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Want One
10/20/2003 10:00 PM, Yahoo! Music
Ken Micallef
Rufus Wainwright's dad had a big hit in the '70s titled "Dead Skunk." The song's refrain of "stinking to high heaven" made old ladies gasp. Young Rufus has his dad's talent for comedic imagery and doleful tunefulness, but being Gay, Rufus has even more scintillating subject matter to sing about. The odd man out in coiffed Gay world, Rufus is an introverted, un-athletic crooner more like a modern Randy Newman than a perky Jimmy Somerville. Surrounding his songs with grand, ostentatious production worthy of an Elton John opera, Rufus sings about "mysterious bruises" in "I Don't Know What It Is" and resorts to "sucking on the ice, making eyes all by myself" in "Vicious World." Sappy for sure, but Wainwright writes sophisticated melodies that bear a resemblance to Brian Wilson collaborator Van Dyke Parks. But Rufus is self-effacing and clever enough to keep the music from becoming totally insipid. Rufus even rocks out in '70s fashion on "Movies Of Myself," smearing his jowly voice over a thumping Motown beat and choral vocals. He "tries to dance to Britney Spears" in "Vibrate," before realizing that "he is getting on in years." With talent like this, growing old can only be a good thing.
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