Essential Recordings: One Man Guy

Loudon Wainwright III has been making records for nearly 40 years, and has earned himself a special place in the American Songbook. One can search endlessly for the right words to describe Wainwright's music: honest, witty, brutal, humorous, wry, devastating. While he has run the gamut, often thematically and occasionally sonically, there is one ineffable quality that ties all his songs together: they're unmistakably "Loudon." Here we have selected 10 songs from his Rounder years, songs that cut to the core of what makes his music unique. Many are at once vicious and sensitive, some both poignant and academic. All are unmistakably Loudon.