Rod Stewart - Every Picture Tells A Story
Rod the Mod finds his solo footing, headed for stardom, with the Faces in his wake.
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Features Disc of the day
Loudon Wainwright
T-Shirt
(Arista,1976)
An overlooked small wonder from an unpredictable career.
The recent release of 40 Odd Years, Shout Factory's four-disc Loudon Wainwright career overview raises an interesting question: which Loudon do you like? For some it's the bi-polar "new Dylan" of the first two albums, for others the melancholic biographer of History and Last Man On Earth, while there also appear to be some who see him purely as a live comic performer, an unwelcome blend of Randy Newman and Jasper Carrott. Me, I like the straight-ahead craftsman, the master songwriter who occasionally manages to write something beautiful, poignant, dark-edged or true without resorting to gags, goofs or maudlin self-pity. I know the Loudon Wainwright Best-Of I'd compile and I'd lean heavily on this admittedly erratic forgotten album. I wouldn't go for any of those tunes where he sings in those 'hilarious' high notes, or rocks out in comic fashion though. First off, I'd choose Hollywood Hopeful, a companion piece to 1971's Motel Blues, a bluegrass La-la land hoedown behind which hides a tale of west Coast weariness and struggle, our hero staring down the barrel of thirty, in a Hollywood hotel suite with "drugs in the rugs/and ghosts in the walls... blood on the curtains and a phone by the pool". Then I'd pick Prince Hal's Dirge, Wainwright's brilliant sludge rock compression of Shakespeare's Henry IV Parts 1 & 2 and Summer's Almost Over, the beautiful piano-and-vibes lament for the passing of the long school holidays, autumn atonement round the corner, "vacation time running out like an unplugged fan". Finally, and perhaps most painfully for Loudon, I'd go for Reciprocity and Wine With Dinner, two brutally honest dissections of mid-'70s Wainwright family life, liberally lubricated with booze, unfaithfulness and domestic violence ("He threw a tantrum and she threw an ashtray"). This is the Loudon who does it for me. No gags, no showing off, no meanness. It's different for every Loudon fan. It's what makes him so unique.
Andrew Male
Posted by Ross_Bennett at 6:00 AM GMT 03/06/2011
Further Listening
Loudon Wainwright III – Album II (Atlantic, 1971)
Loudon Wainwright III – History (Charisma, 1992)
Randy Newman – 12 Songs (Reprise, 1970)
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Loudon Wainwright - T-Shirt
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Comments
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I love this as well. Summers almost over is one of the beautiful things i have ever heard.
Posted by Anonymous at 9:31 PM GMT 17/06/2011 Report Abuse
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I read an interview in GOLDMINE many years ago and Loudon completely dismissed this album, which threw me for a loop, as it is one of my favorites, I recall him saying, curtly, "T-Shirt and Final Exam I totally disown..." hmmmm, maybe they cut topo close?
Posted by Buddah Worthmore at 2:48 PM GMT 29/11/2011 Report Abuse
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I read an interview in GOLDMINE many years ago and Loudon completely dismissed this album, which threw me for a loop, as it is one of my favorites, I recall him saying, curtly, "T-Shirt and Final Exam I totally disown..." hmmmm, maybe they cut too close?
Posted by Buddah Worthmore at 2:48 PM GMT 29/11/2011 Report Abuse
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I read an interview in Goldmine years ago where Mr. Wainwright said something very similar to, "T-Shirt and Final Exam I totally disown!" This threw me for a loop as they are probably my 2 favorite Loudon LP's. Perhaps they are "too real"?
Posted by Buddah Worthmore at 2:55 PM GMT 29/11/2011 Report Abuse
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this was only suppose to post ONCE. goofy server!!! sorry, I don't normally stutter :->
Posted by B.W. at 3:00 PM GMT 29/11/2011 Report Abuse
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