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After nine years of career and four albums, each more beautiful than the last, Rufus Wainwright's artistic trajectory experiences an unexpected downturn with "Release The Stars." It might be a physiological decline in inspiration, or perhaps the transition from Dreamworks to Geffen, or any other reason, but this album, which still offers moments that highlight the talent and genius of its author, turns out to be a rather uneven work full of highs and lows, with some sections that leave one decidedly perplexed.
A perfect example of these hesitations is the opener "Do I Disappoint You": lots of electronics, plenty of orchestral surges which, in the face of a melody that just can't seem to take off, instead of becoming a precious enhancement of the musical discourse, remain purely decorative and at times even annoying. The same applies to "Slideshow", which, after a decidedly beautiful and linear beginning, in the style of "Want One" so to speak, gets tangled in an over-arranged chorus neither fish nor fowl, or for "Tulsa", where Rufus himself goes over the top in the finale, ruining this otherwise excellent short composition, while episodes like "Not Ready To Love", "Leaving For Paris n°2" and the title track "Release The Stars" have the sweetish taste of already-heard filler/outtakes.
All this might suggest a complete debacle, but fortunately, that's not the case: our artist is still capable of writing songs that deliver emotions, such as the second track in the list, "Going To A Town": the electronics and orchestrations step aside, leaving only a piano, RW's voice, and some backing vocals, which give life to a ballad as mournful and bitter as it is authentic and fascinating, or more ethereal and fairytale episodes, which fully enhance the vocal and compositional skills of this artist, like the wonderful "Tiergarten" and "Nobody's Off The Hook", while "Rules And Regulations" and especially "Between My Legs" drift towards more lively and colorful sounds, truly pleasant, authentic high-class pop just like "Sanssouci", in my opinion the best episode of the whole album, with its catchy, fluid, and crystalline melody, a real classic.
Seen in hindsight, "Release The Stars" could become a transition album towards something new, hoping that, if so, our artist decides to follow the path of "Going To A Town", "Between My Legs" or "Sanssouci" and not that of "Do I Disappoint You" or "Slideshow", because in that case, his artistic journey would take a decidedly wrong turn. While awaiting a new album to reveal this mystery, I'll go back to listening to "Poses".
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Do I Disappoint You (04:40)
Do I disappoint you, in just being human?
And not one of the elements, that you can light your cigar on
Why does it always have to be fire?
Why does it always have to be brimstone?
Desire
Cool this body down
Do I disappoint you, in just being lonely?
And not one of the elements that you can call your one and only
Why does it always have to be water?
Why does it always have to be holy wine?
Destruction
Of all mankind
And do I disappoint you?
Do I disappoint you in just being like you?
Tired of being the reason the road has a shoulder
And it could be argued, why they all return to the order
Why does it always have to be chaos?
Why does it always have to be wanderlust?
Sensational
I'm gonna smash your bloody skull.
'Cause, baby, no, you can't see inside
No, baby, no, you can't see my soul
Do I disappoint you?
Do I disappoint you?
02 Going to a Town (04:06)
I'm going to a town that has already been burned down
I'm going to a place that is already been disgraced
I'm gonna see some folks who have already been let down.
I'm so tired of America
I'm gonna make it up for all of the Sunday Times
I'm gonna make it up for all of the nursery rhymes
They never really seem to want to tell the truth
I'm so tired of you America
Making my own way home
Ain't gonna be alone
I got a life to lead America
I got a life to lead
Tell me do you really think you go to hell for having loved?
Tell me and not for thinking every thing that you've done is good
(I really need to know)
After soaking the body of Jesus Christ in blood
I'm so tired of America
(I really need to know)
I may just never see you again or might as well
You took advantage of a world that loved you well
I'm going to a town that has already been burnt down
I'm so tired of you America
Making my own way home
Ain't gonna be alone
I've got a life to lead
America
I got a life to lead
I got a soul to feed
I got a dream to heed
And that's all I need
Making my own way home
Ain't gonna be alone
I'm going to the town that has already been burnt down
05 Between My Legs (04:26)
You can go out, dancing
And I'll write about you, dancing without you
And I'll shed a tear between my legs
When you were here, I missed you
Now that you're away, I'm out there without you
And I shed a tear between my legs
Though we live in the same city,
You live in another state far away from me and all of my unfaded charms
But when the rocket ships all fall, and the bridges, they all buckle
And everybody's packing up their station wagons
There's a number you can call, like a breast that you can suckle
And we quietly will exit as it all is happening
Again, I'm afraid of one thing,
Will I walk away from love knowing nothing, wearing my heart between my legs?
But when I know you're naked, lying on the bed while I'm at the piano
All I can say is I can't fake it
When the rocket ships all fall, and the bridges, they all buckle
And everybody's packing up their station wagons
There's a number you can call, like a breast that you can suckle
And we quietly will exit as it all is happening again
'Cause there's a river running underground, underneath the town towards the sea,
That only I know all about
On which from this city we can flee
On which from this city we can flee
09 Tulsa (02:19)
You taste of potato chips in the morning
Your face has the Marlon Brando club calling
And who would have thought that I'd owe it all to Tulsa?
And that fat guy with the green shirt that we both signed together
Once he hears the song, won't live it down forever
Your suit was the whitest thing since you-know-who
I fear that that savior I mentioned may be you
And who would have thought that I'd owe it all to Tulsa?
And that poor girl who waited in the rain for hours to meet me (not you, baby!)
Once she hears that song, won't live it down completely
And I owe it all to Tulsa, Oklahoma
This is just a reminder of the antique shop that I want to go back to and visit when it's open
In Tulsa, Oklahoma
Just in case you don't appreciate this song about you!
10 Leaving for Paris No. 2 (04:52)
I'm leaving for Paris, no I don't think that I'll see you
I'm leaving for Paris, no I don't think that I need to
So I'm leaving for Paris, won't you try to take care of yourself?
Just you try to take care of yourself, 'cause I'm leaving
Yes, I'm leaving for Paris
I pray you won't follow through the crooked streets behind me
I pray you won't follow, like so many who I've roamed there
So I'm leaving for Paris, don't you try to find out where I am
Just you try to take care of yourself
'Cause I'm leaving, yes I'm leaving
'Cause I'm leaving, yes I'm leaving for Paris
Goodbye
12 Release the Stars (05:50)
Why do you keep all your stars in from your studio on Melrose Avenue?
You've lost all your acetone in life-long contracts to you
Didn't you know that old Hollywood is over?
Oh, can't you see all the good that celebrity can do for those in the dark?
Yes of course, I am speaking in metaphors for something more in your heart
Didn't you know that old Hollywood is over?
So why not just release the gates and let them all come out?
Remember that without them there would be no Paramount
No paramount need to hold on to what isn't yours
Release the stars
The more that you fight, then the more they will scrutinize and realize just your size
And believe me, you are no match for the public that has seen the whites of your eyes.
Didn't you know that old Hollywood is over?
Old Hollywood is over
So why not just release the gates and let them all come out?
Remember that without them there would be no Paramount
No paramount need to hold on to what isn't yours
Release the stars
Release the stars, release your love, release the stars
Release your love, 'cause Hollywood is over
Why do you keep all your stars in from your studio on Melrose Avenue?
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By Pi.Per.
Rufus Wainwright, if there was ever any need, back to the center of international attention as an artist with a complex personality, yet a universal sound.
Elegant, poignant, cinematic, it is the soundtrack of these modern times, balanced between self-celebration and self-destruction.
