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Track List:
1. Times Is Hard
2. House 3. On to Victory, Mr. Roosevelt 4. Fear Itself 5. The Panic Is On 6. The Krugman Blues 7. Halloween 2009 8. Middle of the Night 9. Cash for Clunkers 10. Got a Ukulele
Running Time: 29 minutes
Released: 2010
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His middle name is Snowdon. Loudon Snowdon... wow, what parents!
I recall I first heard of/saw Loudon Wainwright at the Cropredy festival in (I think) 1998. I remember him being an engaging performer, funny and interesting, but I recall none of the music played. I only picked up any of his music a decade later, after I had become familiar with both Rufus and Martha's work (I have mixed feelings on both). I do not remember what prompted it... probably impulse and seeing a familiar name in the "new releases" list, but almost certainly influenced by his offspring's work.
This whole work is a shill on economic hard times, "cashing in", and with a short total runtime at that! These songs, this artist, is more about lyrics than the accompaniment. Not to say he cannot play or sing (though no-one would claim he is superb at either) but more to say that it is really not background music. If you are not listening you will not appreciate it. It is the kind of album perfect for this project... except that as I type, and consider my words, I am missing too many of his.
Not all of the lyrics are clever or brilliant but they are considered and used to paint pictures in bite-size pieces. I appreciate the use of lyrics in this way, even if 90% of my music consumption means I miss it. Yeah, songs do not need any lyrics, let along intelligent ones, to be good... but if they have them it opens the door to a whole different way of appreciating an artist's work. I am sure we all have songs we love lyrically or musically but not both.
There is more depth musically here than I initially gave credit for. Nothing particularly complex but more variation in style and approach than I remembered or expected. As you might expect, it is all rooted in folksy, bluesy tones - which fit the theme perfectly, by the by - but tempo and approach change from song to song and that is actually a pretty important touch here, to elevate the listener above the temptation to get bogged down in the less than cheery subject matter. I like that most of the songs are really quite short, too - another light touch that helps the album sit together well.
Middle of the Night is probably my favourite track, its core refrain of "It's not the end of the world/it's just the middle of the night" is pretty no-frills, delivered many times with different inserts, but it has a simple truth to it, and fits snugly in a simple, twangy sound. Cash for Clunkers follows it and it's the only one I honestly dislike. The title is blah, the delivery is blah, the backing is blah. However these days, only one "bad" track on an album seems like a good return; I own several like 9 where the decent tracks are outnumbered by the dross.
I would never place Loudon Wainwright III as one of my favourite artists, but you pretty much know what you are going to get and either like what he does or don't, and in my limited experience of him (one gig 16 years ago and only 3 of countless albums), I do.
I recall I first heard of/saw Loudon Wainwright at the Cropredy festival in (I think) 1998. I remember him being an engaging performer, funny and interesting, but I recall none of the music played. I only picked up any of his music a decade later, after I had become familiar with both Rufus and Martha's work (I have mixed feelings on both). I do not remember what prompted it... probably impulse and seeing a familiar name in the "new releases" list, but almost certainly influenced by his offspring's work.
This whole work is a shill on economic hard times, "cashing in", and with a short total runtime at that! These songs, this artist, is more about lyrics than the accompaniment. Not to say he cannot play or sing (though no-one would claim he is superb at either) but more to say that it is really not background music. If you are not listening you will not appreciate it. It is the kind of album perfect for this project... except that as I type, and consider my words, I am missing too many of his.
Not all of the lyrics are clever or brilliant but they are considered and used to paint pictures in bite-size pieces. I appreciate the use of lyrics in this way, even if 90% of my music consumption means I miss it. Yeah, songs do not need any lyrics, let along intelligent ones, to be good... but if they have them it opens the door to a whole different way of appreciating an artist's work. I am sure we all have songs we love lyrically or musically but not both.
There is more depth musically here than I initially gave credit for. Nothing particularly complex but more variation in style and approach than I remembered or expected. As you might expect, it is all rooted in folksy, bluesy tones - which fit the theme perfectly, by the by - but tempo and approach change from song to song and that is actually a pretty important touch here, to elevate the listener above the temptation to get bogged down in the less than cheery subject matter. I like that most of the songs are really quite short, too - another light touch that helps the album sit together well.
Middle of the Night is probably my favourite track, its core refrain of "It's not the end of the world/it's just the middle of the night" is pretty no-frills, delivered many times with different inserts, but it has a simple truth to it, and fits snugly in a simple, twangy sound. Cash for Clunkers follows it and it's the only one I honestly dislike. The title is blah, the delivery is blah, the backing is blah. However these days, only one "bad" track on an album seems like a good return; I own several like 9 where the decent tracks are outnumbered by the dross.
I would never place Loudon Wainwright III as one of my favourite artists, but you pretty much know what you are going to get and either like what he does or don't, and in my limited experience of him (one gig 16 years ago and only 3 of countless albums), I do.
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