Loudon Wainwright IIIAttempted Mustache

Sardonic, confessional folk that's funny one breath and emotionally naked the next. 'The Swimming Song' rolls along on deceptively simple banjo, courtesy of Kate McGarrigle, and became a summer standard. 'The Man Who Couldn't Cry' is a darkly comic tall tale Johnny Cash later covered, deadpan turning to gut-punch. Bob Johnston, fresh off Dylan and Cohen records, produced this 1973 set in Nashville with a loose, unfussy touch. Wainwright treats his own life as raw material and never flinches. Sharp, strange, and warmly human.