A new perspective on old songs

(Ross Halfin) On his new release, "Recovery," Loudon Wainwright III revisits 13 songs from his first few albums.

Loudon Wainwright III is having an intriguing second act. The veteran troubadour has cultivated a new fan base through his connection to film comedy titan Judd Apatow, appearing in his short-lived but much-loved series "Undeclared" and the films "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" and "Knocked Up." Wainwright, 62, supplied the soundtrack to the latter film, and it's one of the most vital releases of his nearly 40-year career. The 2007 disc, "Strange Weirdos," produced by fellow singer-songwriter Joe Henry, brims with Wainwright's incisive lyrics, the kind that make us laugh as they offer insight into the things we're trying to protect ourselves from. For his latest disc "Recovery," Wainwright reappraises his early years, when he was dubbed one of the "new Dylan" artists, by re-recording 13 tracks from his first few albums. We chatted with Wainwright - father to musicians Lucy, Martha, and Rufus - by phone from LA to discuss old songs, new meanings, and the nature of change.

Q. Joe Henry had the idea for this project. How did he pitch it to you?

A. The first song that Joe Henry ever played in public, he tells me, was the first song we recorded for "Recovery," "New Paint." He was 15 at the time and there's a line in that song - "If I was 16 again, I'd give my eyetooth" - so he was ahead of the curve so to speak. He was a fan and was familiar with that era. So he didn't pitch it any formal way. I think we talked about some of the songs and we thought, well, let's just try one. So we recorded "Motel Blues" and that felt good, and we just kept doing it. Eventually we wound up with 13 songs and had an album.

Q. Listening to the recordings side by side, the most striking difference is the sound of your voice. There was a real edge of almost panic in those early albums.

A. Yeah, I'm a different singer, there's no doubt about that, and I was, I suppose, in a bit of a panic. It's just the way that I sang. I was nervous and I was starting out and I was trying, like every young performer, to grab some attention. And I think my style of singing did that, it had a kind of keening intensity which struck people at the time.

Q. Do the songs mean something different to you at 62 than they did at 25?

A. There are some obvious differences. If you're singing "come up to my motel room and sleep with me" [from "Motel Blues"] at 25 that's one thing. If a 62-year-old is singing it, it has a certain, I guess, desperation and perhaps poignancy.

Q. Is it satisfying to revisit a song like "School Days," where you were reminiscing about high school in your early 20s, as an older man?

A. One of the things with the record that struck me when we were assembling it was that when I was 25, which was when I wrote most of these songs, I was obsessed with getting old. Now of course I am 62 and officially old, and it's interesting. [Laughs].

Q. Do you feel like you expected to feel when you were obsessing about it?

A. I think that's the point: I haven't changed that much. People don't change, I'm a believer in that. But things do change around you, including your own body and voice and all those incredible events that happen in the ensuing 40 years to everybody. So it's a different package, but what's inside of it is quite the same.

Q. Does that surprise you? Because a lot of people probably think they will change.

A. It was a little surprising. I think that most young people think maybe they will change, but it's taken all this time to find out that I haven't changed that much. It's a little disappointing. [Laughs]. But on the other hand, it's OK to be who you are.

Q. Your children have all become successful and unique working musicians. How proud are you that they chose to follow in your, and their mothers', footsteps?

A. I think it's great that they are great and doing well. I'm very proud that they're in the family business.

Q. Joe Henry and Judd Apatow are on record as having found you as teenagers. To what do you attribute your effect on young male minds?

A. I don't know what to make of it except that they have terrific taste.

Sarah Rodman can be reached at srodman@globe.com.