Love it or hate it, was a watershed album for , the point where his post-'60s aesthetic was truly established; it became his second gold album, and most of these songs became staples of his live shows for years to come. Whereas the Flo and Eddie years were dominated by rambling, off-color routines, tightened up the song structures and tucked sexual and social humor into melodic, technically accomplished heavy with jazzy chord changes and funky rhythms; meanwhile, 's growling new post-accident voice takes over the storytelling. While the music is some of 's most accessible, the apparent callousness and/or stunning sexual explicitness of and especially leave him on shaky aesthetic ground. often protested that the charges of misogyny leveled at such material missed out on the implicit satire of male stupidity, and also confirmed intellectuals' self-conscious reticence about indulging in dumb fun; however, the glee in his voice as he spins his adolescent fantasies can undermine his point. Indeed, that enjoyment, also evident in the silly wordplay, suggests that is throwing his juvenile crassness in the face of critical expectation, asserting his right to follow his muse even if it leads him into blatant stupidity (ironic or otherwise). One can read this motif into the absurd shaggy-dog story of a dental floss rancher in the album's indisputable highlight, which features amazing, uncredited vocal backing from and . As with much of 's best '70s and '80s material, could be perceived as ideologically problematic (if you haven't got the constitution for 's humor), but musically, it's terrific. ~ Steve Huey