Rufus Wainwright

[RPS]

I have always been a casual fan, but I guess just recently I've recently started to download and explore all of his work. Poses is one of the finest pieces of work I have ever heard. Just from top to bottom he manages to just hook me each and every time. His self titled CD is just amazing. Yeah, its a bit over the top at some moments (especially in his later career), but seriously, the guy is probably one of the most overlooked talents. Yeah, sure he got acclaim from the Rolling Stones with his first CD, but the guy should have WAY more fans.

I am actually really pumped for his new live CD where he performs Judy Garland songs. His cover of Across the Universe is probably the only Beatle cover that should exist.

[thuganomic]

I saw Rufus Wainwright last year, just a terrific performer and a great guy. I agree with Poses being one of my favorite CDs, but you should check out Want One and Want Two as well. I really like the song "Little Sister,"

And I've heard his new CD already. It's very good, to say the least. He's the perfect guy to sing a song like "Over the Rainbow," since he's able to just evoke so much emotion.

[Jason.]

I don't mind Rufus, but I never really got into his music all that much, I prefer Loudon by far.

[GRIFT]

I echo that sentiment. I think that Rufus is a tremendous artist, but his father Loudon has always taken the cake for me. Rufus has always taken himself a little too seriously for me. I understand an artist taking his music seriously, but when they take the focus off the music and onto themselves they cross that thin line of earnest to pretentious.

I mean, Rufus' newest effort is as clear a picture of that as any. While the music within is great, Rufus does Judy is a tribute album where instead of an artist paying tribute to another artist through their work, Rufus almost seems to pay tribute to himself through another artists work.

[Hobo]

I echo that sentiment. I think that Rufus is a tremendous artist, but his father Loudon has always taken the cake for me. Rufus has always taken himself a little too seriously for me. I understand an artist taking his music seriously, but when they take the focus off the music and onto themselves they cross that thin line of earnest to pretentious.

I mean, Rufus' newest effort is as clear a picture of that as any. While the music within is great, Rufus does Judy is a tribute album where instead of an artist paying tribute to another artist through their work, Rufus almost seems to pay tribute to himself through another artists work.

Gotta agree, it's almost like Rufus is the opposite of his father.

[Skummy]

I've heard Rufus cover "Somewhere Over The Rainbow", and his voice works beautifully on it, so I'm looking forward to a whole album of Judy covers.

Anyway, I too would prefer to listen to Loudon Wainwright, as I prefer his more sardonic style, and I prefer his voice to Rufus', but I think it's a little short-sighted to say that Rufus is the "opposite of his father". I think Loudon's "sarcastic underachiever" and Rufus' "flamboyant entertainer" are as much of a constructed persona as each other, and I think Rufus' "pretensious" nature is more often than not self-consciously ordained, rather than him genuinely believing himself to be the best thing since Sliced Bread #2. And even if that's not the case, he's still bloody brilliant anyway, so what does it matter?

For the record, my personal favourite Rufus tracks are "Gay Messiah", "Memphis Skyline", "Leaving For Paris" and "Matinee Idol".