T Shirt (album)

Last updated
T Shirt
TShirtalbumcover.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedMay 1976 [1]
Studio Record Plant, New York City
Genre Folk
Label Arista
Producer Loudon Wainwright III
Loudon Wainwright III chronology
Unrequited
(1975)
T Shirt
(1976)
Final Exam
(1978)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [2]
Christgau's Record Guide B+ [3]

T Shirt is a 1976 album by Loudon Wainwright III. Unlike his earlier records, this (and the subsequent Final Exam) 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 (which included Final Exam) he admitted to a much more sympathetic view of the album(s), which he referred to as his 'puppies'.[ citation needed ]

Contents

Track listing

All tracks composed by Loudon Wainwright III; except where indicated

  1. "Bicentennial"
  2. "Summer's Almost Over"
  3. "Hollywood Hopeful" (Traditional; arranged and adapted by Loudon Wainwright III)
  4. "Reciprocity"
  5. "At Both Ends"
  6. "Wine with Dinner"
  7. "Hey Packy" (George Gerdes)
  8. "California Prison Blues"
  9. "Talking Big Apple '75"
  10. "Prince Hal's Dirge"
  11. "Just Like President Thieu"
  12. "Wine with Dinner (Night Cap)"

Personnel

Musicians

Technical

  • Jimmy Iovine - engineer, mixing
  • Benno Friedman - cover photography

Release history

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References

  1. "Loudon Wainwright III". Associated Entertainment. Archived from the original on January 17, 2013. Retrieved April 26, 2011.
  2. Allmusic review
  3. 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.
  4. "Hank Jones Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More". AllMusic .
  1. "Prince Hals Dirge" is a reference to Henry IV, Part II by Shakespeare
  2. "Just Like President Thieu" references South Vietnam's recently deposed Prime Minister Nguyễn Văn Thiệu
  3. "Bicentennial" is a sarcastic reference to the United States's upcoming 'birthday', where Wainwright celebrates heroes like Jack Ruby
  4. "California Prison Blues" is a time capsule, referencing Charles Manson, 'Squeaky' Lynette Fromme, Patty Hearst (and her father), Timothy Leary, and Eldridge Cleaver.
  5. "Wine with Dinner" mentions Dean Martin and Foster Brooks