Springtime for Liberals (CD - 2007)

Recording information: The Ronald Reagan Building And International Trade Cent (2006-2007).

With the Democrats' landslide win of both the Senate and the House in the 2006 elections, it was only natural that it would be a prominent theme for the next Capitol Steps album. Mel Brooks' "Springtime for Hitler" (from The Producers) provides a perfect launching pad for the amusing "Springtime for Liberals" to introduce the complete, gloating cast playing Hillary Clinton, Al Gore, Nancy Pelosi, Barack Obama and the still unsavory Ted Kennedy. Speaker of the House Pelosi is the key character in "Everything's Coming Up Pelosi." President Bush, played beautifully by Kevin Corbett, stumbles through his planned remarks and recasts Bill Withers' hit as "Ain't No Rumsfeld" and sings "Stand by Japan" with the Japanese prime minister. The quick rise of Senator Obama is hyped in "A Leader Like Barack" (a spoof of "Leader of the Pack"). Peggy Lee's "Fever" is redone as an indictment of the inept Federal agency "FEMA." Rush Limbaugh is a target of ridicule in the side-splitting "Viagra." If there's one thing that's a bit disappointing about this collection, it is the failure to lampoon the left very much for their fair share of stupid comments and actions (such as Rep. William Jefferson's $90,000 stash of suspected bribe money found in his freezer), as previous releases haven't always been quite so one-sided. But this live collection will please most everyone who is sick of politicians, overly hyped media stars, and others who have overstayed their 15 minutes of fame. ~ Ken Dryden minimize