| Final Exam | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1978 | |||
| Studio | MZH Studios, New York City | |||
| Genre | Folk | |||
| Label | Arista | |||
| Producer | John Lissauer | |||
| Loudon Wainwright III chronology | ||||
| ||||
Final Exam is an album by the American musician Loudon Wainwright III, released in 1978. [1] He supported it with a North American tour. [2] The album was re-released on Telarc in 2007, coupled with his 1976 album, T Shirt . [3] In 1995, Wainwright acknowledged that it was his least favorite of his albums. [4]
The album was produced by John Lissauer. [5] Wainwright was backed by the band Slow Train. [6] "Pretty Little Martha" is a tribute to his daughter Martha Wainwright. [7] "Heaven and Mud" is about an attempt at sobriety. [8] "Golfin' Blues" is about the golfing life, in the style of a Delta blues song. [8] "Mr. Guilty" is a parody of the tropes of country music. [9] The title track is addressed to a high school student taking spring semester exams. [10]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [11] |
| Christgau's Record Guide | B+ [12] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [13] |
The New York Times wrote that Wainwright "deals primarily with a quirky kind of humor that seems almost to mask emotion." [14] The Commercial Appeal considered Final Exam to be Wainwright's best, writing that he "operates without the philosophical cleverness of Randy Newman, preferring instead to use a straightforward, crazed style to push his point across." [15] The Journal & Courier praised Wainwright's acoustic guitar playing. [16]
The Arizona Daily Star noted Wainwright's "mind like a steel trap ... a warped steel trap." [8] The Star Tribune opined that "the clever cynic ... has become a television sit-com writer." [17] The Morning Call determined that Wainwright "furthers his reputation as an unconventional, witty songwriter ... but there are no real standouts." [9]
In 1983, The Philadelphia Inquirer labeled the album "self-pitying and melodramatic." [18] Reviewing the reissue, Music Week deemed it an "enjoyable [fusion] of his more traditional folk style with a harder, rockier edge." [19]
All tracks composed by Loudon Wainwright III
with:
Loudon Snowden Wainwright III is an American singer-songwriter and occasional actor. He has released twenty-six studio albums, four live albums, and six compilations. Some of his best-known songs include "The Swimming Song", "Motel Blues", "The Man Who Couldn't Cry", "Dead Skunk", and "Lullaby". In 2007, he collaborated with musician Joe Henry to create the soundtrack for Judd Apatow's film Knocked Up. In addition to music, he has acted in small roles in at least eighteen television programs and feature films, including three episodes in the third season of the series M*A*S*H.
Rufus Wainwright is the debut studio album by Canadian-American singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright, released in the United States on May 19, 1998, through DreamWorks Records. The album was produced by Jon Brion, with the exception of "In My Arms", which was produced and mixed by Pierre Marchand, and "Millbrook" and "Baby", which were produced by Brion and Van Dyke Parks. Lenny Waronker was the album's executive producer.
Album II is the second album by Loudon Wainwright III. It was released in 1971 by Atlantic Records.
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'"?
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.
A Live One is a live album by American singer-songwriter Loudon Wainwright III. The live performances included on the album were recorded on a tour of the British Isles in 1976 and at McCabe's in Los Angeles in 1978. It was released in 1979 on Rounder Records.
Fame and Wealth is an album by the American musician Loudon Wainwright III, released in 1983.
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'.
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.
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.
History is an album by the American musician Loudon Wainwright III, released in 1992 on Charisma Records. Wainwright supported the album with North American and European tours.
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.
Little Ship is an album by the American singer-songwriter Loudon Wainwright III, released in 1998 on Virgin Records/Charisma Records. According to Wainwright, the album "focuses primarily on the theme of a relationship. In terms of the other records, I don't know how or why I would place it somewhere except that it's the newest."
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.
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"
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'.
Recovery is the nineteenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Loudon Wainwright III, released on August 19, 2008 on Yep Roc Records. The songs are "re-covers" from his first four albums: Loudon Wainwright III (1970), Album II (1971), Album III (1972) and Attempted Mustache (1973).
Places I Have Never Been is an album by the American musician Willie Nile, released in 1991. It was Nile's first album in 10 years, as legal and personal issues prevented him from putting out music. Nile supported the album with a North American tour.
Older Than My Old Man Now is the twenty-second studio album by American singer-songwriter Loudon Wainwright III, released on April 17, 2012, on 2nd Story Sound Records. Described as "a gleefully morbid summing up of [Wainwright's] life in which he ponders childhood, family history, aging and death," the album is produced by High Wide & Handsome: The Charlie Poole Project (2009) collaborator Dick Connette, and features contributions from each of Wainwright's children.
This is a discography of American songwriter, folk singer, humorist, and actor Loudon Wainwright III.
