Loudon Wainwright III-Grown Man
(Virgin)
Considering the fact that Loudon Wainwright III is best
known for a 1973 novelty song about road kill ("Dead Skunk")
and playing a folk-singing surgeon
the first couple of seasons of M*A*S*H, it's surprising that he is still
recording, let alone on a major label. But while his profile has been low for
the last couple of decades, he's consistently had enough interesting music to
keep a following.
Grown Man highlights both the strengths and weaknesses that have
dogged him throughout his career. Wainwright still has a sweet tooth for jokey
novelty tunes, as with the single, "I.W.I.W.A.L. (I Wish I Was a Lesbian)," a
funny but ultimately slight tune.
It doesn't seem to belong on the same album as
"Father/Daughter Dialogue," a duet with daughter Martha in which he puts a
microscope on his life and their strained relationship. It's this kind of
introspection that has kept him employed long after most of his peers.
Alex Diamond
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November 21, 2022.
