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The idiosyncratic, Swiftian satirist of song, a phenomenon among the liberal crowd of the Adlai Stevenson era, a math prodigy who self-recorded in his first two albums in the '50s, became a revered sort of Hoagy Carmichael with a witty politically sardonic punch, an Ex-Harvard professor is still alive and living in California.

You don't hear much about him nowadays, because a brief heralded career of just 109 shows ended after Lehrer became bored with the concert and recording life and decided to concentrate on his first love: teaching math, first at Harvard (his alma mater) and then at the University of California at Santa Cruz (which holds a special place in the heart of the editor and publisher of BuzzFlash.com, because he met his wife during a summer session there).

Lehrer told one interviewer that he couldn't write any satirical songs today about Bush: "The real issues I don't think most people touch. The Clinton jokes are all about Monica Lewinsky and all that stuff and not about the important things, like the fact that he wouldn't ban landmines... I'm not tempted to write a song about George W. Bush. I couldn't figure out what sort of song I would write. That's the problem: I don't want to satirise George Bush and his puppeteers, I want to vaporise them."

Now, who can say Tom Lehrer, who reached his Zenith of popularity among the Mort Sahl crowd in the late '50s and early'60s, before retiring from his foray into wicked musical political satire that consisted of just him, brisk droll lyrics, and a piano, who can say that he is dated?

Actually, the younger generation will find some of his references a little puzzling, but if you overlook the historical details of the late '50s and early '60s, you will find his themes remarkably relevant to today.

In many ways, Lehrer is the precursor in spirit to the likes of "The Daily Show." His is a different medium to be sure, but his sense of cool, confident irony is something that we are sure Jon Stewart feels right at home with.

The live album (there aren't many Tom Lehrer recordings) is especially exciting because it includes Lehrer's song introductions and audience reaction to his performance.

An Online Reviewer:

"One reason why the great songs of Tom Lehrer hold up after all these decades is that some of the issues they cover have not gone away. The Cold War may be over, but the weapons remain. And anyway there are other ways Armegeddon may arrive. Misunderstanding between the sexes will never vanish.
But I think the real reason Tom Lehrer's "An Evening Wasted..." has held up so well for so long is that his humor and craft are top quality. We still read Mark Twain's acerbic satires. Will Rogers is still an American icon, while others have come and gone. And in the tradition of Twain and Rogers, Lehrer, while commenting on contemporary conditions, takes them and twists them in a way that is nothing short of brilliant. And, without realizing it, has given us a better understanding of his times, while making us laugh (or weep) at ours."

From a New Generation:

"I have to say that I would never have picked this CD up and listened to it if it hadn't been for my dad. He listens to the oddest selection of music, so I, being his child, have grown accustomed to it; but this CD was the best out of all my Dad's CDs. Although I am only a teen, and I do not understand all the references, political and otherwise, the CD gave me a chance to sit back and relax for 45 minutes and laugh. I enjoy Lehrer's dry sense of humor and it is entertaining to try to decipher what Lehrer is saying (as in the song The Elements, has to wait till I took chemistry to figure out what all he was saying!). OK, basically what I am trying to say is that this CD is just perfect!"

Songs on this album:

1. Poisoning Pigeons In The Park
2. Bright College Days
3. A Christmas Carol
4. The Elements
5. Oedipus Rex
6. In Old Mexico
7. Clementine
8. It Makes A Fellow Proud To Be A Soldier
9. She's My Girl Lis
10. The Masochism Tango
11. We Will All Go Together When We Go



BUZZFLASH REVIEWS