Mort Sahl's sharp wit had already skewered many a political figure before the start of the primaries and presidential election in 1960, but if people thought that they had a firm grip on
Sahl's politics, they may have been a bit surprised by this album. Those who assumed he was pro-Kennedy may have been the most surprised, as
Sahl starts taking potshots in earnest at the man who would eventually win the election, a stance that ended up alienating much of
Sahl's audience. Granted, more of the venom is aimed at Richard Nixon and Dwight Eisenhower, but it was a new development that wasn't necessarily welcome to fans who were, in the end, divided more sharply along party lines than
Sahl's attitudes gave allowance for.
Sahl also spends some time here blabbing about his own growing cult of personality and the magazines and movies he's appeared in; it's maybe a bit self-serving, but still somewhat interesting. The biggest problem is
Sahl's ricochet monologue style, bouncing back and forth between topics, even in the middle of thoughts, and this time out it's more disjointed than usual, and a bit hard to follow. ~ Sean Carruthers