Rufus. That is just plain fun to say. Not to be mistaken with the funk band of the same name, Rufus Wainwright(one of Sir Elton John’s fav’s) is a super talented, super gay singer-songwriter that writes perfect pop music.
2003’s Want One is a great all-around record that draws heavily from a classical influence. Rufus is primarily a classically trained piano player and most of his songs spring from that background. Want One is actually part one of a two part album series. However, in my opinion, Want Two never lived up to Want One.
The very first track, “Oh, What A World” is so starkly different than anything being released today. Backed entirely by an orchestra, the track draws heavily upon Ravel’s famous “Bolero,” which is too cool. Two of my favorite contemporary songs are comprised of only vocals and orchestra, one being Rufus’ “Oh, What A World” and the other being Fiona Apple’s “Extraordinary Machine.” After listening to this song, you wouldn’t be surprised to learn that Rufus’ favorite place in NYC is the Metropolitan Opera House.
The intricate timings and delay-prettiness of “Vicious World” and the intimate and heartfelt lyrics of “My Phone’s On Vibrate for You” show Rufus’ amazing ability to mix frank lyrics and interesting melodies in order to create original tracks. “Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk(Reprise)” is actually a re-release from Rufus’ first album Poses, with a full band backing him, giving the song a little more oomph. The lyrics to “11:11” always crack me up, as I seem to always envision my friend Stu singing them in rehearsals. The best line is, “Woke up this morning at 11:11 / John was half naked / and Louie was crying.” Can’t get more forward than that.
Recently, if Rufus could not get more gay, he decided to perform an exact replica performance of a famous Judy Garland concert album recorded in 1961. It’s actually pretty interesting, with his sister Martha Wainwright sitting in on a few tracks. On that note, Rufus comes from a fairly musical family. Along with his sister, Rufus' father is folk artist Loudon Wainwright III, who recently wrote the soundtrack for the movie Knocked Up and also stars in the movie as Katherine Heigl’s OB/GYN. One of his more famous songs is written about Rufus and is entitled “Rufus Is A Tit Man.” There is little love lost between Loudon and Martha, however, as one of her more popular songs is written about her father and is entitled, “Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole.” True story. Needless to say, Rufus comes from a very interesting family.
My favorite track on Want One is entitled “ Go or Go Ahead” and could have been one of the best Queen songs not written by Queen. The chorus is just HUGE! Whoever said gay dudes can’t rock out was totally wrong. This song has serious balls. It really surprises you because the first two minutes are very subdued and then, BAM, you get kicked in the face with this awesome wall of sound. The huge wailing guitar and super cool falsetto background vocals are crazy delicious. Give it a listen.
Until whenever,
BD
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