[.ca] Therapy

From Amazon.com:
Archetypal baby boomer, WASP troubadour, and fearless diarist Loudon Wainwright III cheerfully admits that his work is baldly autobiographical, and this 1989 chapter is among the liveliest and most emotionally complex installments. Who else could build a low-keyed country song that nails the title song's subject in every detail ("There is a nice big box of Kleenex/If you break down and start to bawl..."), acknowledging its curative potential while poking fun at the process? . Elsewhere, he sifts through parental relationships ("Your Father's Car"), music videos, one-night stands, and, on the album's most powerful song "Thanksgiving," dysfunctional families. That song, graced by Richard Thompson's beautifully restrained electric guitar, compresses a family's tangled emotional history into a single night, with the nuance and richness of a John Updike story. --Sam Sutherland

good but not his best:
I just wanted to add my 2 cents. I love Loudon & have all his albums, so I would recommend this to anybody, but I don't think it's his best. If you're a fan, you need this, because it's bound to have at least a few songs that will rank as favorites, & it's well-produced. Good but not great IMO. I'm not here to bust a good album, but I wanted to give a little balance to the other rave reviews here. If you're new, I for one would recommend History, Last Man on Earth, Career Moves, or the 1986 Best of.

This is one terrific album:
This album is one of Wainwright's very best - all of the songs are winners, although for different reasons. Some are cynical, some mean and sarcastic, many almost painfully revealing, and all of them are just plain great: funny, clever and ruthlessly honest. Wainwright writes intensely personal songs, and still they reflect universal experiences. Everyone has bought that "Bill of Goods" sometime in their lives, "Your Father's Car" is advice that everyone wishes they had known when they were twenty years old, and nothing captures the holiday spirit quite as well as "Thanksgiving." You will not be sorry you bought this CD.

Probably His Best Album:
I have almost every one of Wainwright's albums, and I would have to say that "Therapy" is arguably his best. At least, I've probably listened to it more than I have any of his other albums. Over the years, it never tires. I've probably listened to it 80 or 90 or 100 times. Not too shabby, considering its price. Highly recommended.

One of his best:
He's still making great music and this is a very good one. Classic Wainwright on tracks Therapy, This Year, Harry's wall. The lyrics are great, of course as ever, and the music and melodies are very strong!

Gem after priceless gem....:
As an album, it's simply great. LW3 has a way of making his very specific experiences reflect on the general state of man and this album exudes confidence and skill in a niche few others are brave enough to explore. As part of the canon, it marks (in my mind) the beginning of LW3's master status. The singer-songwriter's work is good prior to this (if uneven) but after this (with the albums "History", "Grown Man" and "Little Ship") you have a body of work that is close to perfection.

• Therapy
• Bill of Goods
• T.S.D.H.A.V.
• Harry's Wall
• Aphrodisiac
• Fly Paper
• Nice Guys
• Thanksgiving
• Your Father's Car
• Me and All the Other Mothers
• You Don't Want to Know
• Mind Read (It Belonged to You)
• This Year