Someone once said, "Comedy is the most difficult of the arts." Hoo yeah, brother! And it's an art that should best be avoided by some. Listening to these discs by Floridian Grant Livingston are a great case in point. More "pleasant" diversions aren't what the music world needs.

The older of the two, The One That Got Away, reminds me of the kind of music you pass by at a folk festival, around three in the afternoon, where you listen to it for a bit, and then go on to find something more interesting. Livingston proves he can put together a ditty, but doesn't really come up with anything memorable. "A Song About You" is the sort of song most artists would pad a live set with, but wouldn't bother recording: every cliché one can imagine in a three minute span. And then there's "Play This Song Backwards," which opens with the lines:

"What do you get when you play a country song backwards? It's a pretty old joke, you probably already know..."

At which point, Livingston proceeds to waste three more minutes telling us. Later on the disc comes the "Lotto Blues," in which the protagonist describes the process of ritual institutional gambling, and discovers, much to his chagrin, the odds are against him. Hmm..

Let Me Off The Leash is, well, more of the same. "Le Chat Gris" seems to work on the premise that, having learnt a French phrase, Livingston wrote a Halloween song around it, with a sort of cajun/Manache feel, and proceeds to sing most of the song in a very, very, very bad fake French accent. "Gasoline Angels," a country number, runs the premise that Al Einstein and Gypsy Rose Lee go on a road trip, run out of gas, and are saved by the supernatural. (? I don't get the premise either...) And even when Livingston goes for the easiest, most obvious target, like Martha Stewart on "Martha Knows," he's too trapped in lyrical clichés to even warrant a giggle.

Which is a shame, since Livingston is an OK guitarist, and a good arranger. He offers up some intriguing arrangements, even on the most mindless drivel. Mind you, there's not a lot of original musical thought here: these discs play like a folk compilation. But at least the playing is good. The production is sharp, and the packaging, especially on the latter disc, is quite well done. Shame the songs aren't too hot... He has some interesting topics, takes on odd quirks of history and local affairs, but the lyrics just don't pan out. He's like the guys you hear singing "topical" songs on public radio: for every Loudon Wainwright III, there's a million of much lesser lights.

I mean, more power to this guy: two discs of original music is a pretty major accomplishment, no matter how you look at it. It's just that Grant Livingston doesn't offer any new insights, new musical horizons, or new laughs. We can't all be Richard Thompson, I know, but hopefully we aren't all Grant Livingstons either.