SHAUN MICALLEF – HIS GENERATION

Before Talkin’ ‘Bout Your Generation, television funnyman Shaun Micallef played host and writer to two vastly superior comedy shows on non-commercial television, NEWStopia and The Micallef Programme, not to mention a slew of other appearances. This album is a rerun of his considerable talent, sans visuals. The bulk of the comedy content turns on his renowned talent for impersonations: Christopher Walken Sings David Bowie and Charlton Heston Reads the Bible are excellent pieces, as are the monologues by various camp and dastardly characters. Most entertaining is Micallef’s journalistic interview with the incarcerated World Trade Centre bomber Ramzi Youself on the subject of the 9/11 attacks, Micallef playing the straight man to the understandably jealous terrorist. Interspersed with the skits are musical numbers, which are mostly leftovers from his old shows: some are excellent and clever, for example the mariachi tune They Whisper His Name, while others seem to ride on pure irony as a crutch, none more than the cover of The Who’s My Generation. In fact, generational conflict is the leitmotif of the piece – see the numbers on ‘women then and now’, or the father and son skit, A Visit – and one wonders whether offering this album isn’t an attempt on Micallef’s part to remind his younger fans that his comedy stylings amount to something more than wrangling-in the comments of minor Australian celebrities. He may succeed, as His Generation is an excellent little package.

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