At 65, Loudon Wainwright III is older than his father ever was, and it’s got him thinking, and writing, and singing. His new album ‘Older Than My Old Man Now’ (April 17/2nd Story Sound Records) is a collection of fifteen original songs in which Loudon sizes up his own tangled life and family history and mortality in general with unflinching candor and humor.
“Contemporaries of mine have recently taken to writing memoirs and autobiographies. I decided I would try to tell the story of my swinging life in a 3 and a 1/2 minute song,” says Loudon of “The Here & the Now,” the album’s first track.
Truly a family affair, ‘Older Than My Old Man Now’ features contributions from all four of Loudon’s children – Rufus and Martha Wainwright, Lucy Wainwright Roche and Lexie Kelly Wainwright – as well as two of their three mothers, Suzzy Roche and Ritamarie Kelly. Also included are recitations of passages written by Loudon Wainwright Jr., Loudon’s father and famous LIFE Magazine columnist, and a recording of “Over The Hill,” the only song Loudon co-wrote with his first wife, the late great Kate McGarrigle.
“One voice singing a lot about death n’ decay can be a bit wearing so I brought in other singers to help with the heavy lifting,” says Loudon. Other guests include Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Dame Edna Everage, John Scofield and Chris Smither.
Loudon was awarded a GRAMMY for his 2009 release, ‘High Wide & Handsome – The Charlie Poole Project.’ He is also an accomplished actor and has appeared in films directed by Martin Scorsese, Judd Apatow, Tim Burton, and Cameron Crowe.
He will tour this spring and perform a headlining show in NYC at Town Hall on May 18, joined by family and friends. Go here for tickets – http://bit.ly/yiEBrp
Track list:
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
