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Barnes and Noble

The Last Man on Earth

Current price: $17.99
The Last Man on Earth
The Last Man on Earth

Barnes and Noble

The Last Man on Earth

Current price: $17.99
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In the years since his breakthrough masterpiece,
History
,
Loudon Wainwright III
has coasted on craftsmanship and loutish charm. The autobiographical tales of love and family on
Grown Man
and
Little Ship
bypassed the heart and gut in favor of the brain and funny bone. The themes were familiar; the emotions seemed played-out. What a difference suffering can make. Written after the death of his mother,
Last Man on Earth
is a brilliant return to form. It isn't as earthy or direct an album as
. Strings and
doo wop
background vocals occasionally adorn the arrangements, and
Wainwright
's phrasing has become fussy. He often insists on pronouncing two full words when a contraction would better suit the rhythm of the song. A mannered presentation, however, cannot cover up the depth of his soul-searching. The three opening songs (
"Missing You,"
"Living Alone,"
and the ingenious
"White Winos"
) add up to an exploration of loneliness as nuanced and poignant as any in popular music. The title track expands on the same sentiments, turning
's disdain of cell phones and the Internet into a commentary on isolation. And there could be no more appropriate ending to an album released in the wake of September 11, 2001, than the final lines of
"Homeless"
: "Now I feel like I'm homeless/But I will be alright/I'll get through the days/I'll face down the night." It takes an exceptional artist to make an expression of personal sorrow seem relevant in a time of national crisis.
Loudon Wainwright
is an exceptional artist. ~ Daniel Browne

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Barnes & Noble does business -- big business -- by the book. As the #1 bookseller in the US, it operates about 720 Barnes & Noble superstores (selling books, music, movies, and gifts) throughout all 50 US states and Washington, DC. The stores are typically 10,000 to 60,000 sq. ft. and stock between 60,000 and 200,000 book titles. Many of its locations contain Starbucks cafes, as well as music departments that carry more than 30,000 titles.

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