Amazon.com: This three-CD set collects many of Tom Lehrer's tunes, described by Time magazine as "brilliant and coruscating parodies," bringing back a bygone era when the "liberal consensus," as Lehrer calls them, knew who they were and could, therefore, laugh at both themselves and the well-defined enemy. Delivering clever, witty rhymes about topical subjects was Leher's strength. In "Wernher Von Braun" [the Nazi German scientist who later worked for NASA], Lerher sings: "I'll sing you a tale of Wernher Von Braun / A man whose allegiance is ruled by expedience / Once the rockets are up, who cares where they come down / 'That's not my department,' says Wernher Von Braun." Using a rollicking piano as accompaniment, Lehrer will remind some of Mark Russell, the current political satirist, but Lehrer's more pointed humor and grating, nasal voice make him a much tougher listen. His Jimmy Durante-like delivery, however, doesn't completely trump his truly quick mind and clever use of language. --Wally Shoup
Genuflect! Genuflect! Take a knee before the awesomeness that is Tom Lehrer! Don't let reviewers who tell you that the music becomes repetitive, almost Vivaldi; NO! Even if Tom Lehrer's work was the spoken word alone, it would be enough to give me just as severe cramps (from laughing!) as do his kinky melodious songs! As a current Music Major undergrad, I can appreciate many of the musical nuances of Lehrer's compositions. However, it is in the COMPLETE combination of words, music, and Lehrer's fantastic inflexions and sometimes extremely subtle humor that get the laughs! Still not convinced? These recordings were produced in the 60s... and are still - unadulterated - relevant today. Enjoy!
Beautiful compilation, well mastered The Remains of Tom Lehrer constitutes almost the entire corpus of Mr. Lehrer's works, preserved in its original hilarious form and accompanied by a lovely book detailing the life and works of this little-known comedian. Lehrer fans will not be disappointed at the breadth or quality of this set and it's a steal at the price.
What a great compilation! This collection really took me back to childhood, when my dad used to play them for me. Absolutely complete!!
5++ Stars Now who doesn't love Tom Lehrer? I had all of his Reprise label vinyl albums, and knew the words to every song therein, when I was in high school. Of course I got beaten up a lot.
If you don't know who Tom Lehrer is, then you probably won't enjoy this record. Otherwise, unless you have pristine vinyl, and my records have been overplayed, this is a very good compendium.
Classic 60's social-political comedy I listened to Tom Lehrer as a kid in the 60's, and memorized most of the songs, but to hear it again is very fun. Also, the songs still resonate - even though the names and issues have changed, the humor is still quite fresh - my wife, who's never heard this stuff, laughs out loud through the whole collection.
Anything Goes Trivia
Trevor
Megaton Man
