Album: Loudon Wainwright III, Recovery (Yep Roc)

We'd all like to go back to our twenties and do them again, wouldn't we? If you're a venerable musician you can do just that.

Here's bitter old Loudon re-recording his beginnings in the early 1970s, re-envisioning the loused-up feelings he wrestled with when his hair was thick, and so were many Americans. He likens the experience to "archaeology". Hmm. The question for the listener is, does the dig bring anything new to light? If you don't know these songs, they sound both lively and patinated (Joe Henry's production is as deft as LW's use of lingo); and if you do... well, you'll have your own journey to consider.

Pick of the Album: 'Saw Your Name in the Paper': wisdom of the ages