Album III

Last updated
Album III
AlbumIIIalbumcover.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedJune 15, 1972 (June 15, 1972)
StudioMarquee Studios, London
Genre Folk
Length32:19
Label Columbia
Producer Thomas Jefferson Kaye
Loudon Wainwright III chronology
Album II
(1971)
Album III
(1972)
Attempted Mustache
(1973)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [1]
Christgau's Record Guide A− [2]
Rolling Stone (favorable) [3]

Album III is the third full-length album from Loudon Wainwright III. It was originally released in 1972 on Columbia Records. Album III would spawn Loudon Wainwright's most popular hit single, "Dead Skunk", one of the many 'novelty songs' sprinkled throughout Wainwright's career. Although Wainwright has maintained an ironic, sometimes sepulchral sense of humor, "Dead Skunk", despite its commercial success, has dogged him ever since, as he comments on 1985's album I'm Alright , "Were you embarrassed about 'Dead Skunk'"?

Contents

This is the first of his albums to feature a full backing band, on many tracks, which was named White Cloud. Wainwright mostly eschewed a rocking sound for a stripped down acoustic one from the early-1980s onwards.

Track listing

All tracks composed by Loudon Wainwright III except where noted.

  1. "Dead Skunk" – 3:05
  2. "Red Guitar" – 1:49
  3. "East Indian Princess" – 2:56
  4. "Muse Blues" – 2:53
  5. "Hometeam Crowd" – 1:49
  6. "B Side" – 2:26
  7. "Needless To Say" – 3:14
  8. "Smokey Joe's Cafe" (Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller) – 2:31
  9. "New Paint" – 3:00
  10. "Trilogy (Circa 1967)" – 3:11
  11. "Drinking Song" – 2:55
  12. "Say That You Love Me" – 2:30

Personnel

White Cloud consisted of Charles Brown III, Richard Crooks, Thomas Jefferson Kaye, Kenneth Kosek, Don Payne and Teddy Wender

Technical

Charts

Chart (1973)Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report) [4] 62

Release history

Related Research Articles

<i>Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole</i> 2005 EP by Martha Wainwright

Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole is a five track EP by Martha Wainwright. It was released in January 2005 through both Zoë Records and Drowned in Sound.

<i>Loudon Wainwright III</i> (album) 1970 studio album by Loudon Wainwright III

Loudon Wainwright III is the debut album of Loudon Wainwright III. It was released on vinyl in 1970 on Atlantic Records. Like his second effort Album II, the album is a solo acoustic effort. Though his ironic sense of humour is evident, this is an altogether bleaker and more acerbic album than most of his 1970s work.

<i>Album II</i> (Loudon Wainwright III album) 1971 studio album by Loudon Wainwright III

Album II, as its title indicates, is the second album from Loudon Wainwright III. It was released in 1971 on Atlantic Records.

<i>Attempted Mustache</i> 1973 studio album by Loudon Wainwright III

Attempted Mustache is the fourth album from Loudon Wainwright III. It was recorded in Nashville, Tennessee with producer Bob Johnston and was released in 1973 on Columbia Records.

<i>Unrequited</i> (album) 1975 studio album by Loudon Wainwright III

Unrequited is the fifth album from Loudon Wainwright III. It was his last album on the Columbia Records label, released in 1975. Tracks 1–7 were recorded in a studio, while tracks 8–14 were recorded live at The Bottom Line in New York City. Tracks 15–17 are bonus tracks included on the Sony-Legacy CD reissue.

<i>Fame and Wealth</i> 1983 studio album by Loudon Wainwright III

Fame and Wealth is a 1983 album by Loudon Wainwright III. It was released on Rounder Records. After a five-year hiatus since Final Exam, it eschewed the rock sound of his later 1970s albums in favour of a stripped-down, wirier folk sound which would typify his recorded output from then on.

<i>Im Alright</i> (Loudon Wainwright III album) 1985 studio album by Loudon Wainwright III

I'm Alright is a 1985 album by Loudon Wainwright III. It was his third release on Rounder Records, recorded in London. It was produced by Richard Thompson, who also played electric lead guitar on several songs. The back cover features a photo of the two together, captioned 'Loud and Rich'.

<i>More Love Songs</i> 1986 studio album by Loudon Wainwright III

More Love Songs is a 1986 album by Loudon Wainwright III released on Rounder Records. Wainwright had moved to England, and this was the second album produced by Richard Thompson. Critically and popularly it is probably considered the peak of his 1980s renaissance. After three albums in four years, it would be another three years before he released the largely ignored Therapy. The album was nominated for the "Best Contemporary Folk Recording" Grammy.

<i>Therapy</i> (Loudon Wainwright III album) 1989 studio album by Loudon Wainwright III

Therapy is a 1989 album by Loudon Wainwright III. It followed a three-year hiatus, during which Wainwright moved from England back to the USA. Compared with those two, Therapy was not well received, but outstanding tracks have subsequently appeared on live albums.

<i>Grown Man</i> 1995 studio album by Loudon Wainwright III

Grown Man is an album by the American singer-songwriter Loudon Wainwright III, released on October 2, 1995, on Virgin Records. The release is generally considered less stark and somewhat more humorous that its predecessor, History.

<i>Social Studies</i> (Loudon Wainwright III album) 1999 studio album by Loudon Wainwright III

Social Studies is a studio album by Loudon Wainwright III, released in 1999. The album comprises various topical and satirical songs, originally produced for National Public Radio and based upon then-current issues and events, such as the Tonya Harding scandal, the O. J. Simpson murder trial, the lead-up to Y2K, and controversies surrounding comments made by former Republican U.S. Senator Jesse Helms.

<i>Here Come the Choppers</i> 2005 studio album by Loudon Wainwright III

Here Come the Choppers is a 2005 album by Loudon Wainwright III. The title track is an acerbic and blackly humorous reference to the Iraq War, reset in southern California's Miracle Mile.

"The inspectors found nothing
That’s just not right
Whole Foods and Kmart
Are targets tonight"

<i>T Shirt</i> (album) 1976 studio album by Loudon Wainwright III

T Shirt is a 1976 album by Loudon Wainwright III. Unlike his earlier records, this saw Wainwright adopt a full blown rock band (Slowtrain) - though there are acoustic songs on T Shirt, including a talking blues. According to Wainwright on the 2006 CD liner notes, it received a scathing review from Rolling Stone which depressed him so much he stayed in bed for five days. By the early 1990s, he disowned the album in a radio interview broadcast in Australia. However, by the time of the CD remaster he admitted to a much more sympathetic view of the album(s), which he referred to as his 'puppies'.

<i>Final Exam</i> (album) 1978 studio album by Loudon Wainwright III

Final Exam is a 1978 album by Loudon Wainwright III. It was re-released on Telarc in 2006 at the time of his European tour as a double-disk album, coupled with his 1976 album T Shirt.

<i>Keep On Doing</i> 1982 studio album by The Roches

Keep On Doing is the third studio album by the folk trio the Roches, released in 1982 on Warner Bros. Records. It is their second collaboration with Robert Fripp, following their 1979 debut album.

Dead Skunk 1972 single by Loudon Wainwright III

"Dead Skunk" is a 1972 novelty song by Loudon Wainwright III. Released as a single in November 1972, it eventually peaked at number 16 on the Billboard charts on March 31, 1973. The song appears on Wainright's 1972 album Album III.

Thomas Jefferson Kontos, also known as Tommy Kontos or Tommy Kaye, was an American record producer, singer-songwriter and musician. He collaborated with The Shirelles, Loudon Wainwright III, and Gene Clark, and also recorded solo albums.

<i>Sing Me the Songs: Celebrating the Works of Kate McGarrigle</i> 2013 compilation album by various artists

Sing Me the Songs: Celebrating the Works of Kate McGarrigle is a two-disc compilation tribute album to Canadian singer-songwriter Kate McGarrigle, released by Nonesuch Records in June 2013.

Ronald Dean Cornelius was a session musician and producer who has played on albums by Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, Al Kooper and Loudon Wainwright III. He was also the president of Gateway Entertainment which was established in 1986. As a producer he has produced Miko Marks's Freeway Bound album in 2007. He is also the co-writer of "Chelsea Hotel No. 2", which has been covered by many artists including Rufus Wainwright.

Donald Ray Payne was an American jazz double-bassist and electric bassist.

References

  1. Album III at AllMusic
  2. Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: W". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies . Ticknor & Fields. ISBN   089919026X . Retrieved March 21, 2019 via robertchristgau.com.
  3. Rolling Stone [ dead link ]
  4. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 331. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.