CBC Audio
Do not judge a stand-up comedy CD by its DVD cover. John Wing jr's Letter To My Wife is the worst marketing ploy ever for a CD. First of all, like many other CBC Audio CDs, it comes in a DVD box. Second, nothing, absolutely nothing about the packaging allows you to figure out this is a funny story and funny jokes by a great stand up comic. At best, Letter To My Wife looks like some Harlequin audio book or godwaful collection of poetry. Most annoying is there is no track list anywhere on this badly packaged and designed but funny comedy CD.
John Wing jr., who is not only an established stand up comic but also a published (by a real publisher) poet, has a very interesting concept with Love Letter To My Wife: Some tracks begin with a studio recorded section of a letter he is writing his wife while on the road. The concept works for the most part as it is interesting but not too cute. The problem is the tracks are badly cut so a funny joke or funny story is cut by a track break on your player. Another problem is the segue from the in studio reading of the love letter to the live stand up comedy doesn't quite work and can be jarring, especially since the reading of the letter itself seems to have been badly cut.
John Wing jr is a solid stand up comic who has much more to his act than funny jokes and a funny story about his relationship. Love Letter To My Wife, however, concentrates on that aspect of his stage material. The love letter itself give a fascinating behind the mask look at the difference between what a good stand up comic says on stage and his real relationship.
Love Letter To My Wife is an ideal gift (hell it looks like a Harlequin audio book) for a wife who has a sense of humor (she does, she married you, didn't she?).
Fans of John Wing jr can hear him fairly regularly on CBC's Definitely Not The Opera or DNTO