Adam Sandler Albums (5)
What The Critics Say
Almost five years after the mediocre Stan and Judy's Kid, Adam Sandler returns with a winning set of sophomoric potty humor. Recycling the structure of every Sandler album before it -- minus the songs-only What's Your Name -- Shhh...Don't Tell bounces between songs and sketches but the vulgarity has been kicked up a notch. It's a great move considering that the on-screen Sandler has been venturing into Jimmy Stewart territory. There'll be none of that here, as Sandler introduces listeners to the proud "Mayor of Pu**ytown," a man named "Timmy Tinyhole" who can't impress his friends with his puny flatulence, and a "Gay Robot" that just happens to be a master of football statistics ("The Eagles will win in three. Now can I grab your butt?"). "Secret" is the highlight with its Euro-disco ode to men who worry about their bikini lines too much. The bumbling character Pibb is a one-trick pony the album could have had a little less of, but fans have been waiting for Sandler to come back to this absurd and low-brow style of humor for too long. The characters on Shhh...Don't Tell are hardly the sweetheart Mr. Deeds was, and the album is all the funnier because of it. ~ David Jeffries, All Music Guide
'Stan and Judy's Kid'
Release Date 1/1/1999
Tracks 17
Label Warner Bros.
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
It says something that Adam Sandler returned to recording comedy albums after he became a superstar, earning 20 million dollars per movie. Perhaps the records gave Sandler the opportunity to explore his well-documented vulgar side, something that he couldn't really do in Big Daddy, the movie that appeared three months before his fourth album, Stan and Judy's Kid. Then again, Stan and Judy's Kid isn't all that vulgar, at least compared to his previous efforts. Sure, there are the predictable profanities, smutty jokes, and the like, but those are balanced by absurdity and deliberately annoying character sketches like the ridiculous "Whitey." These sketches alternate with songs, such as the hip-hop parody "Dee Wee (My Friend the Massive Idiot") and the crowd-pleasing "Chanukah Song, Pt. II." ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
What's Your Name finds Adam Sandler turning in his first album comprised entirely of songs. Of course, Sandler hasn't abandoned comedy; he's simply turned into a musical parodist. Surprisingly, he's better at this than standup -- "The Lonesome Kicker" is a wicked send-up of Bruce Springsteen -- but his humor remains simplistic, juvenile, and occasionally vulgar. In other words, Sandler may display a few new tricks, but it's not enough to win new fans, even if What's Your Name will satisfy his legions of followers. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
'What the Hell Happened to Me?'
Release Date 1/1/1996
Tracks 20
Label Warner
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What The Critics Say
Just one of many gifted comedians to emerge from Saturday Night Live's impressive early-'90s roster, Adam Sandler nevertheless defied cynics' expectations by moving on to an improbably long and successful post-SNL film career, where he proceeded to endlessly recycle his stunted man-child persona ad nauseam -- much to the delight of his captive Generation X audience. This meant that Sandler's foray into comedy albums had to take an understandable back seat to his more lucrative priorities, but then, many would argue that this wasn't his strongest suit anyway -- a point driven home by his second CD, 1996's What the Hell Happened to Me? As its title suggests, the disc attempts to juxtapose Sandler's innocent childhood (driven home by the cute kiddy pictures strewn across the sleeve) with his severely twisted adult persona. Spoken word bits like "Joining the Cult," "The Goat," "The Hypnotist," and "Memory Lane" (performed with the help of various guest pals and fellow comedians) combine banal notions like Monday Night Football, talking goats, and road trips with generous doses of scatological language, unconventional sex, and uncontrollable flatulence -- the usual. These are interspersed with seven examples of Sandler's usually reliable musical numbers, but the side-splitting reggae of "Ode to My Car" and the live-in-concert crowd-pleaser "The Chanukah Song" offer two truly distinctive winners. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia, All Music Guide
'They're All Gonna Laugh at You!'
Release Date 1/1/1993
Tracks 22
Label Warner
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
In his incredibly successful run of films, Adam Sandler's constant has been his penchant for playing the jokey everyman. From Happy Gilmore to Mr. Deeds, he's the likeable lout with a heart of gold and a love of guy stuff like hockey, farts, and McDonald's breakfasts. His perpetual hangdog look and Jewish-joke songs have carried him a long way since 1993, when the Saturday Night Live alum issued They're All Gonna Laugh at You, his first -comedy album. The humor was of the class-clown school: crass, obvious, and self-absorbed. But its bits formed the foundation of Sandler's charmingly foul comic empire. Instead of its stated purpose as a concept album based loosely on high school, Laugh functions more as a kiss-off to Sandler's own adolescence. "Who's laughing now?" he seems to be asking. Of course, that's only in its subtext. On the surface, the album is dominated by classless sex jokes and weak ideas that linger like too-long SNL sketches. (The self-explanatory "Longest Pee" is interminable). But in the obtuse exhortations of The Buffoon, or his lovingly wicked tribute to the lunch lady, Sandler established jokes a generation of college students could repeat for hours and would pay to see at sold-out shows. Like all of his impersonations, The Buffoon is simply Sandler, amplified and goofy. "I got a snake, man! One time I gave it some beer! It was slithering this way and that! It was all f*cked up!" It's a joke reduced to its blatant catchphrase. Of course, the same technique falls on its face when applied to "Beating of a High School Bus Driver" and its lame cousins. But as sexual humor, it again becomes stupid fun. In "At a Medium Pace" and "Assistant Principal's Big Day," Sandler becomes the kid on the playground whose brother taught him all the bad words; amazingly, it's still cringingly funny, if only because he's obviously enjoying being so bad. In telling fashion, They're All Gonna Laugh at You ends with The Buffoon getting the girl (actually just pal David Spade). Sandler's album made hit comedy from his childhood terrors and he laughed all the way to the bank. ~ Johnny Loftus, All Music Guide
