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Rating: Rufus Wainwright is back!
After the self-titled, 'Poses', and the duo 'Want One' and 'Want Two', finally returns to the speakers the most controversial and spotlight-shy American singer-songwriter in the current scene, comparable only in attitude to various Antony, Bonnie 'Prince', Bright Eyes, and Sufjan Stevens, but with a personal style, indebted mainly to the school of Neil Young and/or Scott Walker (and I'll stop here with the references, otherwise I'll come off as yet another annoying name-dropper). Those who appreciated the previous works will surely not miss this appointment, finding the same mournful and full-bodied voice as always, similar to a Thom Yorke (there I go again) reconciled with the world, plus the inevitable orchestral contribution, at times pompous, at times dramatic, sometimes epic. Once again, I will avoid diving into detail with a track-by-track description to avoid boring you, firstly, but above all to leave space for the free enjoyment that always generates that thrill of surprise and curiosity.
Just to not disappoint the unfortunate reader, I could name a few tracks, in my humble opinion among the best: the opener “Do I Disappoint You”, majestic and cinematic in its martial progression, supported by the orchestra and gospel choir; the following “Going To A Town”, melancholic and perfect for basking in one's unfulfilled dreams; “Nobody's Off The Hook”, with Rufus’s piano and voice at the center stage, conversing with miraculous string melodies; “Between My Legs”, surprising at first for that pop rock vein foreign to the body, but which takes root without rejection, thank to our innate inclination to melody; the final “Release The Star”, a retro-flavored blues ballad, enriched by a sparkling brass section and concluding this journey in Wainwright's world in the best way.
Elegant, poignant, cinematic, it is the soundtrack of these modern times, balanced between self-celebration and self-destruction. An album that does not deviate much from previous works, which stands up very well in comparison with the best things done in the past, but that perhaps (and I repeat perhaps) can sound formulaic (or workmanlike), given the perpetuation of themes and structures throughout his discography, but which personally do not displease and bring 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.
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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Other reviews
By Starblazer
"Going To A Town" ... is a ballad as mournful and bitter as it is authentic and fascinating.
The album... turns out to be a rather uneven work full of highs and lows, with some sections that leave one decidedly perplexed.
