gbraun's Full Review: Rufus Wainwright by Rufus Wainwright
I suppose I’ll go through this album song by song, as each deserves some independent description. But you see, they’re each a stand-alone gem, and yet they form a pretty flawless album in its entirety. I have to suppose that having parents like Loudon Wainwright (yes him) and Kate McGarricle helps. (Kate is Anna’s sister – and you really should hear what the McGarricle Sisters were recording in the 60s and 70s.) But that heritage wouldn’t necessarily be enough, if Wainright weren’t obviously a sensitive, thoughtful, intelligent (and in some ways well-travelled) songwriter.
I must admit that I only came to this album as a result of reading a good review of the soundtrack for Moulin Rouge, where Wainright was included… but I am very glad that the review mentioned the worth of checking out more of his work.
1. Foolish love is a great intro track. It serves to introduce you to the core of Wainwright’s style, and sets you up to be able to appreciate the following songs. It’ll never make a radio hit, as it’s slow, spread out, tends to wander (though I find I’m happy to wander along with it, as the refrain, even on first hearing, is like coming home).
2. Danny Boy is a rolling tune (no not in the rock ‘n roll sense of rolling). It’s written 6/8 and had a more concrete rhythmic structure. The arrangement is still open and romantic though, and pulls you along a road where the landscape grows up around you and the trumpets colour the sky.
3. April Fools – a straight ahead, timeless hit. “And you will believe in Love, And all that’s it’s s’posed to be”. The melody is infectious, and the lyrics will melt your heart. Never mind it being set up as a more conventionally structured song – it works, and you may find yourself doing the much maligned “let’s just start that one again” when you get half way in.
4. In my Arms starts with Wainwright singing with almost no accompaniment save a few strummed chords on a guitar, but the melody and lyrics have you hearing the whole song already with their richness. A simple drum beat and harmony cuts in at around 1:20, then some sparse string shots, and it all continues to build. And the melody remains haunting. “A place to rest and forget yourself – In my Arms”.
5. Millbrook kicks in and I think I just stepped off the sound stage of a 1930s Paramount Pictures production. Then I’m struck with how up to date the recording and lyrical tone is. Then I’m just pleased to hear the rest of the song, and wish it hadn’t ended at a little over 2 minutes.
6. Baby is a ballad. It is not sticky shlock. It does have sweet string lines over the piano, but manages to be evocative while remaining sensitive. It’s makes me think of a time-travelling torchlight singer’s take on modern music.
7. Beauty Mark. Another pop classic, no question… but arranged with piano, tympani, a triangle, temple blocks, etc. Whoa. It opens with lyrics that you’ll be singing along to the next time you hear it, all the while asking yourself how he wrote the words that you were already thinking. My only complaint is that this track also runs so short at 2 and a quarter minutes.
8. Barcelona is about cello and voice modulating together over a piano. A close harmony comes in and then the lyrics draw you into his story. I almost wince with the “rightness” of this song. There are castanets, and I think I heard some falsetto harmony, and not a trace of cheesiness! How could a guy this young know enough to write like that and not be a poseur? Not sure… don’t care… listening.
9. Matinee Idol opens with the voice made tinny in the style of an old phonograph, and then it transitions into an normal tone and back out again later – and it works. It is more that a song about the Matinee Idol, it sort of is the Matinee Idol (if that makes any sense).
10. Damned Ladies is one of the less musically remarkable tracks, but it is lyrically strong. It’s a bit raw, not particularly happy, and quite genuine. Not my favourite track, but I’d not hit the skip button, and I hear something new in it each time.
11. Sally Ann comes to me out of some southern funeral march that sings about beauty… and is pretty. I apologize for the image that my words might conjure, but they at least serve to illustrate the power the song has for me. Listen and see your own image.
12. Imaginary Love is kind of like the last song at a dance. You’ve been watching the progress, don’t want to it end, want to join in, want to enjoy it, feel happy/sad when it starts to fade.
I will not unequivocally apologize for the drooling mess I have made over this album in this review. I don’t rate 5 starts lightly. There is simply no one who enjoys music who shouldn’t enjoy this album. O.K., it isn’t a dance album, and it might not get played much by a serious Metallica fan, but I have to insist, that a fan of any style or genre of music, if they appreciate what’s musical about the music they like, will enjoy this album. Buy it.
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