40 Odd Years into an exceptionally prolific and storied career, Loudon Wainwright III is being celebrated with an aptly named career-spanning 4-CD/1-DVD box set, including a 40-page book, with an essay by renowned journalist/author David Wild and an introduction by filmmaker and box set co-producer Judd Apatow.

40 Odd Years features songs from throughout Wainwright s career, including works of brilliance such as "The Man Who Couldn t Cry" from 1973's Attempted Mustache, which Johnny Cash would record with producer Rick Rubin decades later, to the genuinely weird "Dead Skunk," which became a #16 pop hit and thus a true novelty in the Wainwright canon, to highlights from his most recent projects, including cuts from the Grammy®-winning album High Wide & Handsome: The Charlie Poole Project. The 3-hour-plus DVD includes an extremely rare documentary made for Dutch television entitled One Man Guy, numerous TV appearances (for the BBC, Saturday Night Live, Austin City Limits and others), as well as previously unreleased concert performances.

The New York-born Grammy-winning songwriter has traveled a remarkable path. Discovered by Atlantic s Nesuhi Ertegun and John Hammond, Sr., the Columbia A&R man who had already signed Bob Dylan and would soon sign Bruce Springsteen, Wainwright established his literary yet utterly unpretentious take on the grand folk music tradition right from the start. He also has a parallel career as an actor, which credits include M*A*S*H, Undeclared, Jacknife, 28 Days, Big Fish, The Aviator, Elizabethtown, The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up.

Track Listings:Grey in L.A.You Can't Fail Me NowDaughterYpsilantiSo Much to DoValley MorningX or YFinal FrontierFeel So GoodLullabyNaomiDoin' the MathStrange WeirdosPassion Play

Loudon’s 1971 debut prompted "new Dylan" hosannas from critics, but it quickly became apparent Loudon was not the new anything, but rather his own man entirely.

His unique take on these hard times largely written by himself, mostly sad, some funny & even some optimistic.

For nearly forty years Loudon Wainwright III has been one of America's most cherished music icons. His legendary wit and satirical genius have expanded his cultural reach from troubadour to silver screen regular. With his new album 'Recovery' he reaches back into the past and profoundly reclaims many of his most classic songs. Produced by Joe Henry, the project came about while the two were digging through some of Loudon's older albums. After listening, Loudon and Joe saw that the quality and breadth of the tunes were undiminished and decided to rework the songs with a team of studio heavyweights to add color to the previously spare material. On 'Recovery,' classics like 'School Days,' 'The Man Who Couldn't Cry' and 'Motel Blues' are fully flowered by veterans Greg Leisz, Patrick Warren, David Piltch and Jay Bellerose. A rare document of the changes nearly four decades can bring, 'Recovery' reinterprets songs Loudon first composed and performed in his early twenties. The album follows Loudon's last release, 'Strange Weirdos: Music from and Inspired by the Film Knocked Up' into one of the most unique catalogs in American music history.

UK pressing features a total of 21 total tracks. Music Club. 2004.

Wife Kate McGarrigle had just given birth to son (and future star) Rufus Wainwright when Loudon recorded this album in 1972, and you can hear some of his parental concerns surface on ‘Be Careful, There’s A Baby In The House’ along with the typical ruminations on suicide!