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Product Description
Review
After 40 years and two nominations, Loudon Wainwright III finally got his Grammy in 2010 with High, Wide and Handsome: The Charlie Poole Project. And if this opportunistic follow-up doesn't match the breadth and depth of that whole-hearted tribute to one of country's forgotten pioneers, it has its own bumptious charms.
Whatever interpretive strides Wainwright may have taken (2008's Recovery even found him rejigging his own older stuff), 10 Songs for the New Depression is back to business as usual. This is Loudon Wainwright the rueful vaudevillian, his narrative voice familiar from decades of satirical whimsies and wry confessions.
The ostensible theme is 21st century recession, equated to the 1930s by some cute cover art and two songs from the earlier period. The American has never been a populist, though (his one real hit, 1972's Dead Skunk, became a career embarrassment that maybe only the late-arriving Grammy has dispelled), and there's no parallel here to Woody Guthrie's empathetic tramp through the Dust Bowl.
Far from it. "Consider yourselves strung along," Wainwright tells his listeners in Times Is Hard; "All I can do is play this song." The songwriter's satirical inclinations have always played second fiddle to his introspection, and whether he's identifying with a newspaper columnist's angst (The Krugman Blues) or updating On to Victory, Mr Roosevelt with cynical irony, the economy's got him flummoxed.
Not that this isn't appealing. Partly it's the attack and colour Wainwright wrings from his acoustic guitar, drawing with imagination on a folksy musical palette every bit as old as himself. Partly it's the fables and punch lines he whittles out of his down-your-street observations.
But most of all it's the fact that a rankled Loudon Wainwright generates more energy than a small wind farm, and a good deal more humour.
"You know that job I always said that I hated?
Well yesterday they gave me the sack.
Loving your work is so damn overrated –
I sure wish to God I had that job back!"
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CD Description
"Some folks are saying things are looking up recession wise and this particular hard time might be ending. Other experts are saying we're in for a 'double-dip' and there's more faeces heading towards the global fans. If that's the case I'd like to cash in. So buddy if you can spare a few bucks, please enjoy 10 Songs for the New Depression!"--Loudon Wainwright III
Loudon's unique take on these hard times largely written by himself; mostly sad, some funny and even some optimistic.
Loudon's unique take on these hard times largely written by himself; mostly sad, some funny and even some optimistic.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
"Songwriting's not hard, it's well understood... anyone can do it and everyone should" sang Loudon Wainwright in 2003 ('Something for Nothing').
That may well be easy for him to say!... Now 63 years young and with over 40 years' worth of golden material behind him, Loudon just cannot stop writing wonderful songs which will by turns enchant, amuse, inform, amaze and occasionally depress you. The man is quite simply the greatest post-war American songwriter - and I'll stand on Bob Dylan's, Townes van Zandt's AND Steve Earle's coffee tables in my football boots and say that. In terms of consistent songwriting quality, insight and introspective honesty there is nobody who comes close to Loudon.
This short collection, barely 30 minutes in total, has been available via download for a while but now gets a long-overdue CD launch. It is Loudon's second successive concept album following 2009's Grammy-winning tribute to Charlie Poole. The two projects are of course related 'cos Poole was a victim of the original Great Depression and here is Loudon with his ten odes to the latest one. All Loudon's trademarks are here - the razor-sharp wit (tracks 1, 4, 7), the astute social commentary (3, 5), the intensely personal track (2) and the tribute to a hero (6 - superb). The stand-out track for me is the brilliant 'Fear Itself' which is vintage Loudon and, style-wise, reminiscent of his season of Carrot Confidential spots in the eighties. Only at the end of the CD does the level tail off, with the final couple of tracks being slightly below par. But overall - as per usual - the craft, attention to detail, vocal timing and beautifully precise guitar picking (for which he is hugely underrated) are all present and correct.
Let's hope there's still some gas left in the LWIII tank and at least a couple more great albums come along before he hangs up the guitar case. Try to catch this songwriting genius when he tours the UK in spring 2011. If you haven't seen him before it could be a night that changes your musical life....
That may well be easy for him to say!... Now 63 years young and with over 40 years' worth of golden material behind him, Loudon just cannot stop writing wonderful songs which will by turns enchant, amuse, inform, amaze and occasionally depress you. The man is quite simply the greatest post-war American songwriter - and I'll stand on Bob Dylan's, Townes van Zandt's AND Steve Earle's coffee tables in my football boots and say that. In terms of consistent songwriting quality, insight and introspective honesty there is nobody who comes close to Loudon.
This short collection, barely 30 minutes in total, has been available via download for a while but now gets a long-overdue CD launch. It is Loudon's second successive concept album following 2009's Grammy-winning tribute to Charlie Poole. The two projects are of course related 'cos Poole was a victim of the original Great Depression and here is Loudon with his ten odes to the latest one. All Loudon's trademarks are here - the razor-sharp wit (tracks 1, 4, 7), the astute social commentary (3, 5), the intensely personal track (2) and the tribute to a hero (6 - superb). The stand-out track for me is the brilliant 'Fear Itself' which is vintage Loudon and, style-wise, reminiscent of his season of Carrot Confidential spots in the eighties. Only at the end of the CD does the level tail off, with the final couple of tracks being slightly below par. But overall - as per usual - the craft, attention to detail, vocal timing and beautifully precise guitar picking (for which he is hugely underrated) are all present and correct.
Let's hope there's still some gas left in the LWIII tank and at least a couple more great albums come along before he hangs up the guitar case. Try to catch this songwriting genius when he tours the UK in spring 2011. If you haven't seen him before it could be a night that changes your musical life....
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Another fine album from old Loudon, I've been with Loudon now for 38 years and this album is typicaly clever in lyrics. I always preferred his acoustic stufff and this album is all of that in his traditional fashion slik as ever with the humourous edge he always produces. Love it Loudon.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Loudon Wainwright is not a performer I was overly familiar with before this album, but I'm now keen to dig into his extensive back catalogue. This record is a concept album about the world's current financial woes and, even though the opening track boldly proclaims "You folks need some cheering up/ Well it ain't me, babe, you got that wrong", it's difficult not to grin widely through many of the tracks.
The opening track, Times Is Hard, is not only one of the best, but one that shows why Wainwright is often compared to Dylan. It sets a high tempo, instantly whetting the appetite and grabbing your attention, something that should be difficult without the bells and whistles of modern gimic-filled production. Here, a solid performance and song writing do the job. The majority of the album is just Wainwright and his guitar: a perfect example of how less is so often more.
As the bittersweet album continues its quirky path, the inventiveness in the lyrics will constantly surprise and delight. Cash For Clunkers should have you swinging from the lamp shades and stamping your feet, just in time for Got A Ukulele to bring you back to Earth for a satisfying finish.
In short, it's not big, it's not fancy, but you'll be listening to it again and again just to enjoy the inspired lyrics and driving melodies.
The opening track, Times Is Hard, is not only one of the best, but one that shows why Wainwright is often compared to Dylan. It sets a high tempo, instantly whetting the appetite and grabbing your attention, something that should be difficult without the bells and whistles of modern gimic-filled production. Here, a solid performance and song writing do the job. The majority of the album is just Wainwright and his guitar: a perfect example of how less is so often more.
As the bittersweet album continues its quirky path, the inventiveness in the lyrics will constantly surprise and delight. Cash For Clunkers should have you swinging from the lamp shades and stamping your feet, just in time for Got A Ukulele to bring you back to Earth for a satisfying finish.
In short, it's not big, it's not fancy, but you'll be listening to it again and again just to enjoy the inspired lyrics and driving melodies.
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