John D Loudermilk - The Open Mind Of John D Loudermilk

This Open Mind is a real curiosity. Best known for writing Tobacco Road and a number of other hits on both sides of the Atlantic, this is the 35-year-old Loudermilk’s somewhat overconfident take on the state of the world in 1969. It’s all kids, fads, drugs, music, TV, religion, war, racism and, yes, unswept pavements. Oddly enough, while Loudermilk is too old and becardiganed to be a Dylan, his ‘suburban attitudes in country verse’ are full of big ideas and some brilliant tunes, totally unconcerned with genre boundaries or the effect of one too many smartarse lines. Moments of real joy and/or gravity (Tobacco Road, To Ann, Laura, Brown Girl, War Babies) are undermined by trivia and nods and winks, even if they are just floating in from adjoining songs. And then there are the lengthy explanatory essays in the sleevenotes. Ultimately more enjoyable than frustrating, this should hit big with Loudon Wainwright fans.