Loudon Wainwright
(Copyright © 1999-2024 Piero Scaruffi | Terms of use )

, /10
Links:

(Clicka qua per la versione Italiana)

Loudon Wainwright, misanthropic hobo and farcical comedian, debuted in New York with two acoustic albums, Album I (Atlantic, 1970), containing Central Square Song and I Don't Care, and Album II (1971), with Motel Blues and Be Careful There's A Baby In The House, but found his true voice on the electric Album III (Columbia, 1972), that contains his corrosive ballad Dead Skunk and Red Guitar. The folk-rock style remained on Attempted Mustache (1973), with Swimming Song and Down Drinking At The Bar, and on Unrequited (1975), with Kick In The Head and Whatever Happened To Us; and then expanded to include elements of rock'n'roll and country on the more politicized T Shirt (Arista, 1976), with Rufus Is A Tit Man, and on Final Exam (1978).

After A Live 0ne (Rounder, 1980) and Fame and Wealth (1983), with Westchester County and April Fools Day Party, Wainwright moved to England. His mixture of anglo-saxon wit and social commentary had always been more akin to, say, Kinks than to Bob Dylan, and in England his affectionate vignettes of the middle class could count on a broader audience. Richard Thompson helped him out on I'm Alright (Rounder, 1985), with Cardboard Boxes, and More Love Songs (1986), his most accomplished work, with Hard Day On The Planet and Unhappy Anniversary.

Hilarious for the sake of being hilarious, Wainwright has rarely managed to write a song that can be heard more than once with the same intensity, but has continued over the years with sensible consistency: Therapy (Silvertone, 1989), with TSDHAV, History (Charisma, 1992), Grown Man (1995), Little Ship (1998) Social Studies (Hannibal, 1999) collects unreleased songs. The Last Man on Earth (Red House, 2001). His political rants were not particularly original on Here Come The Choppers (Sovereign Artists, 2005).

What is unique about this music database