Customer Reviews

At the Hungry i

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Released in mid-1960, AT THE HUNGRY I (MG V-15012) is Mort Sahl's third LP for VERVE Records. It's comprised of three performances, including the first nine minutes of the album's Side Two, taped at the Crescendo in Hollywood in May of 1960, in which Mort comments on Francis Gary Powers' U-2 being shot down over Soviet airspace. (This occurred after his hungry i sets were recorded. Sahl felt observations on the incident deserved inclusion here.)

In original liner notes, hungry i owner Enrico Banducci favorably compares Mort, who was labelled a "radical" in early-career, with such deep thinkers as Socrates, Will Rogers and Mark Twain. By 1960, supporters and fans had given him a new, better-fitting appellation: ICONOCLAST.


"SIDE" NOTES --

ONE -- Nixon / NYC power blackout. / Muggers / His Air Force Reserve call-up. / Nixon-Khrushchev Kitchen Debate. / Nikita's U.S. tour. / Eisenhower visits Germany and Pakistan. / Nixon and the steel strike. / On a movie date, Mort sees THE FBI STORY. / Is ignored after spying on an American Communist Party meeting and calling the FBI. / Plugs his 6/6/60 Steve Allen Show appearance. / "Hitler is Alive" articles. / U. of Cal. bowling alley.
[24:00]

TWO -- The U2 affair. / Capital punishment. / An irate Khrushchev cancels Ike's Russia trip. / The Administration's "female" role. / Fidel Castro / Charles DeGaulle / Man Tan. / The AMA and socialized medicine. / Summer stock. / U. of Miami. / His upcoming Korean War movie, ALL THE YOUNG MEN. / Sexist jokes.
[16:30]

TOTAL TIME: 40:30

A great slice of Mort Sahl's dry, understated political humor circa 1960. As a teenager, I saw Mort at Ohio Wesleyan University (very late 60s or very early 70s) and was intrigued by his style, which creeps up on you rather than slaps you in the face (as most modern comedy unfortunately does). I've been waiting for years for reissuance of some of Mort's classic early peformances and am glad to have this one. I hope more are on the way. I've listened to all of Mort's recordings (mostly on vinyl) and this Hungry i performance might be my favorite. (Beware, though. This and other Mort Sahl recordings require some knowledge of American history and the current events of the time.)