Retaliation

From January to March of 2005 I had the pleasure of spending almost 140 hours locked in a room with this mad genius editing and mixing “Dane Cook, Retaliation.”

It was a job I almost turned down: “I am a composer, not a comedy editor and mixer!” I thought. “I stopped doing that type of work years ago!”

But then I listened to Dane’s first album, “Harmful, if Swallowed,” and my attitude changed. I nearly died laughing, but moreover, I could hear the music in Dane’s comedy. I jumped into the project wholeheartedly.

When Dane, his manager Brian, and I were working on the material all I knew was that we were having a “blasty” doing the best work we could. I was not prepared for the eventual result.

The CD debuted at #4 on the pop charts, just behind Mariah Carey and outselling the current releases of Babyface, Coldplay and R. Kelly. The CD went Gold in one week. The last time a comedy album opened to these types of numbers it was Steve Martin’s “Wild and Crazy Guy” in 1979.  As of April, 2007, “Retaliation” is certified double platinum!

The entire time Dane and I were working together we were commenting on the way good music and comedy often share a sense of rhythm and pacing. Based on the reception the CD is getting, maybe we were right.

I invite you to check out the CD at your local record store or  you can click here to preview or buy it on iTunes.