The Remains of Tom Lehrer

Tom Lehrer - The Remains of Tom Lehrer

The Remains of Tom Lehrer
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Music CD Cover

Artist: Tom Lehrer
Edition: Music CD
Format: Box set
CD Release Date: 2000-05-23
Music Label: Rhino / Wea
Product features:
  • This set includes 3 cds and hardbound book of 80 pages
Soundtracks:
Music CD 1
  1. Fight Fiercely, Harvard
  2. The Old Dope Peddler
  3. Be Prepared
  4. The Wild West Is Where I Want To Be
  5. I Wanna Go Back To Dixie
  6. Lobachevsky
  7. The Irish Ballad
  8. The Hunting Song
  9. My Home Town
  10. When You Are Old And Gray
  11. I Hold Your Hand In Mine
  12. The Wiener Schnitzel Waltz
  13. Poisoning Pigeons In The Park
  14. Bright College Days
  15. A Christmas Carol
  16. The Elements
  17. Oedipus Rex
  18. In Old Mexico
  19. Clementine
  20. It Makes A Fellow Proud To Be A Soldier
  21. She's My Girl
  22. The Masochism Tango
  23. We Will All Go Together When We Go
  24. I Got It From Agnes
  25. That's Mathematics
Music CD 2
  1. Introduction
  2. I Wanna Go Back To Dixie
  3. The Wild West Is Where I Want To Be
  4. The Old Dope Peddler
  5. Fight Fiercely, Harvard
  6. Lobachevsky
  7. The Irish Ballad
  8. The Hunting Song
  9. My Home Town
  10. When You Are Old And Gray
  11. The Wiener Schnitzel Waltz
  12. I Hold Your Hand In Mine
  13. Be Prepared
  14. Poisoning Pigeons In The Park
  15. Bright College Days
  16. A Christmas Carol
  17. The Elements
  18. Oedipus Rex
  19. In Old Mexico
  20. Clementine
  21. It Makes A Fellow Proud To Be A Soldier
  22. She's My Girl
  23. The Masochism Tango
  24. We Will All Go Together When We Go
Music CD 3
  1. National Brotherhood Week
  2. MLF Lullaby
  3. George Murphy
  4. The Folk Song Army
  5. Smut
  6. Send The Marines
  7. Pollution
  8. So Long, Mom (A Song For World War III)
  9. Whatever Became Of Hubert?
  10. New Math
  11. Alma
  12. Who's Next?
  13. Wernher Von Braun
  14. The Vatican Rag
  15. Poisoning Pigeons In The Park
  16. The Masochism Tango
  17. The Hunting Song
  18. We Will All Go Together When We Go
  19. L-Y
  20. Silent E
  21. O-U (The Hound Song)
  22. S-N (Snore, Sniff, And Sneeze)
  23. N Apostrophe T
  24. Selling Out
  25. (I'm Spending) Hanukkah In Santa Monica

Free Music Notes for The Remains of Tom Lehrer

Free Music Review: The piper's son to the first generation of cynics
Hit: 5 Stars

Having been born in 1956 and raised in the early 60s, I was a bit too young to appreciate that other phenomenon of the age, Tom Lehrer. And given his unfortunate flash-in-the-pan career, by the time I was old enough to appreciate his brand of wit, he was long gone from the scene. But a beloved uncle (alas, a few critical years old than *moi*) often used Lehrer's lyrics in his cultural references. Learning I was a Catholic, he would real off the line, "Genuflect, genuflect, genuflect!" from "Vatican Rag." When my own interest in writing witty ditties came to the fore, he would refer to me as a "young Tom Lehrer," a puzzling reference that I assumed was a compliment. But like all obsessions of those around me, I was reluctant to explore his, lest I be disappointed.

But finally, I broke down and listened to this marvelous collection that spans the entirety of Lehrer's short career. And what a joy and revelation it was!

Musically, Lehrer is an accomplished pianist -- accomplished enough at any rate to give convincing renditions (off-kilter, as befits his genre) of tangos and Gilbert & Sullivan operettas. In terms of lyrics, he was quite, quite "clivver" as the Brits are wont to say. And his politics were quite to the left of center, thank you, rooted in a jaded view of humanity that must have seemed utterly bracing by late 50s standards. Assembled into a package, the pieces are explosively funny, topical and humane. When they aren't grotesque.

One or two of Lehrer's work still finds an audience. "The Elements" has been made into a flash movie that can be found on the internet. It is being shown by enthusiastic science teachers to spice up their classes. But most of Tom's pieces languish in silence, and on collections like this. Partly, this is due to a shift in musical tastes. Our generation's cultural touch points are hardly older than 50 years old and all rooted in rock and roll. To us, a reference to Muddy Waters or Elvis is a sign of cultural sophistication. G&S are as remote to those under 50 as the folk lutists of Upper Volta. That's a shame, because (among other things) it removes one facet of humor from Lehrer's music. "The Elements" (sung to the tune of "The Very Model of the Modern Major General") loses all cultural resonance to those unfamiliar with "The Pirates of Penzance." No longer a parody of a well-loved and well-worn old classic, it might well have been written by Lehrer himself, as far as most people know.

Lehrer's politics, while focused on the concerns and personalities of 1960s (nuclear war, civil rights, Werner von Braun and Hubert Humphrey) are dusty but not completely dated. "Send in the Marines ("When someone makes a move of which we don't approve... send the Marines!") certainly resonates in the era of pre-emptive warfare. His send up of the Dixie of his day ("I wanna talk with Southern gentlemen, And put that white sheet on again") may indicate issues of a bygone era, but are still wickedly pointed. Yet many of the issues better known to subsequent generations -- Vietnam, hippies and contraception -- are still over Lehrer's horizon.

In spite of it all, Lehrer's music and cockeyed view of the world are quite refreshing and worth listening to 50 years on. His lampoon of a college fight songs still brings a smile. His grotesqueries still manage to turn the stomach: "I Hold Your Hand in Mine" is worthy of Poe. But anyone who can write a song titled, "Poisoning Pigeons in the Park" -- in which are found the immortals lines, "When they see us coming, the birdies all try an' hide, But they still go for peanuts when coated with cyanide." - is worth at least one spin in the CD player.

I particularly enjoyed Lehrer's live recordings. To hear a staid 1950s audience howl at his wry asides and classic lines makes them come alive in a way that the studio recordings cannot. I am less interested in Lehrer's later work for the children's show "The Electric Company," but they are part of his published corpus, and belong on this collection.

Every generation needs its Lehrer. Ours had the Smothers Brothers, and our children have Weird Al Yankovich. But Lehrer outdoes all in his breadth, brilliance and barely suppressed outrage. The Smothers Brothers were political (kind of) but musically one-dimensional; Yankovich is very talented and very silly (and carefully apolitical); only Lehrer ultimately has some thing to say that moves beyond his music into the world of politics, ideas and human behavior. Great collection!
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The Remains of Tom Lehrer Poster

Rarish set of archive recordings
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

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