Grown Man

by

Loudon Wainwright III

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There are NO bad tracks on this album. Not one. This is a self-assured mixture of polished, varied music which should be required listening, particularly for any bachelors in their mid-40s.

The titular "Grown Man" is dating, a practice meant for much younger and less cynical people. His age shows in tracks like the a capella Vegas-lounge-style "The Birthday Present", and the crochety "Cobwebs", while the bluesy "That Hospital" and the beautifully melodic "Dreaming" point out his awareness of (and obsession with?) death.

And you might not want to date him. He gets a bit paranoid when left at home to do the "Housework", he'll question your orientation then mock your grammar ("IWIAL"--"I Wish I Was A Lesbian"), he's not really sure if he believes in love ("I Suppose"), and he'll drag out a relationship longer than it ought to go ("The End Has Begun").

Erm, you sure don't want him as a dad ("A Year", "Father-Daughter Dialogue"), except that if you're his daughter and you have a =very= beautiful voice, he might put you on his album. (Martha Wainwright's contributions to this album are guaranteed to melt the listener.)

I reiterate: there are no bad tracks here. Even Loudon's sometimes-seemingly-obligatory self-loathing reference to his father in "Just A John" is particularly insightful.

Apart from the personal material, there are two "current event" tracks. "1994" is a reggae ode to genetic engineering which asks the pertinent question: If we are just "genetic goop", are we really responsible for =anything= we are or do?

"The Human Cannonball" is the obituary for an actual human cannonbal (Emmanuel Zachini, Sr.) set to music. It's one of those classic, simple tunes and simple stories that Loudon puts together that speaks to the human race.

And lastly, charmingly, there's his cover of "Treasure Untold", complete with yodelling. As steeped as the album is in LW3's world-weary view of love and relationships, this was an inspired choice for last track, being a straight-forward by-the-books love song.

Indispensible.

I've been a long-time fan of Wainwright's since someone clued me in on him in College, so I anxiously bought this CD a number of years ago to see what he had been up to. There are in fact some good cuts on this ("Father/Daughter Dialogue" was my favorite) but I found the self-deprecation and confessional stuff was getting a little bit old, and some of the irony and wordplay seemed forced.

For people who have not heard Wainwright before, I would suggest going with some of his earlier work, including "Album III" and "Mustache.

If you want a good, funny song -- something I still sing to my wife -- try "Mr. Guilty": "Call me Mr. Guilty/Mr. Guilty is my name/I am the one/the no-good bum/that did it all to you/Oooohhh...." You might also catch Wainwright on old re-runs of MASH.