The 21st CD by the
musical comedy group
Capitol Steps is another gem. Their parodies are consistently brilliant and topical for late 2000 and early 2001 political history. Beginning with Bill Clinton departing the White House reluctantly as he launches into "Bill's Way" (spoofing "My Way"), trading choruses with fugitive businessman and last-minute Clinton pardon recipient Marc Rich and Hillary in "Pardon Me, Bill" (to "Chattanooga Choo Choo"), and the equally riotous "That's My Ghetto" (based on "In the Ghetto") documenting the abandonment of his notoriously expensive Manhattan offices for much cheaper space in Harlem. The 2000 election provides plenty of material, from "Hill'rita" (with music from the nauseating "Don't Cry for Me, Argentina"), to the Florida ballot controversy with "The Singing Chads" ("You Keep Me Hangin' On"), "Punch Three Times" ("Knock Three Times"), and an elderly lady singing with wide vibrato in "There's a Hole in the Center of the Ballot." George W. Bush sings a duet with wife Laura ("My Staff Belongs to Daddy") while Al and Tipper Gore sing "Al Is Alive" (using the
disco hit "I Will Survive") and a voter complains with "I Want a Brand New Pair of Candidates." New Russian President Vladimir Putin spices things up with the side-splitting "Puttin' on a Blitz" ("Puttin' on the Ritz"). If only
Capitol Steps could omit the long, tedious closing narrative with scripted Spoonerisms all the way through, one could say every track measures up. A contrast stream of what are normally accidental syllable exchanges in a sentence making up a seven-minute monologue isn't very funny the first time through, let along after repeated hearings in the years to follow. But the musical tracks will stand the test of time very well on this highly recommended CD. ~ Ken Dryden, All Music Guide
