Famously described by his daughter, Martha, as “a man who wrote songs about his children instead of raising them”, I remembered Loudon Wainwright from his appearances on M*A*S*H in the 1970s, so it wasn’t too much of a risk when I picked this up in a sale.
I had presumed this compilation to be from one of his lesser known periods, but research tells me that two of his albums during this period were Grammy nominated, as well as being cooperations with Richard Thompson, so this might be a high point. There’s some powerful stuff here, both high tempo (opening track Nice Day On The Planet) and poignant (Your Mother And I ) and my early thoughts are that even the less memorable songs are worth a listen.
Often, in a 20+ song album, I’m feeling ‘yes, this is fine, but I’m not sure another dozen songs like this will hold my attention’; I’m not getting that here.
5 Years Old bears out Martha’s theory, and Not John is a lovely song for Lennon. Not averse to self-depreciation (or self-pity, depending on your point of view), he reaches peak self on Career Moves, Fame And Wealth, The Grammy Song, and IDTTYWLM, finishing with Unhappy Anniversary. It’s never clear with Wainwright senior, how much of the personal is light hearted and how much is ego, but it mostly works as a pleasing listen.
3* - a welcome occasional treat for the ears, but not making me desperate to plunder the back catalogue.
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