... from the review... including all the songs mentioned...


It's 40 years since the American satirist Tom Lehrer retired from writing and performing, but his witty songs remain entertaining. Many in fact - such as Who's Next (about nuclear proliferation) and Send the Marines (America's default foreign policy) - have acquired disturbing relevance.

Lehrer has always stood out for his willingness to go the extra mile of satire and take on everything from church and state, to social prudishness and cultural smugness. How anyone can get away with a song called Poisoning pigeons in the park, or turn the periodic table of elements into light entertainment, is a mystery. But Lehrer did it, and he did it because of the scintillating wit of his lyrics, the virtuosity of his piano playing, and his absolute command of tone and timing.


Tomfoolery, a revue based on 30 of Lehrer's numbers...

... In old Mexico. ... ... The Masochism Tango and the sexual disease frolic I got it from Agnes. ... a zany version of The Irish Ballad, ... She's my Girl and The Old Dope Pedlar. ... A couple of songs get a new lease of life from the ensemble treatment, such as Clementine and Silent E, and there's a superb update to National Brotherhood Week that sees "Sunnis and Shiites dancing sheik to sheik".

...
On opening night it was clear that many people in the audience knew the material well - and were used to laughing a lot louder to the record than to the show in front of them. Maybe they were recalling the title to one of Lehrer's albums - An evening wasted with Tom Lehrer - but without the mocking irony.