Description
Celebrating, if that is the right word, his 75th year, Loudon Wainwright III offers us his 26th studio album in 52 rollicking years, Lifetime Achievement. Though he does have one Grammy on the shelf, for 2009’s double set, Charlie Pool Project, awards made from polished metals have not littered his life path or career trajectory.
Captivating songs packed with home truths, razor-sharp wit and hilarious asides, however, do litter that career, along with a family crisis or two, and Lifetime Achievement has more than enough to satisfy all long-term fans, as well as drawing in new ones who may have heard more about Loudon Wainwright III (perhaps from his children with Kate McGarrigle, Rufus and Martha) than they have heard him.
Lifetime Achievement is as good a place as any to remedy the absence of Loudon in your life. He’s always got something to say, and sometimes they’re pretty serious things – things to do with love, ageing, connection, loneliness, other people, family, death – but often as not hilarious as much as they are serious, and easy to identify with.
