1960 or Look Forward in Anger

Issued on Verve Records at the turn of the decade, this essential LP captures Mort Sahl inventing modern political satire on vinyl. Armed only with a rolled newspaper and a V-neck sweater, Sahl discarded vaudeville gags in favor of an intellectual, syncopated jazz rhythm. Across two continuous sides titled 'Look Forward in Anger (Pt. 1)' and '(Pt. 2),' he skewers Cold War hysteria, the Eisenhower White House, and hypocrisies across both parties. The recording picks up every clinking glass and nervous chuckle as club patrons process his fearless topical wit. It remains the foundational document that opened American comedy stages to unfiltered political discourse.