Rufus Does Judy At Carnegie Hall

by

Rufus Wainwright

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Why did Rufus Wainwright decide to perform his version of the classic songlist from Judy Garland's Carnegie Hall concert? At first, I thought it was a joke. How could he take on such a risky and frankly bizarre endeavor? Then, as I thought about it and heard about it and tried to understand it, I began to see. Wainwright has a two-fold purpose. First, he wanted to push his talent to a place where it had never been. Be plunging into this material, he was forced to go placed that he doesn't need to visit. This project pushed his ability to look into the truth of a song that is not a perfect fit for him. Second, I think he decided to redefine the limits of what it means to be "out." He decided to do something that is so audaciously gay, so bordering on camp with setting up a tent, that he basically became the "outest" gay man on the planet, and that in itself is a political statement. Finally (I guess there are three reasons), he wanted to pay tribute to the talent of the great Judy Garland. I think that this CD set succeeds on all of those counts. He strives for a new depth in his communication of lyric, he stands out as a gay icon, and he pays homage to Garland. Admittedly, this is not a clean and perfect album. There are retakes and vocal problems to be found. But, he goes on and tries again to push himself into the material...not an easy tast, but I feel that he chooses to do it "not because it is easy, but because it is hard."

I found the album moving on several levels, and a uniquely devouring experience.

Re-creating Judy's legendary Carnegie Hall concert is like remaking "Citizen Kane." WHY, IN GOD'S NAME? Well, commercial novelty comes to mind; artistic ego also seems to have played a part. Here is the reality: Wainwright CAN'T INTERPRET THESE SONGS. His voice is not suited for the material and he seems to have little affinity for the lyrical content (going so far as to disparage Gershwin's "Who Cares" prior to singing it!). On just one example: Judy dipped into her warm lower register for the sexiest "Do It Again" ever recorded; Rufus does it in near-falsetto and drains it of all eroticism. I could go on, but that would be giving this project more attention than it deserves. All of Rufus' fans will buy it anyway, as he well knew, giving his bank account a nice boost without having to write any new material about his poor choices in boyfriends (i.e. "Release The Stars," his recent weak effort). "Want One" stands as the strongest testament to his true talent as a contemprary singer/songwriter... but that was how many years ago? Maybe he will surprise us with a mature, deeply-felt original effort, but for now his songwriting talent seems to have peaked. I gave this two stars for the terrific arrangements (Nelson Riddle? Mort Lindsay? Both?) which have stood the test of time quite nicely.