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Loudon Wainwright - BBC Sessions Audio CD

A fair review of the Loudon Wainwright "BBC Sessions" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Loudon Wainwright reviews here, or go back to the Loudon Wainwright tabs.

Loudon Wainwright Band: Loudon Wainwright
Title: BBC Sessions
Rating:
Release Date: 1998-10-26
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Be Careful There's a Baby in the House 2: East Indian Princess 3: I Know I'm Unhappy/Suicide Song/Glenville Reel 4: A.M. World 5: Swimming Song 6: Prince Hal's Dirge 7: I Wish It Was Me 8: No 9: Hard Day on the Planet 10: You Don't Want to Know 11: Sunday Times 12: Nice Guys 13: Harry's Wall 14: Carmine Street 15: Number One 16: Birthday Present 17: Men 18: Father and a Son 19: School Days 20: It's Love and I Hate It 21: One Man Guy

So many fabulous songs...
There are better albums for the uninitiated ("History" is probably his best studio album, "Career Moves" his best live-before-audience album) but this collection has a lot to recommend it, especially for the fan. A good cross-section of raw Loudon. (The only thing lacking, really, is that these are live performances without the feedback a large, liive audience would give, and Loudon's handling of audiences is definitely an important aspect of his talent. )

"Sunday Times", "I Wish It Were Me" and "It's Love And I Hate It" aren't available on his other albums and a lot of the songs which suffered from over-production on his albums (like "A. M. World", "East Indian Princess", and to a lesser extent "Prince Hal's Dirge") are given a cleaner treatment here.

The album is arranged in chronological order based on when the songs were performed, not when they were written. As the album progresses, Loudons voice gets less reedy and nasal and takes on a richer, more expressive tone. This renders particulrly poignant the late entry of "School Days", which was the first song on his first album, only now being sung some 25 years later, by a man old enough to be the song author's father.

Given the fact that LW3 has recorded enough songs live for BBC radio to fill many, many CDs, we can only hope this leads to further volumes.


He plays from the cerebellum...
I don't know a whole lot about Loudon Wainwright III, and this is the first album of his I've ever bought. . after listening to it several times I have really come to feel that there are some true gems in this collection. He doesn't think in a straight line & he tackles some funny and dark subjects with humor & depth. I guess his voice and guitar playing take a little (OK, a lot) of getting used to, but I will go back to these songs. A weak four stars, but if you are interested in this kind of stuff it's definitely worth getting.


Folk eminence
It is of course a compilation, but what a compilation. After a long life in and out of the music business, it is surely a rare thing to stumble over an artifact such as this. It will take you all the way around your emotional register, and somewhere along the way leave you bewildered and wondering, if this in fact was one album or several "best of's". the first couple of times I listened to the album, I felt like way back when I first heard Randy Newman, and he has been following me ever since. I am now the proud owner of many Loudon albums, and I will not stop untill I have them all. I am amazed that no has reviewed this album before, but go ahead. . . it is not hard to find all the positive adjectives in your vocabulary, and throw them in the air. Enjoy!.


can't get enough
the guitar playing is amazing and the lyrics are witty and sincere. I just picked up the BBC Sessions (only my second LWIII album, and certainly not my last) the other day and I find that I can't play it enough! As soon as I get to the end of the last song, I find that I'm ready to hear the first one again. The recording is so intimate: it feels like the man is right here in my living room. Wow. . . . . I love this record.


You can see a complete list of all Loudon Wainwright discography, or go back to the Loudon Wainwright tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.

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