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"...Museum All The Blues Away..."
This CD Reissue contains the two albums
"Loudon Wainwright III" (August 1970)
and "Album II" (July 1971)
Plus One Bonus Track
Loudon Wainright III's first
two bare-bones LPs from 1970 and 1971 made very little impact sales-wise
(especially in the UK) - but have ever since remained a cool pool of refreshing
water for those who thirst after honest contemporary US Folk with brains, emotional
courage and an acidic tongue. But their availability on CD has been problematic
for decades…until now…
This stunning relaunch from
America's 'Real Gone Music' is a June 2016 single-CD reissue of a
mail-order-only website-CD Rhino Handmade put out Stateside in December 1999 -
itself a limited edition of 5000 numbered copies. That initial CD pressing sold
out almost immediately – as did a short-lived reissue in November 2003 - and
both versions have been hard to locate ever since – garnishing high prices in
some places too.
Well now along comes Real
Gone Music to the rescue of fans by reissuing that collectable at a reasonable
cost and still with the great Dan Hersch Remastered Audio and decent liner
notes (including the lyrics). Packaging-wise the only difference is that 1999's
Rhino Handmade RHM2-7709 (Barcode 081227770921) came in a numbered card-sleeve
while this is your basic jewel case (non-numbered).
Essentially what you're
getting are his debut LP "Loudon Wainwright III" from August 1970
(USA) and the follow-up "Album II" from July 1971 (both originally on
Atlantic Records) - as well as one Previously Unreleased Bonus Track from the
"Album II" sessions left off the original LP due to time
restrictions. With his razor-sharp wit, strangulated vocal delivery and obvious
lyrical prowess - it's hardly surprising too that these 1970 and 1971 recordings
of one-man-and-his guitar have been favourably compared to 1962 and 1963 Bob
Dylan - LW III simply updating the scenarios to his own Delaware days of sin
and redemption. And with a playing time of 78-minutes-plus - you can't argue
that "Atlantic Recordings" isn't great value for money too. There's a
lot to wade through - so here are the Uptown details and it's time to cook that
dinner Dora...
US released 3 June 2016 - "The Atlantic Recordings" by
LOUDON WAINWRIGHT III on Real Gone Music RGM-0461 (Barcode 848064004615) offers
2LPs Remastered onto 1CD with One Previously Unreleased Bonus Track that plays
outs as follows (78:27 minutes):
1. School Days [Side 1]
2. Hospital Lady
3. Ode To A Pittsburgh
4. Glad To See You've Got
Religion
5. Uptown
6. Black Uncle Remus [Side
2]
7. Four Is A Magic Number
8. I Don't Care
9. Central Square Song
10. Movies Are A Mother To
Me
11. Bruno's Place
Tracks 1 to 11 are his debut
album "Loudon Wainwright III" - released 17 August 1970 in the USA on
Atlantic SD 8260 and October 1970 in the UK on Atlantic 2400 103 (reissued in
1973 on Atlantic K 40107). All songs by LW III - produced by LW III and MILTON
KRAMER.
12. Me And My Friend The Cat
[Side 1]
13. Motel Blues
14. Nice Jewish Girls
15. Be Careful There's A
Baby In The House
16. (a) I Know I'm Unhappy
(b) Suicide Song (c) Genville Reel
17. Saw Your Name In The
Paper
18. Samson And The Warden
[Side 2]
19. Plane, Too
20. Cook That Dinner, Dora
21. Old Friend
22. Old Paint
23. Winter Song
Tracks 12 to 23 are his
second studio album "Album II" - released 5 July 1971 in the USA on
Atlantic SD 8291 and August 1971 in the UK on Atlantic 2400 142 (reissued in
1973 on Atlantic K 40272). All songs by LW III - produced by LW III and MILTON
KRAMER. Guests - Kate McGarrigle sings Backing Vocal and Saul Broudy plays
Harmonica on "Old Paint" only.
24. Drinking Song
Recorded February 1971 – it
was intended to be placed on Side 2 (Track 3) but there was enough room
Previously Unreleased Studio Recording Outtake.
The substantial 20-page
booklet is entirely US-based with new (November 1999) liner notes entitled
"An Unflinching Stare" are a 'reflection' by PETER FALLON on
Wainwright's melodic style and blunt-as-a-mallet skill with words. Pages 4 and
5 with Pages 11 and 12 offer full-page plates of both album covers (back and
front) - whilst the all-important lyrics are reproduced for both albums (and
the lone outtake) for the first time. DAN HERSCH of Rhino fame has handled the
tapes and the Remasters are gorgeous - one man and his guitar - clean,
atmospheric, vibrant and filling up your room with that air analogue has.
I'm no fool about
Wainwright. I saw him live at Ireland's second 'Lisdoonvarna Folk Festival' in
1979 (a headliner) where he promptly slaughtered the crowd one sunny beautiful
day. They loved his honesty, sense of humour and 'Rufus The Tit Man' tunes.
Wainwright was dragged back to the stage for more - more – more – beaming to
the encores that were genuine. But I also had a mate of mine who in early
Seventies Dublin couldn't abide the nasal whine of his voice - never mind the
often barren-nature of his song-subjects. So instead of guffawing - he'd come
out in a rash at the mere mention of LW III's name. Therefore in my book
musically both albums would be an acquired taste. But if you do get into his
acoustic tales of woe and love (and I know many who have) - you may find
yourself studying every chord change and memorising those brilliant lyrics to
impress your mates next time you're in that village pub with a roaring fire and
a few pints of Dutch courage.
The debut opens with a tale
of his Delaware younger days ("School Days") where LW was the James
Dean tearaway begged by girls to join them in their boudoirs. Afterward he
would pencil his pimple parables riling against those who tried to force their
religious moralising down his throat. In "Hospital Song" he is
touched by a dying old lady whom he knows was once a pretty young thing in 1953
- but now her new lover is the Reaper waiting with a stone face at the end of
the bed (gorgeously simple acoustic melody). Both "Ode To A
Pittsburgh" and "Glad To See You Got Religion" start feeling
bitter and angry - strumming hard with his machine that kills fascists – raging
against people who don’t discharge their creative juices while old LW can’t
wait too. All the freaks are freaking him out in "Uptown" - hailing a
cab – reading the Allied Chemical News en route – head into the Garden in the
rain for some Basketball or maybe Boxing. Many will know the brilliant
"Black Uncle Remus" – it’s death-letter-blues, catfish catches and
rusted banjo strings turning up on CD compilations that want to impress with
their cool.
"Four Is A Magic
Number" opens Side 2 of "Loudon Wainwright III" with more
acoustic guitar and his desperate Willie Nile voice regaling about a sinking
sinner in the gutter. "I Don't Care" has the slow melancholy of say
Leo Kottke or even Tim Buckley on a purely Folk tip - bidding his girl goodbye
as she heads off to San Francisco for sand-in-the-hair nights on the beach with
someone else. Mary McGuire and Big Frank Clark get drunk in "Central
Square Song" - their six-pack passion making them act like teenagers – and
petulant ones at that. Loudon's love of escape comes roaring out of "Movies
Are A Mother To Me" - films on a rainy Tuesday giving him back some sort
of recovered sanity. The debut ends on the jaunty "Bruno's Place"
where yoga-girls and Swamii-pearls hang out in Bruno's meat-less apartment down
on Seventh Street (he trashes his guitar like Richie Havens getting carried
away on stage). In truth I don't think Side 2 is as good as Side 1 on the
starter album - but LP2 is another matter…
If his undeniable
songwriting and social commentary brilliance was gestating on the debut – then
for me it explodes into proper magic on "Album II". I like almost
every song on it. "Me And My Friend The Cat" and "Motel
Blues" open the second LP in grand style - very cool melodies and words.
The second Atlantic Records sampler LP "The New Age Of Atlantic" from
March 1972 (the British LP was on Atlantic K 20024) gave the song "Motel
Blues" from "Album II" a rare plug. The compilers no doubt hoped
that lyrics like "...the Styrofoam bucket's full of ice...Come up to my
motel room...treat me nice..." would tickle the public's buying fancy (not
to be unfortunately). Even better song-wise is "Nice Jewish Girls"
where his Episcopalian schooling isn't helping as LW stares at those ladies
with surnames like Pearlstein - his Yiddish young-man juices starting to bubble
uncontrollably (and not for their skills with a bagel). A newborn bundle of joy
is jarring his nerves in "Be Careful There's A Baby In The House" -
or is the kid's parents and their smug remarks that are getting on his trupenny
bits. More misery follows in the weary and inebriated three-parter "I Know
I'm Unhappy..." where our hero rarely makes love but regularly gets laid.
Wainwright ends a masterful Side 1 with "Saw Your Name In The Paper"
where he's happy for a talented friend from the past but warns that their
heroics might induce slavery to something else – becoming a limelight chaser –
a junky for fame.
There is a superb simplicity
and therefore power to Side 2's "Plane, Too" where he lists the
people and things on his flight. They can't get away - can't get out - and as
he looks in the 747’s toilet mirror - realises that neither can he.
"...Set that place for me...Arm me with utensils..." Wainwright asks
of Dora in "Cook That Dinner..." where you suspect that his mealtime
might contain something else baked into his cottage pie other than
mincemeat. You wish Wainwright had let
both Kate McGarrigle and Saul Broudy onto other tracks – they add hugely to
"Old Paint". It ends on a brilliant acoustic melody "Winter
Song" and you can so hear why he thought the equally good "Drinking
Song" should have been on the album.
In all honesty I'd forgotten
about these Loudon Wainwright III records – especially that deeply satisfying
second LP. I'm also left with more than a feeling that these 1970 and 1971
Atlantic Records recordings contain overlooked gems that deserve a
second-go-round - even if they are a bit misery-guts. And typical of many
musicians with a penchant for the neurotic muddle of life and loving – Loudon is
a damn good actor too…
