2021 Charity Shop Purchases 22 One Man Guy - The Best of Loudon Wainwright III1982 -1986
I'm not altogether sure as to why I picked this one up as I only had one album by him a live one So Damn Happy which I picked up for a pound and rarely if ever play. I suppose it was maybe to see if this was an improvement. It is but only just and I'm not convinced that it will be a keeper.
From 1994 on Demon Records it contains tracks from 1983's Fame and Wealth (from which the second track below is taken), 1985's I'm All Right and 1986's More Love Songs (which includes the first song below).
There's something about him that I can't quite put me finger on. It's as if he's too smart for his own good. Also I feel that many of his songs are too autobiographical if that makes sense. Talk about washing your dirty linen in public. Little wonder that he appears to be estranged from the rest of his musical family.
Plus there is that annoying American thing about adding numbers after your name although to give him some credit he didn't inflict the number IV on his son Rufus
There was a time I would have asked you to send it over here, but thanks to Brexit the charges I would incur put paid to that. Brexit, the gift that keeps on giving
ReplyDeleteI must declare an interest here. I love Loudon Wainwright. That hasn't always been the case. First saw him a few times on Whistle Test in the 70s and pretty much dismissed him as he didn't speak much to the 20 year old in me and that was that until the early nineties when I heard several of the sessions he did with John Peel, some live at Peel Acres and started to enjoy his songs and the (sometimes) bickering chat they had with each other. It was the lyrics principally which resonated most with me then as a 40 year old parent and it was from that point I got hooked. By his own admission he was a pretty difficult person to get on with but it's him in his more reflective, mellower later years that won me over. His humour is dry and his lyrics are wry (a free one for you there copy writers!) and he's built up a substantial body of song that will repay your listening. You were probably unfortunate to start off with the live album and the One Man Guy comp has perhaps half a dozen good tracks. Suggest you track down his post mid 80s albums - Little Ship being the best starting point
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