Tenacious D

In case you have been in a coma for the last few years and haven't heard of Tenacious D. They are a running joke as the greatest rock band in the world. The joke being they play acoustic rock solely on 2 acoustic guitars. But they really are one of the greatest rock bands in the world. Jack Black has the greatest rock voice since Ian Gillan off Deep Purple fame (check out the original CD of Jesus Christ Superstar, you'll see what i mean).

As for Kyle Gass, he truly is an incredibly talented guitar player as is JB. But KG is up there with paco pina and Julian Bream in my opinion. The short lived HBO Tenacious D episodes now available on The complete masterworks of Tenacious D are a cross between the monkees and Ren and Stimpy. Sheer genius. And on the DVD you get a lot of bang for your bucks.. The episodes. live concert. road footage. skits. and music vids and TV appearances. Ask Santa to bring you it this Xmas, you will not be disappointed!

Tenacious D is the most amazing show I have ever seen in my life. It mixes comedy and music together so well. The open mic performances are creative and written well. Kyle Gass is a classically trained musician and Jack Black can throw down some insane lyrics. Folk-Metal is what I would classify the music as. Songs like "Jesus Ranch" and "Kyle Took a Bullet for Me" are two examples of their talent as both musicians and comedians. Too bad HBO canceled the series. If you havent, go buy the CD.

The true spirit of Tenacious D is actually captured quite accurately in the other reviews on this site (well, the fanatical ones anyway). For the uninitiated, I'll try to clear things up. Tenacious D is composed of two guys, Jack Black & Kyle Gass, who have a two man band in which they both play acoustic guitar and sing (though Jack is the primary singer). They play some bizarre hybrid of heavy metal and folk. All their lyrics center around how they are truly the greatest band in the universe and have incredible, unfathomable sexual prowess. All of this is sung with 100%, almost hyper-conviction. This is, basically, the joke. I was never a big fan of them live, or their whole act in general (it's amusing and unquestionably original in presentation, but I feel it wears kinda thin fast). However, when Bob Odenkirk and David Cross (and their creative team) from "Mr. Show" got a hold of them for a group of shows for HBO, they transformed the concept into something even better. The show, which presents the two as two out-of-work oddballs who get into all sorts of screwy adventures in between gigs, is as hilarious and out-of-left-field as "Mr. Show" (which is saying something, as "Mr. Show" is the best comedy show of the last decade, easily). Each "adventure" is about fifteen minutes long, each containing a thematically-linked live song. The whole kit-and-kaboodle is bracketed by appearances by Jack & Kyle speaking as hosts directly to the TV audience, as Burns & Allen and Abbott & Costello used to do on their shows. All in all, the total effect is as if "The Abbott & Costello Show" has been updated for the '90s starring Tenacious D and adding music. Did I mention, it was really funny?

I was lucky enough to record all three episodes that aired on HBO before they pulled the plug on the show, and I still watch them ritualistically and laugh my butt off. Jack Black is definitely one of comedy's funniest actors, and this is the highlight of his career (so far). Kyle Gass plays a mean guitar, and together these two will rock your socks off. They have caught the national attention of Tim Robbins, Ben Stiller (producing the Tenacious D movie!), the Foo Fighters (they have a cameo in a Foo Fighters video), and have a record deal with Epic Records (owned by Sony). There was talk of a Rhino video release of these episodes, and when it happens, buy it, because unfortunately, that is the only way you will ever be able to see this extremely funny show.

Two musicians with acoustic guitars attends a weekly open mic night. Doesn't sound like much, but it really is. The comedy is truly funny (especially the parodic stand-up bits), but the highlight of the show, and it is a bright highlight indeed, is the musical numbers. The song writing is without a doubt exceptional. "...having sex with me and KG, now were talking double team..." All songs are delivered with incredible feel and musical prowess, especially "Sex Supreme", "Explosivo" and "The Greatest Song in the World". The episodes should really come out on DVD, even if there only is about 60 minutes of material. For now, you could buy their CD. It features all their best songs from this show, except "Cosmic Shame", which i really enjoyed.

Get your hands on this show, especially if you have a keen interest in alternative music.