Supporting almost a dozen songs written for the That Was the Week That Was TV show with five extra compositions, Tom Lehrer rolls out (with only piano to accompany his singing) satirical pieces touching on topics from international alliances to senatorial elections.  Light banter with the audience of the Hungry I comedy club provides context for the more obscure or time-specific topics, while little delays in the lyrical punch-lines work them for better reactions. 

Though they regularly slip into AABB rhyme schemes, the songs are arranged with cleverness to their cadences, particularly when music itself is the topic, as in “The Folk Song Army”.  His background as a teacher comes out most strongly in “New Math”, which manages to make a firm flow out of a string of verbal equations, and a number of critiques come off as prescient (particularly a joking mention of Ronald Reagan becoming involved in politics) or still relevant.  Low-key but charmingly witty, with suitable flair on the piano side to bolster without overwhelming the words.