Last Man on Earth (album)

Last Man on Earth
Studio album by
ReleasedSeptember 24, 2001
RecordedShinebox Studios
GenreFolk rock
Length37:45
LabelRed House
ProducerStewart Lerman
Loudon Wainwright III chronology
Social Studies
(1999)
Last Man on Earth
(2001)
So Damn Happy
(2003)
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Last Man on Earth is the sixteenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Loudon Wainwright III, released on September 24, 2001 on Red House Records. Recorded in the wake of Wainwright's mother's death and the collapse of a romantic relationship, the album thematically addresses feelings of grief and loneliness. In 2012, Wainwright noted, "Last Man on Earth was written right after my mother died, so a lot of the material on that record has to do with that momentous event. The life circle was present on a lot of those songs."

Portions of the album also reflect upon Wainwright's troubled relationship with his father, Loudon Wainwright, Jr., a subject that has populated many of his earlier recordings. Last Man on Earth can be seen as a companion piece to his 1992 album, History, written after the death of his father.