Sunday, September 27, 2009

Rufus Wainwright - Milwaukee At Last!!!

If you’re already a Rufus Wainwright fan, let me just save you some time and tell you this: Go out and get this now. It’s a sublime and essential live record with Wainwright in top form. The set list featured here showcases songs from his last two studio albums, Want Two and Release The Stars, for the most part, and the live versions frequently eclipse the studio ones. (There’s also a DVD version of this live set that features more songs.) If you happen not to be a Wainwright fan, then this is a good place to start if you are wondering what the hubbub about him is, as this is an excellent, exceptionally entertaining introduction to his unique brand of jazz, Big Band and Broadway influenced pop music, often experimental in nature, and featuring a heavy dose of old fashioned showmanship, the latter on full display on Milwaukee At Last!!! Wainwright also has a remarkable voice, known to some audiences owing to his superlative cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.” I’m not often a fan of live records, but this is Wainwright’s second great live recording in a row, following his recreation of Judy Garland’s famed 1961 Carnegie Hall concert, and it’s definitely recommended. Standout cuts: “Going To A Town,” “Rules And Regulations,” “Not Ready To Love/Slideshow” and “Gay Messiah.”

http://www.myspace.com/rufuswainwright

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