Patton Vs. Alcohol Vs. Zach Vs. Patton Ep

Patton Oswalt (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 16, 2010)
• Number of Discs: 1
• ASIN: B0010Z5P72
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #225,965 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

This is a one-time 22 minute drunken insult barrage between Patton Oswalt and Zach Galifianakis at The Earl in Atlanta in the fall of 2005. Patton Oswalt is comedy's modern day Renaissance Man, having been picked by Variety and Entertainment Weekly as the 'It' Comedian. He has had specials on HBO, a series on Comedy Central, regular appearances on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, co-host of Jimmy Kimmel Live, Seinfeld, NewsRadio, The Man Show, Crank Yankers, and The King of Queens. Oswalt has appeared in the films Starsky & Hutch, Zoolander, and many others. As a writer, he spent two seasons on MADtv and has also written and produced the MTV Movie Awards, VH-1 Fashion Awards and the MTV Video Music Awards.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars More than anything, this serves as proof that Zach G. needs his own stand-up album, June 9, 2009

By 

Dustin Perry (Sagamihara, Japan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Patton Vs. Alcohol Vs. Zach Vs. Patton Ep (Audio CD)

I purchased this mini album for two reasons, one being that Patton Oswalt's two full-length albums -- "Feelin' Kinda Patton" and "Werewolves and Lollipops" -- are so good that I gave "Patton vs. Alcohol ..." the benefit of the doubt. The other reason was that Zach Galifianakis, quite possibly one of the most brilliant comedic minds in the last 15 years, was involved.

The combination of these two respected performers is the only thing that pushes my review to three stars. Beyond that, "Patton vs. Alcohol ..." essentially boils down to a less-than-30-minute, drunken, tongue-in-cheek insult-fest between Patton and Zach with a hefty amount of recycled material from the former and a small handful of zingers from the latter.

From what I gather, this is a recording of the tail end of one of Patton's sets, and he is extremely drunk. Zach is either sharing the stage with him or he is off to the side waiting to begin his own set, I can't tell (since the two were both on the "Comedians of Comedy" tour, my guess is the latter scenario). As Patton slurs his way through a few of his well-known bits (Tom Carvel's ice cream shops, the Chipmunks' Christmas album), Zach begins to playfully berate him for not being funny. The two then begin to trade insults by calling out the low points of each others' careers.

And that's basically it. Patton is so inebriated that his stumbling delivery deadens the impact of what are actually very funny jokes when told in a sober context. The highlights are when Zach gets on a roll by belittling Patton's association with the sitcom "The King of Queens" and other less prestigious work, but those moments are few and far between.

As the title of my review says, this mini album mainly serves as proof that Zach needs his own stand-up album. But because a lot of his humor is visual -- not to mention that his brand of comedy isn't really suited for the album format the way typical comedians' are -- I don't think we'll be seeing that any time soon. But who knows, he is currently being touted as the best thing about the surprise box-office kingpin "The Hangover," and has come more into the public eye in the last six months than in almost the entirety of his career, so maybe something will happen.

In the meantime, I would only recommend this to superfans of either Patton or Zach, or obsessive completists (I fit squarely into both of these categories.) For a better representation of Patton's genius, pick up his two full-lenghts; for the most extensive taste of Zach's comedic stylings (as of the writing of this review), check out his "Live at the Purple Onion" DVD.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great if you're a hardcore fan., February 14, 2009

By 

M. King - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Patton Vs. Alcohol Vs. Zach Vs. Patton Ep (Audio CD)

Just to start off, I will say this album is pricey, as it's only 30 minutes long. It was recorded at the end of a show, Patton is extremely drunk, and Zach just wants to end the show and go home. What follows is a torrent of insults thrown back and forth between the two. These guys are two of my favorite comedians, so I really get a kick out of stuff like this, but if you aren't a huge fan already there isn't much reason to buy this.

Also, Amazon doesn't seem to have copies of this sometimes, in which case you can find it on Patton's website.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Loved It, November 18, 2007

By 

Shannon Watkins (Radford, VA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Patton Vs. Alcohol Vs. Zach Vs. Patton (Audio CD)

The other reviewer is right--this is a lot of money for an EP, and if you're new to Zach or Patton, you really want to get their longer, separate works first.

If, however, you're a big fan of both and just want to listen to them cruise through the closing of a set together in all its sometimes-quiet honesty, it's interesting. Their chemistry is great and most of the banter takes place to the accompaniment of Zach's piano playing until one of Patton's insults makes Zach lose his temper (he's kidding, but he does rage better than anyone).

Very quirky and enjoyable but best if you're already a fan.