Finest bittersweet, funny, heartwrenching folk ever, recorded live. Someone made a note on this CD “father of the famous Rufous”. Sorry but it’s the other way around: Louden has been a foundation folkie for over 35 years. Closest brush with fame was his novelty mid 70’s hit “dead skunk in the middle of the road”. He also made 3 appearances on various episodes of the brilliant first season of the hit sitcom M*A*S*H in 1972 (he was the “singing surgeon” who would appear with a guitar leading Hawkeye and Trapper et al in drunken sing alongs). His humor doesn’t end there. His stuff is decidedly funny, intelligent. But just when you think he’s only a big folkie joker, he spins you around and sinks a dagger of melancholy deep into your heart. Absolutely brilliant. All tracks are recorded in a live setting, includes audience laughter, applause, references to his kids and even a guest appearance by daughter Martha (sorry, no Rufous).
Watch FCCs on track 14. At least play track 7, a diss on the RIAA and downloading laws (“those metallica guys are all getting too fat”).

1) minor, dark, sad about “losing again”, bittersweet sad, jaded love, but stabs you out of the blue with a line like “no wonder people end up with pets”
2) title track, funny stuff, bitter
3) a cappela, brilliant
4) fiddle joins guitar, beautiful ode to youth, memories, siblings, fucking amazing
5) upbeat, fast delivery, about having your brain get fuzzy with cobwebs
6) “there’ll be lots of drinking in heaven, smoking and eating and sex”…!!!
7) “go ahead and download me, see if I care …its okay to steal cuz its so nice to share”..yes a great ode to the absurdity of the illegality of downloading…THIS IS A MUST PLAY
8) piano and slide add to somberness, sad, depressing song about existence, bordering on suicidal (holy crap!) like only LWIII could do, stunning
9) great song about growing up relatively rich in NYC bedroom community, sweet
10) ahh, THE BEST, a rundown about my favorite trailer trash girl, TANYA HARDING, complete with a great spoken intro this is really a commentary on how fucked up Olympic figure skating has become due to corporate sponsorship and money
11) not very thinly veiled love song to his daughter Martha, parental guilt of not being involved in her childhood as much as he wanted to/should have
12) speak of the devil, a duet sung with daughter Martha, bluesy sassy upbeat
13) more stuff on childhood experiences, fucked up families, FCC warning “shit”
14) “I look like shit”, brilliant but FCC ridden with “shits” that are very easily edited if you just give a close listen, near end “time flies when you FUCK around…shit comes in different colors” fucking hilarious!!! Cut after music as he says the name of the song to applause
15) old age, sadness, Greg Brown would be very humbled by this one
16) a musician “road warrior” ballad
17) song about men, war, sacrifice