His “Daily Show” appearances tend to miss the mark more often than not, but as a stand-up comic, Lewis Black is at the peak of his powers: hot on the heels of last year’s Grammy-winning The Carnegie Hall Performance comes “Anticipation,” another collection of rants from the most well-known self-proclaimed socialist in the comedy world. You’d think listening to Black come up with reasons to sputter and yell would start to get old after a while – and you’d be right, especially during those “Daily Show” segments, when he often seems to be straining for the crowd’s amusement – but he hits his targets more often than not on this set. Per its title, this collection is geared toward anticipation – specifically, how foolish it is, whether you’re a golfer hitting the course in search of a good game, a gambler looking for a big win, or a kid looking forward to opening his Chanukah presents. (This last bit includes one of the album’s best lines: “Ooh, a pen and a pencil! Good thing I have two eyes!”) If you’ve already got a Black album in your collection, you probably don’t need this one to go with it – but it’s still pretty damn funny. Long may he roar.
