"Oh, take off her clothes and throw her in the river, Wash her body & stick it in the sun; Give that gal everything you can give her, you can give her the bullets if you can give her the gun." Loudon Wainwright III hooked me with these strange weirdo lyrics on "Glenville Reel/The Suicide Song" from Album II. What a powerful little blast of wit, humor & double-entendre! Most of his music is in my collection including his delightful swing contribution of "After You've Gone" to the soundtrack album of The Aviator.I loved the movie "Knocked Up," one of the few comedies where I actually break out laughing. When I heard Wainwright's voice, I knew I had to check out this album. Of the many strong songs, three are currently my very favorites. "You Can't Fail Me Now" written by Loudon & Joe Henry is a lovely song with a melody that reflects for me sticking with a relationship even through hard times, "We're taught to love the worst of us & mercy more than life, but trust me: Mercy's just a warning shot across the bow; I live for yours and you can't fail me now." It's a song born of experience and tempered by great love. Peter Blegvad wrote "Daughter" that is a perfect fit for Loudon's wry delivery, "That's my daughter in the water, everything she owns, I bought her. ... Everything she takes, she takes apart." (Reminds me of my daughter who would tie one doll arm to one doorknob and the other to another just to see how far they would stretch. ... We wound up with a number of disabled Barbies.) Mose Allison's "Feel So Good" is a sweet shuffle that sets your toe tapping and puts a smile on my face everytime it plays. The opening track "Grey in L.A." is a great soundtrack for modern life, "And I suppose that they'll close canyon roads & the freeways will all start to clog & the waters will rise & you won't be surprised when your whole house smells like your wet dog." "X or Y" boasts Wainwright's classic witty lyric, "It might feel like fun, but some work's been done; It's not just sex, it's Y or X." Joe Henry's moody instrumental "Naomi" also fascinates. This set hangs together as a great album. Enjoy!
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