Older Than My Old Man Now

Last updated

Older Than My Old Man Now
Olderthanmyoldmannow.jpg
Studio album by
Loudon Wainwright III
ReleasedApril 17, 2012
Genre Folk
Label 2nd Story Sound Records
Producer Dick Connette
Loudon Wainwright III chronology
10 Songs for the New Depression
(2010)		Older Than My Old Man Now
(2012)		 Haven't Got the Blues (Yet)
(2014)

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," [1] 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.

Contents

The album's title alludes to Wainwright's father, Loudon Wainwright, Jr., who was aged sixty-three upon his death. Upon the album's release, Wainwright noted, "When you’re sixty-five, everything seems to be somewhat in the rear-view, or at least in the side-view. Well, not everything, and hopefully your windshield wipers are still working." [2]

Writing and composition

Regarding one of the album's most prominent themes, death, Wainwright noted, "I'm also old enough to have a lot of friends that have died already, people I knew and was close to. The mother of my first two kids, Kate McGarrigle, died a couple of years ago. Friends, parents. So it becomes a powerful part of your life as you get older." [2] Wainwright elaborated, "The whole album is about, in a sense, the handwriting on the wall for all of us, and that’s been the situation with the songs I've written throughout my career. Whether it’s declining powers or family skirmishes or too much hanging out in the bar, this is all material that I’m assuming my audience knows about, and is going through. Or if they’re not going through it at the time, they’ll eventually get there." [3]

Two of the songs from the album, "Older Than My Old Man Now" and "The Days That We Die", feature spoken word performances of prose written by Loudon Wainwright Jr. for Life magazine in the early 80s. Regarding his father's influence on Older Than My Old Man Now and the inclusion of his writing, Wainwright noted, "He died in 1988, and I have powerful memories of him. He was a huge presence in my life, and we had difficulties... very typical father-son oedipal clashes, but he was a remarkable guy, and a fine writer. And that’s why I was so excited to be able to include some of his writing on the record, to bring him into the record. Both of my parents are dead, and in a way they've become bigger than ever, more important than ever. I don’t know why that is; maybe because I’m headed down that road myself. There are lots of wonderful old folk songs about how you’re going to join your parents on the other side. That remains to be seen, of course. But yeah, I was very happy to have Loudon Wainwright Junior on my album." [3] Following the album's release, Wainwright subsequently added spoken word performances of his father's writing into his live shows.

The track "Over the Hill" – which previously appeared as a bonus track on the CD reissue of Wainwright's 1975 album, Unrequited – was initially a duet between Wainwright and his then-wife Kate McGarrigle, and appears here as a duet between Wainwright and his daughter Martha Wainwright. Wainwright stated, "Kate, who was the mother of my two older kids, was a very important person in my life. We didn’t hang out much in the last thirty years, but that doesn't diminish the effect that she had on me. And certainly when she died two years ago it had a powerful effect on me. She was a big person in my life." [3]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [4]
The A.V. Club A− [5]
The Guardian Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [6]
MSN Music (Expert Witness)A [7]
The New York Times positive [1]
The Independent Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [8]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [9]
Spin 8/10 [10]

Prior to the album's release, The New Yorker's Hendric Hertzberg stated, "Older Than My Old Man Now is uniformly excellent. It offers not only welcome consolation to those who (like me) are shocked to find ourselves in the relevant age cohort but also, I imagine, innocent amusement to those who — eventually, inevitably — will find themselves there one day, however improbable the prospect may seem at the moment." [11]

Track listing

  1. "The Here & the Now"
  2. "In C"
  3. "Older Than My Old Man Now"
  4. "Double Lifetime"
  5. "Date Line"
  6. "All in a Family"
  7. "My Meds"
  8. "Interlude"
  9. "Over the Hill"
  10. "Ghost Blues"
  11. "I Remember Sex"
  12. "Somebody Else"
  13. "The Days That We Die"
  14. "10"
  15. "Something's Out to Get Me"

Personnel

Musicians

The following musicians are confirmed to appear on the album: [12]

Recording personnel

Cover Photo

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rufus Wainwright</span> Canadian-American singer, songwriter and composer (born 1973)

Rufus McGarrigle Wainwright is a Canadian-American singer, songwriter, and composer. He has recorded eleven studio albums and numerous tracks on compilations and film soundtracks. He has also written two classical operas and set Shakespeare's sonnets to music for a theatre piece by Robert Wilson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loudon Wainwright III</span> American musician (born 1946)

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kate McGarrigle</span> Canadian singer-songwriter (1946–2010)

Kate McGarrigle was a Canadian folk music singer-songwriter, who wrote and performed as a duo with her sister Anna McGarrigle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kate & Anna McGarrigle</span> Canadian singer-songwriter duo

Kate McGarrigle and Anna McGarrigle were a duo of Canadian singer-songwriters from Quebec, who performed until Kate's death on January 18, 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martha Wainwright</span> Canadian musician

Martha Wainwright is a Canadian singer-songwriter and musician. She has released seven critically-acclaimed studio albums.

<i>Kate & Anna McGarrigle</i> (album) 1976 studio album by Kate & Anna McGarrigle

Kate & Anna McGarrigle is the debut album by Kate & Anna McGarrigle, released in January 1976. Guest musicians on the album include Lowell George, Bobby Keys, Jay Ungar, and Tony Levin as well as family and friends such as eldest sister Jane McGarrigle, Anna McGarrigle's husband Dane Lanken, and the siblings' old friend Chaim Tannenbaum.

<i>The McGarrigle Hour</i> 1998 studio album by Kate & Anna McGarrigle

The McGarrigle Hour is the eighth studio album by Kate & Anna McGarrigle, released on October 13, 1998.

<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>History</i> (Loudon Wainwright III album) 1992 studio album by Loudon Wainwright III

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.

<i>Last Man on Earth</i> (album) 2001 studio album by Loudon Wainwright III

Last Man on Earth is the sixteenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Loudon Wainwright III, released on September 24, 2001 on Red House Records. Recorded in the wake of Wainwright's mother's death and the collapse of a romantic relationship, the album thematically addresses feelings of grief and loneliness. In 2012, Wainwright noted, "Last Man on Earth was written right after my mother died, so a lot of the material on that record has to do with that momentous event. The life circle was present on a lot of those songs."

<i>High Wide & Handsome: The Charlie Poole Project</i> 2009 studio album by Loudon Wainwright III

High Wide & Handsome: The Charlie Poole Project is the 20th studio album by American singer-songwriter Loudon Wainwright III. The album, a double-CD released on August 18, 2009, on 2nd Story Sound, pays tribute to singer and banjo picker Charlie Poole (1892–1931). It features 30 tracks, including new versions of songs made popular by Poole from 1925 through 1930, as well as original songs on Poole's turbulent life by Wainwright and producer Dick Connette.

<i>40 Odd Years</i> 2011 box set by Loudon Wainwright III

40 Odd Years is a compilation box set by American singer-songwriter Loudon Wainwright III, released on May 3, 2011 on Shout! Factory. The set contains music from throughout Wainwright's career, alongside a DVD of live performances and documentary pieces. The collection is co-produced and curated by filmmaker Judd Apatow, who also writes an introduction in the liner notes.

<i>10 Songs for the New Depression</i> 2010 studio album by Loudon Wainwright III

10 Songs for the New Depression is the twenty-first studio album by American singer-songwriter Loudon Wainwright III, released in July 2010 through Proper Records. Released forty years following his first studio album, 10 Songs is Wainwright's first album since his Grammy Award-winning tribute project High Wide & Handsome: The Charlie Poole Project (2009). The concept album was inspired by the financial crisis of 2007–2008 and Great Recession, and features Wainwright backed by his own banjo, guitar and ukulele performances.

<i>House of Rufus</i> 2011 box set by Rufus Wainwright

House of Rufus is a collection of six studio albums, two live albums, four additional albums of previously unreleased material, and six DVDs recorded by Canadian-American singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright, reissued as a 19-disc box set in the United Kingdom on July 18, 2011. Wainwright's official site claimed that the collection "spans Rufus' entire career and represents the most complete collection of Rufus Wainwright recordings to date."

<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.

<i>Rufus Wainwright: Live from the Artists Den</i> 2014 live album by Rufus Wainwright

Rufus Wainwright: Live from the Artists Den is a live album by American-Canadian singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright, released by Artists Den Records and Universal Music Enterprises on March 3, 2014. The album was recorded at a concert on May 17, 2012 at the Church of the Ascension in Greenwich Village, New York City, which was originally filmed for the PBS program Live from the Artists Den.

<i>Songs in the Dark</i> (album) 2015 studio album by The Wainwright Sisters

Songs in the Dark is the debut album by the Wainwright Sisters, a singer-songwriter duo featuring the Canadian-American Martha Wainwright and her American half-sister Lucy Wainwright Roche. The album, released on November 13, 2015, includes lullabies that their mothers Kate McGarrigle and Suzzy Roche sang to them as children, plus songs by Woody Guthrie, Jimmie Rogers, and their father Loudon Wainwright III.

<i>Tell My Sister</i> 2011 box set by Kate & Anna McGarrigle

Tell My Sister is a three-disc compilation album consisting of songs recorded by Kate & Anna McGarrigle. It was released by Nonesuch Records as a box set on May 3, 2011, a year afters Kate's death. The first two discs contain Kate & Anna McGarrigle's first two albums, Kate & Anna McGarrigle and Dancer with Bruised Knees. The third disc comprises demos, including acoustic versions and other previously unreleased tracks.

<i>Lifetime Achievement</i> (album) 2022 studio album by Loudon Wainwright III

Lifetime Achievement is the twenty-fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter Loudon Wainwright III, released on August 19, 2022, on Proper Records. Co-produced by regular collaborators Dick Connette and Stewart Lerman, the album is Wainwright's first to feature original material since the release of Haven't Got the Blues (Yet) in 2014.

References

  1. 1 2 Holden, Stephen (April 2, 2012). "Albums by Rascal Flatts, Anita Wilson and Loudon Wainwright | The New York Times". The New York Times . Retrieved April 10, 2012.
  2. 1 2 Rabin, Nathan. "Set List: Loudon Wainwright III". theavclub.com. Archived from the original on April 19, 2012. Retrieved April 18, 2012.
  3. 1 2 3 "Interview: Loudon Wainwright III | the Stool Pigeon". Archived from the original on February 18, 2013. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  4. ↑ Jurek, Thom. "Older Than My Old Man Now – Loudon Wainwright III". AllMusic. Review. Retrieved April 21, 2012.
  5. ↑ Rabin, Nathin. "Loudon Wainwright III: Older Than My Old Man Now". theavclub.com. Retrieved April 18, 2012.
  6. ↑ Denselow, Robin (April 19, 2012). "Loudon Wainwright III: Older Than My Old Man Now – review". The Guardian . London. section G2, p. 25. Retrieved April 21, 2012.
  7. ↑ Christgau, Robert (April 20, 2012). "Loudon Wainwright III/Lee Ranaldo". MSN Music. Microsoft. Archived from the original on April 23, 2012. Retrieved April 21, 2012.
  8. ↑ Coleman, Nich (April 15, 2012). "Album: Loudon Wainwright III, Older Than My Old Man Now| The Independent". theindependent.co.uk. London. Retrieved April 18, 2012.
  9. ↑ Decurtis, Anthony. "Older Than My Old Man Now| Album Reviews | Rolling Stone". rollingstone.com. Retrieved April 18, 2012.
  10. ↑ Gehr, Richard (April 19, 2012). "Loudon Wainwright III, 'Older Than My Old Man Now' (Story Sound)". Spin . Retrieved April 21, 2012.
  11. ↑ Hertzberg, Hendrik. "Dame Edna and Lord Loudon | The New Yorker". The New Yorker . Retrieved April 9, 2012.
  12. ↑ "Older Than My Old Man Now". lwiii.com. Archived from the original on March 12, 2012. Retrieved April 9, 2012.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.