Tom Lehrer - An Evening Wasted With Tom Lehrer

An Evening Wasted With Tom Lehrer (1959)

A classic - In 1959, when the so-called "sick humor" of Lenny Bruce, Mort Sahl, and Shelley Berman was the new rage among America's hipsters (and would-be hipsters), the acid-penned musical satire of Tom Lehrer doubtless seemed to be daring indeed, as he worked his audiences for laughs with tunes like "Poisoning Pigeons in the Park," "Oedipus Rex," and "The Masochism Tango." Thankfully Lehrer's humor still works well thanks to its considerable skill and its charm, even if its ability to shock isn't what it once was. Recorded before an enthusiastic audience at a concert at Harvard University (where Lehrer spent his days teaching mathematics), An Evening Wasted With Tom Lehrer finds him in superb form as a performer, able to dissect various musical forms for their comic potential with the skill of a surgeon and displaying not merely dead-on comic timing in his vocals but a easy élan as a pianist; for a guy who picked musical comedy as a part-time job, he sure had a knack for the trade. And while Lehrer's songs no longer shock, that's not to say they've entirely lost their sting, as the bitter twists of "Bright College Days," "It Makes a Fellow Proud to Be a Soldier," and "A Christmas Carol" hit their target just as well as ever, while inspiring no small amount of laughter. And it's worth noting that the album's final punch line, "We Will All Go Together When We Go," is just as apt today as it was in 1959, for good or ill. While the work of many of his contemporaries today sound like the products of their time and place, Lehrer's best songs are still slyly funny and corrosively charming, and An Evening Wasted With Tom Lehrer ranks with his finest work on record. Highly Recommended.

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
10 The Masochism Tango
11 We Will All Go Together When We Go

tomisfunny

Rondo Hatton Breaking the Sound Barrier

More Rondo:
 Surf music from Louisiana? Really? Yep, a quick listen to Rondo Hatton and you'll almost smell the salt air, feel the ocean's breeze on your face and the sand between your toes. Rondo Hatton is an all instrumental quartet based in Baton Rouge, LA. The group plays a variety of music styles including surf, spy , hot rod, westerns, TV themes , Latin and just about anything else, even polkas!

Track List:

01. Zero Hour [03:20]
02. Blast Off [02:46]
03. Cervesa On Dee Mesa [03:34]
04. Juliana [03:08]
05. OK Boys, Let's Get Western [03:32]
06. Riding The Coffin [03:14]
07. No Tell Motel [02:58]
08. Untitled Pop Anthem [02:39]
09. Fishtail [02:27]
10. Cortina del Fuego [03:42]
11. Socorro [03:43]
12. Storm Surge [02:14]
13. Surf Party [02:33]
14. Backfire [02:46]
15. Switchblade [01:27]
16. Roast That Pig [02:12]

zoundz

Rondo Hatton Destination Fun

More Rondo Hatton. Surf music from Louisiana? Really? Yep, a quick listen to Rondo Hatton and you'll almost smell the salt air, feel the ocean's breeze on your face and the sand between your toes. Rondo Hatton is an all instrumental quartet based in Baton Rouge, LA. The group plays a variety of music styles including surf, spy , hot rod, westerns, TV themes , Latin and just about anything else, even polkas!

The group is fronted by guitarist Bruce Lamb, who also composes the band's original songs. His musical background includes Blugrass and Country, Blues, R & B, Cajun, Exotica and Tex-Mex Conjunto. He has backed the likes of blues greats Silas Hogan and Lazy Lester, as well as Conjunto legends Flaco Jimenez, Mingo Saldivar and Eddie "Lalo" Torres.

Guitarist Johnny Rossetti has a diverse musical background having played Country, Cajun, Blues and Swamp Pop. He was a member of David Allen Coe's road band and spent many years touring with The Copas Brothers and with Hamonica Red.

Bassist Les Leblanc has been the go to guy for groups all over Louisiana for over 40 years. Equally at home on bass, guitar and keyboards, Les has been in demand with R&B and Swamp Pop bands throughout the south.

Louisiana Music Hall of Fame inductee, Joe Miceli is the man behind the drums. Joe played with John Fred and the Playboys for years. Remember "Judy in Disguise"? It was Joe keeping the beat on this Number 1 hit. Joe has also played with the Copas Brothers as well as Sauce Picante(which featured guitarist Mike Loudermilk, son of famed songwriter John D. Loudermilk).

While Rondo Hatton has limited their performances to the Gulf Coast region, they are now branching out to the rest of the U.S. and at the same time are gaining international recognition.

~ cdbaby

Track List:

01. Thunderbird Beach [02:02]
02. Miramar [02:13]
03. Leo's Roller Rink [03:27]
04. Weekend Getaway [03:50]
05. Cookin [03:43]
06. Quiet Surf [02:39]
07. Big Mack Attack [03:32]
08. Maria Elena [03:43]
09. Oceanside Drive [02:13]
10. Sagebrush Serenade [03:08]
11. El Roll-o [04:22]
12. Tu Besitos [03:35]
13. The Breeze And I [03:17]
14. High Country Surf [02:02]
15. Leadfootin [03:48]
16. Tu Besitos acoustic [03:28]
17. La Bikina [02:12]
18. La Trenecita [02:45]
19. Danson Juarez [03:20]

funfunfun

John Ford - No Talkin'

John Ford, UK, guitarist in a number of bands over the years - Strawbs, Blackmore's Night, Hudson Ford plus.

This album is 100% instrumental, with many tracks hinting to the sound of the UK 60's instrumental bands.

 The album’s cover is telling as every string plucked here belongs to a Fender, the only implicit thing about the record being the homage it pays to THE SHADOWS. This becomes obvious once the muscular chord of “The Reaper” starts hugging its gently rippling strum. Ringing in the years, its echo takes Ford down the memory lane, as no matter how long John’s been living on the other side of the Pond, the reminiscences he puts in “Granny Takes A Trip” still bear an imprint of foggy-eyed English psychedelia and “Tomorrow’s World” contrasts its futuristic self with an air of nostalgia, while out of the title cut the same axe carves a prime example of surf rock. The veteran also introduces exotic flavors to the mix, although the acoustic undercurrent makes the retro-jazz of “Looking For Django” and Mariachi-shaped “Spanish Jive” sound so cinematic they come out deliberately humorous.

But if the delicately swinging “36-34-36” provides a skeletal rock bottom to it all, “Dead Ending” grooves wildly – it’s so infectious, no words are needed, indeed. Music does all the talkin’ here, and this conversation that lasts less than half an hour speaks volumes of its creator’s singular talent.



Some great foot/finger tapping tunes & some beautiful melodies - if you have headphones on, I challenge you to listen to the track titled Joyce's Song and not succumb to the urge to stop what you're doing, sit back, close your eyes & dream of clouds.

Highly recommended.

 Track List:

01. The Reaper [02:50]
02. Spanish Jive [02:20]
03. No Talkin' [02:41]
04. Tomorrow's World [03:31]
05. Granny Takes a Trip [03:16]
06. Looking for Django [02:27]
07. Joyce's Song [03:15]
08. 36-24-36 [02:19]
09. Lost Horizon [02:41]
10. Dead Ending [02:31]
nochat