Best remembered, perhaps, as the first demolition expert ever to become a comedy star, Blaster Bates was very much an acquired taste, even in his English homeland. Specializing in long-winded anecdotes about his work and career, most of which concluded with something either getting blown up by accident, or not getting blown up at all, he was already regarded as old-fashioned by many people when his recording career got underway. But listen without the baggage of more contemporary comedians hanging around your ears, and Bates effortlessly transports you back to an earlier time — a quieter, gentler one, and that despite all the explosions! Recorded in front of a live audience, presumably at one of the club dates that sustained his career, Laughter with a Bang is meandering, irreverent, shocking in places, and probably not for the easily offended. Political correctness had not even been invented when Bates learned his trade, and it shows. If you can withstand the shocks, though, it’s an aptly titled record that will soon have you seeking out further nuggets from the Bates catalog. They’re all dynamite! – Dave Thompson
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