Rufus Wainwright - Out Of The Game

[SiHart]

The new album is good. Might take a few listens to get it, but I'm enjoying it. Jericho was a bit of a favourite on first listen.

[Nyder]

Current faves for me are Montauk, Respectable Dive, and oh my gosh, Song Of You brings a lump to my throat every time. Not long till The Lyceum!!

Rufus was on BBC Breakfast today (I mean yesterday!) 8:40ish. He's certainly tarting himself around at the moment :-)

[Rob McCow]

So. Those Bagpipes then.

Do we like them, or are bagpipes the death knell of any musician's career?

[Nyder]

As the song is a tribute to his mother, I'll let him off. He sings this a capella with all his band live on stage - it's really powerful stuff.

[Rob McCow]

So far the album is getting a big old 'Not Sure' from me. I'm sure seeing it live will improve my opinions, but I think I was more impressed by 'All Days Are Nights', at least initially.

Some really great tracks though, especially 'Out of The Game' and 'WWIII'.

[SiHart]

It's funny, I was expecting a proper pop album, but what we've got is a somewhat more accessible version of what he usually does. That's good, just not quite what I thought it was going to be.

I don't think it's as good as Release the Stars, which is still the highpoint of his career so far for me, but hopefully the songs will come across very well live next week.

[SiHart]

Off to see him tonight! Very excited here

[Rob McCow]

The Rufus Wainwright concert last night was absolutely fantastic. I loved the concert and I love the new album, though it's taken a few listenst to get into.

Everyone should check it out!

[Nyder]

Sometimes all it takes is a live show to bring the album alive!

Yep another stunning show from Rufus -; the quality and power of his voice is remarkable. He certainly is ambitious in terms of his song-writing and always likes to go off in different musical directions. Some work, some don't. But if you're an uber fan like me then you can forgive him for a few indiscretions!
He performed a really complex arrangement of one of his mother's songs which he managed to get through without stopping (just!) He did two 'oldies' which I particularly loved – 'Greek Song'; and ';The One You Love';. As to the new stuff, Bitter Tears, Montauk, Welcome To The Ball were all excellent. Funnily enough, the song I like best on the album (Rashida) didn't really do it for me live. I felt it could have been a bit pacier. But that's just a minor quibble. For those of you who haven't seen Rufus live, I urge you to do so. He's playing Bath in July, then he's back in November for a few nights covering most major UK cities.

It was also lovely to see Si & Steve there too :-)

[SiHart]

And lovely to see you too Dave!

My review is on the Who have you seen live thread.

[Jon Masters]

Having had my arm twisted by the Rufus W Mafia, I've listened to some of the tracks recommended.

Is it wrong of me to say that, so far, he reminds me of early years Billy Joel ?

( in anticipation)

[Nyder]

I'm sure even Rufus himself would be pleased by that comparison Jon!

[Rob McCow]

What a suprise! Out Of The Game gets better with every listen.

Because everyone else seems to have a favourite track, I'll have to say that at the moment, there's a bit of a contest for 'best song on the album' as far as I'm concerned. It's probably between Candles, Sometimes You Need, Out Of The Game, Perfect Man and Montauk, but I'm open to other tracks rushing in and claiming the crown.

Oh and WWIII would be on the list but apparently it's a bonus track?! Who knew!

[Nyder]

I'm glad you've got Montauk on the list Steve. It's a beautiful song. Another winning album from Rufus :-)

[SiHart]

New songs in acoustic form and interview for download here: http://www.wnyc.org/shows/soundcheck...wright-studio/

[Nyder]

I'm seeing Rufus tonight at The Forum, Bath. Hoorah :-)

[SiHart]

Have fun Dave!

[Nyder]

Fantastic show! Dinner At Eight as an encore! For the first time ever there was dancing at a Rufus gig, as a whole crowd surged to the front for Bitter Tears.

Rufus wanted to know if it was "Bath" or "Barth". Even the audience were disagreeing with each other.

He also said he went to the hotel gym this morning and he was the only guy there in a sea of ladies of all ages. Bet they made a fuss of him!

[SiHart]

Dancing? At a Rufus gig? What madness is this?!

[SiHart]

And, obviously, it's Bar-th

[Nyder]

Dancing? At a Rufus gig? What madness is this?!

To be fair, he did ask for people to dance. But then he got carried away with the next song and said "hey you can dance to this to!!"

It was "Cigarettes & Chocolate Milk".

And no you can't!