his best when interacting with others as evidenced here with "A History Lesson", one of the truly funny tracks on the CD. Additionally, "Crazy Peanuts" and "You" are highlights and bring back the Stephen Lynch I know and love. The various "Dear Diary" segments are okay, but the same ones he's been doing in concert for years, and it would have been nice to hear something different.
3 Balloons is still good overall and Stephen sounds great as usual, but for the uninitiated, I would recommend "A Little Bit Special" or "Superhero". This one may be for the die-hards only.

I've been a Lynch fan for years and this is another great album. Not only hilarious, but only Stephen is humanitarian enough to be concerned that Charlie Brown will never get laid.

Love Stephen Lynch and Love that I own this. My friends and I put it on in the background but it soon becomes the main focus.

Stephen's latest offer of comedy gold hits the mark with every single song. Yes, the production quality is great... but when has that ever been a problem?
He still offers the same 'laugh-out-loud' shock surprises in his songs that make the first time listening an exciting journey to see where it will actually end, and then offers the same 'laugh-out-loud' amusement with every subsequent listen.
For die-hard fans, people who like a few songs, and for people who have never heard of Stephen Lynch, I thoroughly recommend this album.
I cannot wait for the next one, and hopefully the content and the production quality will be as good, if not better.