Album: Loudon Wainwright III, Older Than My Old Man Now (Proper)

LW3's dad was Loudon Wainwright Jr, a senior journalist at Life magazine. And we all know there comes a time in every chap's life when he has to face up to the reality of his old man, whether we like it (or him) or not. Just ask Rufus Wainwright.

What? Of course Rufus is on it. As are most of the people who've ever meant much to LW3, including daughters, ex-wives, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Chris Smither and Dame Edna Everage. Yes, that one. They duet on "I Remember Sex". And if you're thinking, "Well, that's going to be a barrell of laughs", then you'd be on the money. It is funny. But it is also touching, wise and not half as self-exculpatory as such exercises often are. It is, as you might expect, an album of Americana for grown-ups. You don't have to be dead, or even on the slippery slope, to appreciate that it's a rather beautiful thing.