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The Last Man on Earth

Loudon Wainwright III - The Last Man on Earth Audio CD

A fair review of the Loudon Wainwright III "The Last Man on Earth" 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 III reviews here, or go back to the Loudon Wainwright III tabs.

Band: Loudon Wainwright III
Title: The Last Man on Earth
Rating:

Release Date: 2008-01-13
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Missing You 2: Living Alone 3: White Winos 4: Fresh Fossils 5: I'm Not Gonna Cry 6: Out of Reach 7: Bridge 8: Surviving Twin 9: Donations 10: Graveyard 11: Bed 12: Last Man on Earth 13: Homeless

Songs For Aging Children (Oops!, Adults)
But who will chronicle in song or verse the "not going gently into that good night", as Dylan Thomas would have it, of that generation? Well, I have at least a contender for that position in the songwriting division, Loudon Wainwright III. Okay, I have written plenty of prose stuff about the trials and tribulations, political or otherwise, of my generation, the now aging children of the "Generation Of '68. For those who are unfamiliar with the name Brother Wainwright was something of well known, if secondary, figure on the 1960's folk revival circuit. If that is not enough information then he was once married to Kate McGarrigle, one of the accomplished folk- singing McGarrigle sisters. If that is still not enough then he played, in several episodes at least, the guitar- strumming GI in the television series "MASH". For the younger set, Loudon is Rufus Wainwright's father. There, I think I have touched all the bases.

Why is Brother Wainwright my candidate for the oracle of the swan song of our generation (it appears that he is an almost exact contemporary of mine)? Well, just take a listen to this CD(or read the lyrics)," Last Man On Earth", and you will know. Sure, it is a little light on the need to continue the political struggle that we started in our youth but on the questions of losing parents, reconciling with the lost of parents, reflecting on that fact that some issues between the generations never got resolved (and now never will) and dealing with the inevitable, if sometimes humorous, medical questions, of our own aging process he is right on.

That list of issues further includes the whys and wherefores of a lifetime of frustration about artistic endeavors (or whatever road we traveled), the little question of immortality and the now really big question of how to get through to the next day. It is all there. I want to say that this is a man's CD, and as to subject matter and "feel" it is, but I think Brother Wainwright has captured many a dilemma that we can all, male and female, relate to. Hell, Rufus can sing to the kids, Loudon is ours. That is the "skinny" here from one "last man on earth" to another.
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One man, everyman
He is a bit of an everyman. Wainwright taps into the male mind. It isn't always pretty but it's always honest. Listen to "Donations": a guy with a few friends, who pleads with one of them to let the others know when he is gone, and leaves instructions for his body parts. It is both sad and funny; not easy to pull off. The first two songs are bookends:he's alone, he is 53, and he nudges into adulthood(finally and acknowledging that ,yes, he may be the one at fault). The title song is next to last and is defiant but resigned. Again, two emotions that are usually at odds but that he weaves together. A few of the songs, like "Graveyard" where he muses on how we all end up there are a bit sophomoric but don't detract from a great album by an evolving artist(although I would still like a few like "East Indian Princess". ).

Wainwright's best
Wainwright's best album ever. This is definitely Mr.

The music is great and the words to all of the songs are great.
I was surprised to see it further down the list of his bestselling CDs here at amazon.

I strongly recommend it to everyone who has hesitated in the past to buy one of his CDs.

This CD is especially special to the boomers. Don't know how else to word it.

The song where he visits a graveyard is really telling. He sings "I go to the graveyard, but I'll be back again" Great song because we all avoid thinking about the inevitable.

In "Homeless", he sings about no longer really having a home now that his mother has died. A very sad, but beautiful song.
He sings on "Last Man on Earth" about how the best things in life are worthless now because they are free. His words.
In that song he protests the present age of portfolios, SUVs, computers, e-mail, air-conditioning?, politicians, and about life in general.

In the song "I'm not gonna cry" you'd think it was some sad ballad about heartbreak, but it isn't.
Instead, he goes on to use almost all of the expressions we use about crying. examples: 96 tears, tears in your beer, crying over spilt milk and so on. A very creative and funny song with some great banjo and fiddle work there in the music.

The song "Surviving Twin", Loudon sings about how tired he is of being told how much he looks like his father.

Wainwright wrote the songs with all of the baby boomers exactly in mind.
Well I don't know if that is exactly true, but his life experiences, being a boomer himself, are our life experiences.

You will not be disappointed after listening to this CD.

Dora you can do it with all your pots and pans
Haven't bought a Loudon record for a long while, though I've seen him live a couple of times. I'll keep this short. I think the final track 'HOMELESS' is utterly beautiful, honest, painful, heartfelt. It is worth the purchase price for just this track. It is a very special piece of song writing from a unique and special artist.

A Final Disappointment
Maybe it's me -- I keep buying Wainwright expecting to see him re-capture the magic he had on albums like Album III and Unrequited. You all aren't going to be happy with me (press the unhelpful button all you like), but I just couldn't enjoy this album much beyond a couple of listens. You can't get better than "Dead Skunk" or "Red Guitar" or "New Paint" or "Mr. Guilty". Now it's like he tries too hard. The music is passable, but the lyrics -- though sometimes inspired -- too often seem forced. You see the rhymes coming from a mile away. This from the guy who came up with a gem like "You can feel it in your olfactory"? And it's the self-absorption apparent in all his songs that give you clues to all the failed relationships he has demoaned throughout his career. Anyway, that is my humble opinion.

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