Personnel: Loudon Wainwright III (vocals, guitar); Chaim Tannenbaum (vocals, banjo, harmonica); David Mansfield (fiddle, dobro, mandolin).
Producers: Jeffrey Lesser, Loudon Wainwright III.
Engineers: Jeffrey Lesser, Kooster McAllister.
Recorded live at The Bottom Line, New York on January 8, 1993. Includes liner notes by Loudon Wainwright III.
A dozen years after his first live release (A LIVE ONE), Loudon Wainwright released this excellent set. As with its predecessor, the album is an exemplary look at Wainwright's career up to the point of the album's release. CAREER MOVES is a generous helping of 19 songs, and includes six new ones. The album was recorded on a single night at one of his regular and favored venues, New York City's Bottom Line, and benefits from the contributions of multi-instrumentalists Chaim Tannenbaum and David Mansfield.
Throughout, Wainwright's casual ease shines through as he toys with his own songs and jokes with the audience. With a wealth of material to draw from, he offers old favorites such as "The Swimming Song" and "The Man Who Couldn't Cry" (which Johnny Cash covered, closing his AMERICAN RECORDINGS the following year), and obscurities like "The Acid Song." He especially shines on delicately emotional autobiographical numbers like "Westchester County," "Five Years Old," "April Fool's Day Morn." CAREER MOVES is an excellent introduction to Wainwright's work, as well as an engaging set for those already familiar. minimize