It is hard to think of a better artisan of the absurd than the late Mitch Hedberg. While comedy and the aburd usually are very tight friends, there are very few comedians around that really fall directly into this niche. Today's champion of the absurd non-sequiter is undoubtedly Eugene Mirman. Before his death, the undisputed king of the surreal was Mitch Hedberg.
Recorded a mere two months before his death in 2005, Do You Believe in Gosh? is then, a window into an artist's mind when he is both at the height of his game and near the end of his metaphysical rope. To this end, Gosh? is both an amazingly tight set and at time, a more personal one. Fans of Mitch's earlier work will notice that he is far more assured in his delivery, especially when compared to Strategic Grill Locations. This is indicative of just how fast he was evolving his act. Mitch, for all his seeming nonchalance, shows that his dedication to his craft and the creation of material obviously consumed a large part of his time. It is downright inspiring to see how many angles and approaches that one man can come up with.
His genius is perfectly captured in the track titled Phil, where Mitch handily deals with a drunken heckler and manages to create some amazingly creative counters with such profound self assurance that the level of talent displayed is downright frightening.
Still for all of its cohesiveness, I am unsure if this is the best Mitch album if you are a new listener. It is absolute gold for any previous fan, a cult followers wet dream. Add it to your collection and you will not be disappointed. But then again, you should add all of Mitch's works to your library.
They are required listening for any student of comedy, after all.
Final Letter Grade: A
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