Loudon Wainwright III: History : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

"Dead Skunk" was a cute 1972 novelty hit, but Loudon Wainwright, recording now for 25 years, cuts much deeper than that. Acerbic humor delivered with Buster Keaton-deadpan irony still forms a basis for his eternal coffee-club act, but the tears of this clown are real -- and conveyed with all the trenchant economy of a short-story master. The soul of Wasp angst, of quiet bleeding on summer lawns, Wainwright's spare folk laments are absolutely exceptional -- and his masterwork, "History," is full of subtle detonations. "A Father and a Son," "Sometimes I Forget" and "Hitting You" render the sweet sufferings of family unforgettably. As he sums up, "It might be hate/It's probably love."

"Career Moves," a live sampler, is more casual and borders on the comprehensive. He spoofs his country-club upbringing on "Westchester County," waxes gallant with "Tip That Waitress," philosophizes with "The Man Who Couldn't Cry" and radiates intelligence and an essential decency throughout. (RS 672-673)