Tom Lehrer is a genius.
I’ve got his major releases on vinyl (Songs by Tom Lehrer (the re-released version, not the original…), More of Tom Lehrer, An Evening Wasted with Tom Lehrer (original and re-released), and That Was the Year That Was).
Here is a good discography site.
I assume That Was the Year That Was is the 1965 album you’re referring to. If so, a quick review by me (keep in mind, I’m 20. I have a great appreciation for his work, but I didn’t really live through a lot of what he sings about).
NOTE: I guess this could be considered spoilers, but it’s really more of a review. If you prefer to not know the songs on the album or what they’re about or what I think about them, skip the next bit.
It is, as you might imagine, rather topical to the time. The first song is “National Brotherhood Week,” which is still pretty applicable in this time of P.C.-ness. The album moves on into the “MLF Lullaby,” which I’m informed means “Multi-Lateral Force.” Again, pretty interesting given world events. Next is “George Murphy,” which I gather is about a Senator who was not well-liked (cracks about mistreatment of Mexicans and “1984”). Also an interesting crack about Ronald Reagan in the opening monologue. The next song is “Folk Song Army,” and while up to Lehrer’s standards, I consider it a bit of a throwaway. After this comes “Smut,” which is opened by “I do have a cause, though: Obscenity. I’m for it.” This is hilarious, extremely well-written and has some quite good lyricisim. Next is “Send the Marines,” another still-fitting song, but rather short and throw-away-ish in my opinion. Next is a calypso “Pollution,” which is a pretty clever song regarding the perceived pollution crisis at the time. Lehrer usually used a verse personallized to the city he was singing in at the time: “The breakfast garbage you throw into the Bay, they drink at lunch in San Jose,” for instance, in San Francisco.
On to side two! (the CD may be arranged differently)
“So Long, Mom” is subtitled “A song for World War III,” and is another mildly-funny, semi-throwaway song. “Whatever Became of Hubert” is a lament for Hubert Humphrey, including “Once he shone on his own, now he sits home alone and waits for the phone to ring.” Following that is “New Math,” a brilliant spoken-word (except for the chorus) explanation of the New Math (incidentally, I didn’t get this song at first…that’s the way I’d ALWAYS done it, and I didn’t understand why he felt it was so difficult…). Next is “Alma,” about (I’m spelling phonetically here…) Alma Mahler Gropius Werful. It’s a ballad, with each verse about one of her marriages to a famous European man. After that is “Who’s Next,” a short, fast-paced, pretty well-written song about nuclear proliferation. Following that is “Wernher von Braun,” a short Waltz about von Braun’s apparent lack of patriotism toward one country. Finally comes “The Vatican Rag,” which you’ve probably heard and I find pretty hilarious (though I’m not Catholic).
Anyhow, personally I feel that it’s a pretty strong album with some great songs. I’d put “New Math” at the top, followed by “The Vatican Rag,” “Smut,” “Pollution,” and “National Brotherhood Week.” Just my opinion though.
Upon preview, Scribble, you’re correct, it was the rereleased version of “Songs by Tom Lehrer.” And F. U. Shakespeare, I agree, a lot of the ad-libbed bits between songs are great. The live albums are a lot better, IMHO. What did you have played on Dr. Demento, if you don’t mind my asking?
