Audio CD review:
Rufus Wainwright - Poses [Bonus Track]

Rufus Wainwright - Poses [Bonus Track]

Band: Rufus Wainwright Title: Poses [Bonus Track] Rating: Release Date: 05 February, 2002 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: Cigarettes And Chocolate Milk 2: Greek Song 3: Poses 4: Shadows 5: California 6: The Tower Of Learning 7: Grey Gardens 8: Rebel Prince 9: The Consort 10: One Man Guy 11: Evil Angel 12: In A Graveyard 13: Cigarettes And Chocolate Milk (reprise) 14: Across The Universe [Bonus Track]

Editoral Review But it failed to stopper the singular, unclassifiable, ranging gift of singer/songwriter Rufus Wainwright. The scrutiny of success that came early on--being named Best New Artist by Rolling Stone in 1998, the year of his debut album, for example--would have smothered many another emerging talent. His sophomore album, Poses, advances beyond the earlier, cabaret-inspired effort with a suite of songs marvelously varied in arrangement and texture but linked by Wainwright's characteristic theatrical panache. "Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk" catalogs excess with playful self-censure, but Wainwright's whimsical ironies often take a bruising, poignant turn, whether in the pseudo-upbeat "California" or, most movingly, on the title track. The dying fall of Wainwright's lusher melodies--echoes of "Across the Universe" as well as ultrachic Beatles tunes such as "Michelle"--meshes remarkably with the poetic substance here as he explores a landscape of wistful self-knowledge caught between longing and decadence. Yet even through all the layers of picturesque, postmod observation, Wainwright conveys a sense-filtered experience that gives urgency to his hauntingly mumbled opacities. With Poses, the young artist proves his authenticity. --Thomas May .. You can see a complete list of all Rufus Wainwright discography, or go back to the Rufus Wainwright tabs