Sheer Tomfoolery! (Tom Lehrer in general)

Member Name: Nolly

Product:	Tom Lehrer in general
Date:	25/05/01 (130 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Just listen to this magic!

Disadvantages: Yes, darling, I will switch it off now!

Have you ever pondered the incongruities of life? You know, the great unanswered questions of our time, which include:

How does the man who drives the snowplough get to work?

What is a Ulay?

Where are they going to get the seeds for next year's crop of seedless grapes from?

Of course there are many, many more that cause me to spend seconds, nay minutes of sleeplessness every single night, pondering the injustices of our society. No, I am not going to go off on a rant about the Conservative party, mainly because I want to write about people who actually do have a sense of humour!

There is one term in the field of musical endeavour that causes people to run for cover or to throw up their arms in despair. And I really must put in a warning here:

YOU ARE ABOUT TO READ A TERM THAT IS NOT SUITABLE FOR PEOPLE OF A NERVOUS DISPOSITION

Novelty songs. Okay, now I have said it. Please don't stop reading. Please give me a rating at the end, even if I have frightened you so much that you have to put 'Not Useful'. I promise I won't frighten you much more!

I don't intend to talk about the songs that everyone abhors. (I warn you now, I am about to mention some songs that evrybody despises- I mean everybody. If you have a liking for any of them I would advise to to say nothing or you may not receive any more reads ever!) I am not going to write about the likes of 'Orville's Song', 'There's no-one quite like Grandma', or even 'Grandad'. The novelty songs that I want to talk about are very much more cerebral- so if you have heard of them, give yourself 10 out of 10!

The CD that I wish to write about is by arguably the world's greatest musical satirist, and includes songs that are, in my view at least, very funny notwithstanding the fact that some of them are nearly fifty years old!

Tom Lehrer was born in 1928 in New York City and wrote s
ongs while at university. He produced his first album privately, and was surprised to find that it gathered a huge following. Eventually he was giving concerts all around the world. He retired from public performances in 1960, but his works have endured the last 41 years.

'Songs and More Songs by Tom Lehrer' is a CD that was produced by Rhino Records in 1997. The catalogue number is R2 72776. Some of Lehrer's songs have stood the test of time better than others, but I will go through each track and explain, if I can, why I find it funny.

Track 1- Fight Fiercely, Harvard
A whimsical song, the first that Lehrer wrote (in 1945). It is on the tradition of college fighting songs. Whereas other traditional songs of this ilk portray violence, this one is deliberately restrained:

"Fight fiercely Harvard, fight fight fight
Demonstrate to them our skill
Although we may not possess the might
Nonetheless we have the will.
How we will, celebrate our victory,
We shall invite the others out to tea..."

Not exactly 'Let's kick the **** out of them' is it?

Track 2- The Old Dope Peddler
A beautiful, lilting song about a man who roams the district selling his 'powdered happiness':

"He gives the kids free samples, because he knows full well
That today's young innocent faces are tomorrow's clientelle..."

What more beautiful song could there be?

Track 3- Be Prepared
A wonderful song for boy scouts everywhere:

"Keep those reefers hidden where you're sure that they will not be found
And be certain not to smoke them when the scoutmaster's around
'Cos he only will insist that they be shared
Be prepared"

Well, I don't know about you, but that is advice for life, isn't it!

Track 4- The wild west is where I wanna be
A beautiful and evocative song about the b
eauty of nuclear testing

Track 5- I wanna go back to Dixie
A longing song about Rednecks and racism

Track 6- Lobachevsky
A song in homage to an old Danny kaye routine which deals with Russian plagiarism

Track 7- The Irish Ballad
Well, you know what the traditional Irish songs are about. this is as sensitive as any other!

Track 8- The Hunting Song
A song for the Countryside Alliance. It proves that they are so humane:

"I went and shot the maximum the game laws would allow
Two game wardens, seven hunters and a cow"

Track 9- My Home Town
A very strange version of home-town nostalgia!

Track 10- When you are old and grey
A beautiful song, just listen:

"Since I still appreciate you, let's find love while we may
'Cos I know that I will hate you when you are old and grey..."

My beautiful wife appreciates this lyric every time I sing it to her!

Track 11- I hold your hand in mine
A lovely song about cannabalisma nd necrophilia!

Track 12- The Wiener Schnitzel Waltz
Take your partners for a beautiful dance track!

Track 13- Poisoning Pigeons in the Park
It's strange but we British have many hobbies. As far as I can see, this onbe has not had many mentions in the Collins Encyclopedia of Pastimes.

Track 14- Bright College Days
Another whimsical song about college life in the USA

Track 15- A Christmas Carol
A beautiful and tuneful indictment of commercialism in the festive season- written in the 1950's

Track 16- The Elements
A famous track in which Lehrer names all the chemical elements to the tune of the Major General's song in 'The Pirate of Penzance'

Track 17- Oedipus Rex
A cautionary tale about a young man who had problems because 'he loved his mother'

Track 18- In Old Mexico
A lilting ballad about bullfighti
ng!

Track 19- Clementine
A selection of variations on the traditional song.

Track 20- It makes a fellow proud to be a soldier
If you have heard the previous 19 tracks, you can imagine what this one is like!

Track 21- She's My Girl
A love song (again) that points out the problems in a relationship

Track 22- The Masochism Tango
I love this song, but that says nothing about my character:

"I ache for the touch of your lips, dear
But much more for the touch of your whips, dear,
You can raise welts like nobody else,
As we dance to the masochism tango!"

And it gets worse!

Track 23- We will all go together when we go
A beautifully rousing song that evokes ideas from teh age of the cold war and imminent nuclear conflict!


Tracks 24-27
Orchestral versions of 'Poisoning Pigeons', 'The Masochism tango', 'The Hunting Song' and 'We'll all go together...'

Track 28- I got it from Agnes
A beautiful song about the passing on of a particular type of disease!

If I were to write a lot of the lyrics I might put you off totally.

This is a musical masterpiece. The songs are so catchy that my wife has threatened to leave me if I play the CD more than once every 6 months!

If you get a chance to hear this, please do. it is absolutely hilarious and has stood the test of time very well. You can get the Cd from amazon.co.uk.

Enjoy!

(Okay darling, I'll switch it off now!)

Summary: