Following on the heels of
History,
Career Moves gave
Loudon Wainwright III two of his best albums back to back.
Career Moves captures
Wainwright live at the Bottom Line in New York City, performing a sort of greatest-hits set and throwing in a few new songs as well. He goes through most of the concert alone with his guitar, bringing out multi-instrumentalists
Chaim Tannenbaum and David Mansfield for a few numbers midway through the concert. The material here is universally strong, mixing satire and silliness with serious looks at
Wainwright's personal life, his kids, his ex-wives, and his own life experiences. "Your Mother and I" is one of his greatest songs on one of his favorite topics, marital dissolution and its effect on children. "Tip That Waitress" should be in the repertoire of every struggling barroom musician. "The Acid Song" takes him over the top, and there is much laughter provided by songs like "Suddenly It's Christmas," "He Said She Said," and "T.S.M.N.W.A.," on which he bemoans the many ways his name has been misspelled through the years. There are also several examples of
Wainwright's poignant, bittersweet, autobiographical balladeering, and reprises of 21-year-old classics like "The Swimming Song" and "The Man Who Couldn't Cry." The between-song patter and asides show
Wainwright to be an entertaining standup comic, and the whole album provides lively evidence of his skills as a songsmith and live entertainer working an audience. ~ Jim Newsom