Rufus Wainwright - Classic or Dud?

I definitely prefer the first album to the second one, love the Van Dyke Parks strings on "Foolish Love" and "Millbrook." Poses is good, but it has his first truly abysmal song, "Shadows". Sounds like the some awful K.D. Lang adult contemporary outtake. I heard he wrote it with the Propellerheads guy, let's blame him. I wonder how he'll pull off playing for arena size crowds at Wotapalava? Maybe they'll have him and the Magnetic Fields on a smaller stage.

I used to hate his voice, reminded me too much of Gordon Gano from the Violent Femmes, but now I love it. Maybe that's what's bugging you, Anthony.

And you like Martha Wainwright? I saw her about three years ago and didn't care for her much. It was rambling storytelling folk stuff without much focus, kind of Jewel-ish. But she was probably about nineteen. What's she like now?

But then I got back to the UK, and a friend *made* me listen to a CD, and I was utterly charmed. There really was something magical, and warm, and lush to the arrangements, the melodies were jaunty and pretty, and the lyrics trod just the right balance between being "too clever by half" and being disarmingly charming.

So I gave him a second chance, and I was well rewarded

And he has great trousers.

(To answer your previous question, Anthony - not a cult of marcel, but more of an absurdist junior league.)

He writes great songs, he uses great arrangements, he gets the best production money can buy (Alex Gifford Poses PropellorheadZ production surprise!). Live he is a treat, a true drama princess in the best old-school mold. If only he could sing like Freddy Mercury he would be godlike, but perhaps that is the beauty mark.

"April Fool" = classic

his voice = classic

I think he should be leading the Strokes.

(a) He's been to an ILX FAP! Okay, not really. But last February, when Ned and I were in New York, we were walking from one bar to another in the early evening and I very nearly bumped into Rufus. No one else really noticed: a few steps later I said "hey, everyone, that was Rufus Wainwright just then!" and then Ned threatened to go back and beat him up, which slightly lowered my opinion of Ned (sorry Ned but he's just wonderful!).

(b) Is it just me or are people starting to sing like him now? That Walkmen single features some Rufus-izing (in the phrasing and voice modulation) that's pretty out of proportion to a lot of the rest of the album, and I heard something at a cafe the other day that was trying on Rufus's vocal clothes for size.

He has been recording here in London, but I forgot to ask him where or with who. And he was a very engaging interviewee. ALL cute gay boys I know claim him as one of their own.

I'm a sucker for his kind of thing.

My opinion remains unchanged. ;-)

And I love the line about being "drunk and wearing flip-flops on 5th avenue." Is that rock-bottom or just a charming little low?

and about the ny citing - does he live there now¿ i thought he was a montreal boy still.

Agreed, absolutely gorgeous.

pshhh musicians should learn on the job imo. the idea of woodshedding in private for some magical moment when you're "ready" is foreign to me.

Never said this!

"not ready to record" /= "shouldn't have recorded it"

eh when you say premature "pushing" was involved it sounds negative. in any event imo his aesthetic and his sensibility as a lyricist and melodist were pretty well formed by '98 and there's not really that much of a difference between his stuff then and his stuff now, so i have no idea where you're even coming from.

Aesthetic – formed, craftsmanship – still had a way to go.

song for song Poses is the stronger record, maybe the one least afflicted with what lex called stretches of...blahhhh

Sings with his mouth shut DUD

I like his voice. He has songs in the key of me

I've noticed the stretches of blah. I liked "Little Sister" because it was stark contrast from a lot of blah, not that it's a favorite of mine. Poses is my favorite album by him

after three full listens I agree with the enthusiasm for the album. Keepers: ""Montauk," "Out of the Game," "Bitter Tears," "Jericho."

Making of:

http://www.nowness.com/day/2012/5/5/2130/rufus-wainwright-bitter-tears

I love this thing -- one of the year's best. Never thought I'd say it again about a Wainwright record.

I love this as well, and playing it continuously.

I can't quite pin down what it reminds me of exactly, but it has a nostalgic feel that takes me back to the 70s.

On first listen I was entirely underwhelmed. Much more soft rock than pop. And it's not the sort of soft rock that I find moving ('Art Teacher' was moving).

I really like this new one and I haven't even been remotely excited for him since the Want One/Two days. I love the 70s AM rock touches, I think they work pretty well. Kinda wish he'd lay off the gospel backing choirs on some of these though.

huh, had no idea that Nels Cline plays on this album, i wonder what tracks.

to have been a fly on the studio wall when rufus recorded william shatner reading sonnet 129

Enjoying the new album, maybe more than I was expecting to.

So.. this album and Release The Stars are really good, despite critical consensus that they are really not good

Are people saying the new album isn’t good? That’s a damned lie. It’s not his best but it’s an absolute pleasure to listen to.

I've always had to adjust to his voice like a car adjusting to new air tire pressure

When I was in my early 20s I had a fantasy that I would one day meet him and say "your songs start and immediately you start singing and then you continue singing right up until the moment the song ends and it doesn't always have to be this way" but I learned pretty quickly that even close friends don't listen to criticism

In my head I am scripting a short film around the above exchange

lol fgti I'm never gonna unhear that now

His first album is absolutely glorious. Haven’t really dug anything else for some reason.

Poses is its superior but I've got emotional attachments to the debut.

I never liked the debut but think Poses onward is pretty untouchable

He’s not especially “for me”— I adore Martha tho— but certain moments (“The Art Teacher”) knock me flat

I always feel a bit guilty that his version of "One Man Guy" is maybe the recording of his I return to most regularly (even though LWIII's own stuff leaves me totally cold from what I've heard)

Debut, Poses, and Want One are all classics to me. Subsequent proper albums are all good or great. And his tangents—Judy covers, opera, sonnets—are so wild that I respect the guy for going for what he’s passionate about even if I don’t love it.

Prefer Martha usually (Lucy's most recent solo alb was pretty amazing, though solo live sets I've heard seem oddly self-effacing, esp considering those of her relatives who have NO PROB coming out shells)*. Was thinking there was a more gathering of the tribes/family tree thread, but didn't find it, so here's this:
Siblings Rufus, Martha and Lucy Wainwright bring their beloved Christmas show ‘A Not So Silent Night – Virtually Together’ to a global audience for the first time streaming live on veeps.com on December 20th at 12PM PST, 3PM EST, 8PM GMT from Los Angeles, Montreal and New York. They will be joined by aunts, mothers, fathers, nieces, cousins, sons and daughters of the acclaimed musical clans of the Wainwrights, McGarrigles and Roches.

First performed in 2005, this holiday celebration is equal parts concert and family reunion. Due to COVID-19, this year the family reunion will be a virtual one with different strands of the family and musicians coming together in Rufus’ living room in his home in Laurel Canyon in Los Angeles, Martha’s arts and community center “Ursa” on Montreal’s Parc Avenue, and City Winery in New York for Lucy Wainwright Roche and her mother Suzzy Roche and their dad Loudon Wainwright III. The live stream will switch between these three locations and take this family tradition to its roots back to Rufus’ and Martha’s childhood where they would perform Christmas carols and songs with their grandmother, mother, aunts and cousins in the living room of their St. Sauveur weekend cottage and give it a 21st century digital twist. Everyone’s living room, audience and performers alike, is now the internet. Unlike in previous years, where the family gathered special guests to perform alongside them, this year all songs will be interpreted by family to minimize social interaction but maximize intimacy.

“Eleven years ago, our mother Kate McGarrigle played what was to be her last performance ever at the Royal Albert Hall which was one of the most beautiful and emotional nights of my life,” Rufus Wainwright recalls. “Last year, we celebrated the 10th anniversary of this show for which she wrote the song “Proserpina” with three sold out shows at the Royal Festival Hall in London and the National Concert Hall in Dublin. We have brought the Christmas show to Montreal, to Carnegie Hall and Town Hall in New York, to the Ryman in Nashville, to Royce Hall in Los Angeles. Each year I hear from fans why we are not doing the show in Germany, Paris, Spain or other places. During these times where people are craving more and more the comforts of things that have become impossible, we decided we could not skip this year and decided to bring the Christmas show to potentially every fan around the globe virtually from our homes in LA, NY and Montreal.”

Tickets start at USD$20 and USD$25 for day-of-show on VEEPS or go to https://rufuswainwright.com. Special experience packages are also available. This live streamed event is presented in collaboration with previous McGarrigle/Wainwright Holiday Concert presenters UCLA Center for the Art of Performance, Town Hall in NYC, City Winery, and the Southbank Centre.

Featuring
Rufus, Martha and Loudon Wainwright
Lucy Wainwright Roche, Suzzy Roche
Sloan Wainwright, Jane and Anna McGarrigle
Lily Lanken, Sylvan Lanken, Chaim Tannenbaum
Jorn Weisbrodt, Gigi and Islay McMillan
Arcangelo and Francis Albetta
Brian Green, Jacob Mann

The show will be accessible for purchase and stream until January 6th 2021. On January 8th 2021 at 2PM PST, 5PM EST Rufus Wainwright will continue his Rufus-Retro-Wainwright-Spective with the first part of his album “Release the Stars”.

Special Christmas merch items are also for sale at Rufus Wainwright’s UK merch store:
https://rufus-wainwright.backstreetmerch.com

The new signed vinyl edition of Northern Stars is available at the US merch store:
https://rufuswainwright.merchtable.com/

The concert will benefit the Kate McGarrigle Fund, a collaborative program from Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) and the Kate McGarrigle Foundation that aims to provide music therapy resources to cancer patients with a passion for music, as well as much-needed funds for sarcoma research.
For more information about the Kate McGarrigle Fund, please visit https://standuptocancer.org/kate-mcgarrigle-fund/
PRESS CONTACT:
Jim Merlis
jim at bighassle.com
*posted about virtual live Suzzy and Lucy last week, show may still be available:
The Roches
Their recent album is here---stream, download etc.:
https://lucywainwrightrochesuzzyroche.bandcamp.com/releases
(sry didn't feel like fw all those links in press release)

just saw a pic of rufus with a full beard and thought "oh james murphy's slimming down"

anyway it's spring and that means poses sounds great again

RUFUS WAINWRIGHT ANNOUNCES RUFUS DOES JUDY AT CAPITOL STUDIOS

VIRTUAL CONCERT MARKS FIRST PERFORMANCE OF LEGENDARY TRIBUTE
TO JUDY GARLAND IN 5 YEARS

2X GRAMMY® AWARD-NOMINATED ARTIST TO BE JOINED BY
TONY AND EMMY AWARD-WINNER KRISTIN CHENOWETH
AND SPECIAL MICRO-AUDIENCE MEMBER, 2X ACADEMY AWARD-WINNER RENÉE ZELLWEGER

EVENT TO BE COMMEMORATED WITH LIMITED EDITION T-SHIRT
DESIGNED BY MICHAEL KORS BENEFITTING OUTRIGHT ACTION INTERNATIONAL

RUFUS DOES JUDY AT CAPITOL STUDIOS PREMIERES THURSDAY, JUNE 10 on Judy Garland’s 99th Birthday

TICKETS AVAILABLE NOW EXCLUSIVELY VIA VEEPS HEREhttps://rufuswainwright.veeps.com/
The first complete performance of the Rufus Does Judy tribute in five years, Rufus Does Judy at Capitol Studios will be commemorated with a limited edition t-shirt created for the occasion in partnership with Wainwright’s longtime friend, legendary designer Michael Kors. The t-shirts will be available via Rufus’ Merch Store and in Michael Kors Collection stores nationwide, with all proceeds benefiting LGBT human rights organization OutRight Action International through June – Pride Month 2021 – or while supplies last. The t-shirt marks the latest collaboration between Kors and Wainwright, whom earlier this month performed music for the blockbuster launch of Kors’ 40th-anniversary collection for Fall/Winter 2021.

Rufus Does Judy at Capitol Studios – which marks a rare complete performance of Wainwright’s now-legendary homage to 1961’s Judy Garland At Carnegie Hall – showcases more than twenty-five American standards spanning swing, jazz, and pop, including three songs by George & Ira Gershwin, two Rodgers & Hart classics, two from Howard Dietz & Arthur Schwartz, plus favorites by Harold Arlen, Yip Harburg, Irving Berlin, Noël Coward, and more. Among the highlights are such Garland signature songs as “The Man That Got Away,” “Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart,” “Swanee,” and of course, “Over The Rainbow,” along with a special bonus rendition of “Get Happy,” which was not performed by Garland at the original 1961 concert.

Wainwright’s sixth full-length release and first live album, Rufus Does Judy at Carnegie Hall was recorded and produced by Phil Ramone over two sold-out nights at Carnegie Hall, backed by a full 36-piece orchestra and special guest appearances from his sister Martha Wainwright, his mother Kate McGarrigle, and Garland’s daughter, Lorna Luft. The album proved an immediate cultural landmark, feted by worldwide media attention and critical acclaim while earning Wainwright his first-ever GRAMMY® Award nomination (for “Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album”).

Due to popular demand, Wainwright recreated his momentous tribute to Garland with sold-out, star-studded performances at such renowned venues as Paris’ L’Olympia, Los Angeles’ Hollywood Bowl, and the London Palladium, the latter of which was filmed and released on DVD as Rufus! Rufus! Rufus! Does Judy! Judy! Judy!: Live from the London Palladium.

Wainwright’s ninth studio LP and first new pop album since 2012, Unfollow The Rules finds the multi-faceted artist at the peak of his powers, entering artistic maturity with passion, honesty, and a newfound fearlessness while remaining as creative, bold, and mischievous as ever. Produced by Mitchell Froom (Crowded House, Paul McCartney, Randy Newman) at a variety of legendary Los Angeles studios, the album proved among last year’s most honored releases, earning a prestigious GRAMMY® Award nomination for “Best Traditional Pop Album” as well as a Juno Award nod for “Adult Alternative Album of the Year.”

Unfollow The Rules was further met by ecstatic critical acclaim from high-profile publications around the globe, with Uncut declaring it “a spectacular return to the tower of song and the game (Wainwright) plays best…brimming with memorable melodies, swooning arrangements and smart lyrics dreamily sung.” Unfollow The Rules is “a stately pop throwback full of (Wainwright’s) signature vocal grandeur,” enthused Rolling Stone, while Pitchfork praised the album as “an opulently crafted highlight reel, a career-spanning sampler of Wainwright’s styles and guises… his songwriting is as sharp and cheeky as ever.” “A timely reminder of everything that’s wonderful about Wainwright,” wrote CLASH’s Mat Smith in a 9/10 rave, noting the artist’s “effortlessly towering voice, taking on a spinetingling profundity and emotiveness reminiscent of The Righteous Brothers (both of them; together; at once!).” PopMatters praised Unfollow The Rules as “a lush and detailed sounding album,” adding, “It’s good to welcome the return of the new, improved, old-school Rufus.” “Unfollow the Rules marks a welcome return to the opulent orchestration of Wainwright’s early albums,” wrote The Guardian in its 4/5-starred review. “Wainwright’s ninth studio album is a lush, engaging study in domestic bliss…It’s good to have him back.” “(Wainwright) sings with contentment, not complacency, as he saunters through the corridors of his life,” applauded The Independent in its own 4/5-starred review, noting simply, “This is one of Wainwright’s finest albums.”

Last year saw Wainwright offering fans solace with his trailblazing #Quarantunes series of #RobeRecitals, presented daily via Instagram Live. The intimate performances – which saw the singer-songwriter supreme performing new songs from Unfollow The Rules alongside classic catalog favorites, surprising rarities, and beloved cover versions – were followed in June by Unfollow The Rules: The Paramour Session, a complete acoustic performance of the new album filmed live at the ballroom of Hollywood’s famed silent movie mansion, The Paramour Estate.

The first leg of A Rufus-Retro-Wainwright-Spective! kicked off in September, presented live from Wainwright’s living room in Laurel Canyon, joined by a weekly micro-audience that included Jamie Lee Curtis & Christopher Guest, Darren Criss, Joel McHale, among other icons and famous friends. The virtual tour of his wide-ranging catalogue earned applause from such media outlets as mxdwn.com, which hailed the concert series as a “deliciously casual offering to dedicated fans; an exclusive club for Wainwright enthusiasts to gather and exchange memories about their shared passion for his music. The live audience chat was a haven for nostalgia, sprinkled with the disparate musical experiences of followers around the world.”

An ingenious, compellingly charismatic live artist, Wainwright hopes to see his fans in person later this year on his long-awaited Unfollow The Rules Tour. For scheduled dates and other information, please visit rufuswainwright.com/tour.

Dunno the context, but this is really good:

Good god Rufus stop hurting em https://t.co/CnqW03z07Z

— Jason Isbell (@JasonIsbell) June 8, 2021

I always feel a bit guilty that his version of "One Man Guy" is maybe the recording of his I return to most regularly (even though LWIII's own stuff leaves me totally cold from what I've heard)

― k*r*n koltrane (Simon H.), Wednesday, July 15, 2020 3:22 PM

same

That was amazing, Josh, thanks for posting it. I spent the whole song curiously thinking he sounded a bit like Sting (even though no one sounds like Sting, really) and then only realised at the end that that was Sting next to him and that that was a Sting song.

Alfred I appreciate u

that performance is really nice

Man, that was indeed good, thanks. Is that Christian McBride playing upright?

Probably. Didn’t know they had a thing together.

My say last week: https://www.stereogum.com/2148922/rufus-wainwright-poses-turns-20/reviews/the-anniversary/

Which is what made me think of Rufus for the first time in eons, tbh, so when I saw the Isbell link it caught my eye.

FWIW, I only saw him live once, c. the first album, in a tiny club with iirc Tegan and Sara opening. They all were massively entertaining and killed it, at least as I remember it.

I’ve seen him live… I think five times? Large and small venues over the last 15+ years. Never been disappointed.

Yall got me flashing back to YouTubed concert footage: he's disconcerted by guest shot ov raw, killin'-it teen Martha, but, "My Mother would kill me if I didn't let her do this." Mom knew best.

Invasion of the Martha thread, sry

I saw him touring Poses, opening for Roxy Music in 2001. He did fine but an arena was probably not the best venue for low-key charm.

There was an annoying music writer in the local alt-weekly who made a point, every time that Martha was mentioned, of tossing in an aside about how Rufus must be dying of jealousy, shaking with fear, why doesn't Rufus just pack it in, etc. etc. etc.

Heh I'm sure he can handle it. (Looking fwd to her new alb btw)

Oh, I didn't feel bad for Rufus, it was just such a corny attitude (and assumption that they were in competition, or she needed boosting).

I was lucky to see him in a very small setting - basically someone's fancy back yard. His young daughter was in the front row and was basically heckling him the whole time. It was hilarious / adorable.

Seen him twice: once at a free show at a bar in London, Ontario in advance of the debut's release (before the show, I asked him if it was OK if I took pictures, and he asked that I only do so during the guitar songs), and then again on that Poses tour with Tegan and Sara, at the Toronto bar where Queer as Folk was filmed.

welp

WORLD PREMIERE RECORDING OF RUFUS WAINWRIGHT’S DREAM REQUIEM TO BE RELEASED JANUARY 17TH 2025 WITH MERYL STREEP AS NARRATOR

Anna Prohaska, soprano

Choeur et Maîtrise de Radio France

Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France Mikko Franck, conductor

International Release date: January 17 2025

CD digipack: 5021732500601

LP (2 LP black viny 180g): 5021732500618

SHRM: 5021732501264 - Dolby Atmos: 5021732507648

“My whole life suddenly changed while listening to Verdi’s Requiem Mass for the first time at the tender age of 13…The experience both represented the death of my childhood innocence AND the birth and awakening of my artistic self, thus beginning my personal lifelong spiritual quest to seek out beauty no matter what the cost.”

Rufus Wainwright

...His latest work, Dream Requiem, is an epic work for orchestra, chorus, soprano and narrator. It received its world premiere in June this year in Paris with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France and the chorus and children’s choir of Radio France conducted by Mikko Franck with Meryl Streep as the narrator and soprano Anna Prohaska. On January 17th 2025, Warner Classics will release the live recording from the premiere.

A co-commission from major cultural institutions in the US, UK and Europe, Dream Requiem was written during the pandemic and in Wainwright’s own words it’s a requiem "for the people we have lost in this crisis, for the past from which we are cut off and for the future to which we do not yet know how to connect, a Requiem for human contact, solidarity and the human voice that have all become dangerous and contagious."

Dream Requiem is also a reflection on environmental collapse with its text combining words from the Latin Mass for the Dead – as used by Verdi, Britten, Mozart and many others – with Lord Byron's apocalyptic poem Darkness, an imagined dream about total planetary ecological collapse written after the eruption of Mount Tambora in 1915 that darkened the skies worldwide and led to the “year without a summer.”

Both texts are interwoven in the composition but treated in a distinctly different manner musically. Byron’s text is mostly narrated by an actor and is underscored by dark orchestral arrangements demonstrating the brutality and sheer force of the apocalyptic images that the poem conjures. The Latin Requiem text is sung by a large mixed choir, children’s choir and soprano. Massive choral moments are interrupted by quieter soprano solo passages to underline the fragility of life and nature. Wainwright’s Dream Requiem ultimately overcomes this desolation and tragedy, giving rise to hope and beauty through the music

...Dream Requiem Tour

Dream Requiem will be performed at major international venues across 2025 to 2027. Forthcoming dates in 2025 include:

January 25, Barcelona/Palau de la Musica

May 4, LA Master Chorale Walt Disney Concert Hall, with Jane Fonda

June 20, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, with Carice van Houten

Other dates to be announced in 2025 including major venues in Finland, Germany, Greece and Ireland.

Jim Merlis at BigHassledotcom



the eruption of Mount Tambora in 1915