T Shirt (album)

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T Shirt
TShirtalbumcover.jpg
Studio album by
Loudon Wainwright III
ReleasedMay 1976[1]
StudioRecord Plant, New York City
GenreFolk
LabelArista
ProducerLoudon Wainwright III
Loudon Wainwright III chronology
Unrequited
(1975) 		T Shirt
(1976) 		Final Exam
(1978)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic3/5 stars[2]
Christgau's Record GuideB+[3]

T Shirt is a 1976 album by Loudon Wainwright III. Unlike his earlier records, this (and the subsequent Final Exam) saw Wainwright adopt a full blown rock band (Slowtrain) - though there are acoustic songs on T Shirt, including a talking blues. According to Wainwright on the 2006 CD liner notes, it received a scathing review from Rolling Stone which depressed him so much he stayed in bed for five days. By the early 1990s, he disowned the album in a radio interview broadcast in Australia. However, by the time of the CD remaster (which included Final Exam) he admitted to a much more sympathetic view of the album(s), which he referred to as his 'puppies'.[citation needed]

Track listing[]

All tracks composed by Loudon Wainwright III; except where indicated

  1. "Bicentennial"
  2. "Summer's Almost Over"
  3. "Hollywood Hopeful" (Traditional; arranged and adapted by Loudon Wainwright III)
  4. "Reciprocity"
  5. "At Both Ends"
  6. "Wine with Dinner"
  7. "Hey Packy" (George Gerdes)
  8. "California Prison Blues"
  9. "Talking Big Apple '75"
  10. "Prince Hal's Dirge"
  11. "Just Like President Thieu"
  12. "Wine with Dinner (Night Cap)"

Personnel[]

Musicians[]

  • Loudon Wainwright III - guitar, banjo, bells, vocals
  • Richard Davis - bass
  • Hank Jones - keyboards[4]
  • David Sanborn - saxophone
  • Marvin Stamm - cornet, trumpet
  • Jimmy Maelen - congas
  • Elliott Randall - electric guitar
  • David Taylor - bass trombone
  • Eric Weissberg - banjo
  • Charles Brown III - electric guitar
  • Jeanie Arnold - vocals
  • Jon Cobert - piano
  • Joe Cocuzzo - drums
  • Kenny Kosek - violin
  • Richard Crooks - drums, spoons
  • John Crowder - bass
  • Ron Getman - steel guitar
  • Don Hammond - alto recorder
  • Jimmy Iovine - backing vocals
  • Peter La Barbera - vibraphone
  • John Lissauer - clarinet, arrangements
  • George Marge - recorder
  • Irwin "Marky" Markowitz - cornet, trumpet
  • Charlie Messing - guitar, vocals
  • Gwynne Michaels - backing vocals
  • Glen Mitchell - clavinet, electric piano, organ
  • Paul Prestopino, Maggie & Terre Roche - vocals
  • Christie Thompson - backing vocals
  • Stephen Tubin - organ, piano, synthesizer
  • Joanne Vent - backing vocals

Technical[]

  • Jimmy Iovine - engineer, mixing
  • Benno Friedman - cover photography

Release history[]

  • LP: Arista AL4063 (U.S.)
  • LP: Arista RTY127 (UK)
  • CD: Arcadia ACAD 8142 (2 CD with Final Exam (U.S. 2007)

References[]

  1. ^ "Loudon Wainwright III". Associated Entertainment. Archived from the original on January 17, 2013. Retrieved April 26, 2011.
  2. ^ Allmusic review
  3. ^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: W". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 21, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  4. ^ https://www.allmusic.com/artist/hank-jones-mn0000558339
  1. "Prince Hals Dirge" is a reference to Henry IV, Part II by Shakespeare
  2. "Just Like President Thieu" references South Vietnam's recently deposed Prime Minister Nguyễn Văn Thiệu
  3. "Bicentennial" is a sarcastic reference to the United States's upcoming 'birthday', where Wainwright celebrates heroes like Jack Ruby
  4. "California Prison Blues" is a time capsule, referencing Charles Manson, 'Squeaky' Lynette Fromme, Patty Hearst (and her father), Timothy Leary, and Eldridge Cleaver.
  5. "Wine with Dinner" mentions Dean Martin and Foster Brooks
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