Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
Ready, Aim, SING!, June 21, 2006
It takes mischievous talent to pen skits and ditties of the sort we're used to hearing from today's political satirist; the songs from Capital Steps for example; the occasional witty observance from the Daily Show. It takes irrascable genious to write a song in 1965 poking fun at the Pentagon's unpenetrable logic which appears taken from the headlines of 2005:
"When someone makes a move/ Of which we don't approve,
Who is it that always intervenes? /The UN and OAS all have their place I guess/But first send the Marines!"
Lest you think, however, that this is yet another bash-the-hawkish-conservatives comedian, Lehrer leaves nobody unscathed by his wit. This includes the Sputnik-phobic education system, which is so intent on producing brilliant mathematicians it has just introduced the "new math" policy (being a mathematician--Lehrer was at the time a mathematics professor at Harvard--he is especially good at lampooning this benighted lunacy), which Mr. Lehrer dices, slices and juliennes in a song for which he provides absolutely useless visual aids in the jewel cover insert. "The Vatican Rag" could hurt the feelings of the Catholic feint of heart, but in truth, it's just a hyperbole on the fact that everyone expected Vatican Two to get the church to really let things loose. Which, of course, it didn't. After all, it's the church. They couldn't exactly go back and re-write everything. My two very favorite songs have also stood the test of time: "National Brotherhood Week" and "The Folk Song Army." Both attack what we now call "political correctness" , the first by reminding us of that old adage, you can't legislate morality. But "The Folk Song Army" is an absolute gem. "We all hate poverty, war and injustice,unlike the rest of you squares." You will never hear folk music the same way again, you'll always be asking yourself....but isn't everyone against that? Do these people ever take an unpopular or courageous stand?
It's hard to choose which CD to buy first from Tom's collection; the songs on this CD happen to be the most memorable for me. You can't lose with any of his recordings, but this one will certainly do as an introduction to his sharp wit and breezy interaction with the audience.
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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
A Review Wasted With Kori Frazier, September 29, 2000
After hearing "An Evening (Wasted) With Tom Lehrer," I thought, "Whoa! This is funny as hell! It just can't get better than this!" Well, it can. The bottom line is, if you did not enjoy An Evening Wasted With Tom Lehrer, you will certainly, undeniably, and most definitely not enjoy "That Was The Year That Was." Of the three albums released by this maniac this is unquestionably the best. Last year, I took a course at school titled Western Civilization. During the last half of the year, we discussed the majority of the events that Mr. Lehrer sings about on this album (one of my teacher's lessons included in our World War II unit even contained a lecture of which countries "got the bomb, and that was okay, 'cause the balance of power is maintained that way, who's next?"). The background information I gathered through this course helped me to better understand the lyrics to the songs, thereby making me roll on the floor laughing my posterior end (I am writing this on a school computer and therefore can't say the "correct" word) off. "National Brotherhood Week" has become an anthem for my CD player, as have "So Long Mom (A Song For World War III)", "New Math", and my very most personal favorite, "The Vatican Rag." So, calling all comedy, music, and political satire fans everywhere--if you've got some spare time you are just dying to waste, check it out!"
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Whatever Became of Lehrer?, March 12, 2004
Tom Lehrer was one of the top musical satyrs...excuse me, satirists of the 20th Century. This was his last album, recorded live in San Francisco in 1965. Many of the songs were originally written for the television show That Was The Week That Was (remember that show? I don't). This is funny stuff, but as much as I hate to say it, some of the material is quite dated. Who remembers George Murphy nowadays? But the material that you do understand is hilarious. "Smut", "Pollution", "So Long, Mom" and "The Vatican Rag" are classics. Recommended for fans of musical comedy.
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