Until the fish start to smell: The best of Rufus Wainwright

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I haven’t paid as much attention as I thought he deserved when he provided part of the soundtrack to my coming out two decades ago, a development I blame on my ambivalent relationship with his voice. In the wrong mood I think it sucks: a vibrato besotted with its own purring, as if he were a cat stroking itself. He may have recorded the eponymous 1998 debut too early, but not only do money and connections create their own imperative, it’s possible a “better” debut would’ve produced less endearing, enduring tunes.

So I have affection for ol’ Rufus. A couple years ago I wrote a reappraisal of his second album Poses for Stereogum. That tour is one of my favorites: a charmingly hammered Rufus telling bad jokes and harmonizing with his sis and 2020’s Unfollow the Rules is archetypal sound, solid product from an artist settling into the craftsman stage of a career. Look for a published review of his upcoming album in the next three weeks.

1. Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk
2. April Fools
3. Imaginary Love
4. Grey Gardens
5. Dinner at Eight
6. Beauty Mark
7. Out of the Game
8. Vibrate
9. Between My Legs
10. I Don’t Know What It Is
11. Montauk
12. One Man Guy
13. California
14. Not Ready to Love
15. Foolish Love
16. Poses.
17. The Art Teacher
18. Oh What a World
19. Peaceful Afternoon
20. You Go To My Head

7 thoughts on “Until the fish start to smell: The best of Rufus Wainwright”

  1. “In the wrong mood I think it sucks: a vibrato besotted with its own purring, as if he were a cat stroking itself.”

    Now that is PERFECT. Kudos!

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  4. “The One You Love” it’s the one I think I miss here cause its where his voice is following a rythm section instead of the rococo flourishes that you well describe here as a “cat stroking himself”. I think his problem as a singer is that he doesn’t know about pauses that he couldn’t fill with a purr. When he’s in his operetta mode, he can be insufferable passing the 1 minute mark.

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    1. Now that I think about it, his problem as a songwriter is that he doesn’t know much about pause, or space, either. The only song here that makes me weak on my knees is “One Man Guy”, probably because 1) it’s not his 2) Martha helps in the background.

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