Rufus Wainwright
Poses
[Dreamworks; 2001]
Rating: 8.6
Rufus Wainwright has quite the life. After he cut his first demo with producer
Pierre Marchand, his father, Canadian folk giant Loudon Wainwright III, passed
it on to legendary arranger Van Dyke Parks, who in turn saw that it found its
way to Dreamworks executive Lenny Waronker. With a simple glance at the
Dreamworks logo on the back of Poses, I trust you can connect the dots
for yourself. If only it could be that easy for everyone, right?
Oh, wait. I guess I forgot to mention that Rufus Wainwright deserves it. On
his 1998 self-titled debut, Wainwright managed to pull together myriad strands
and meld them into a grand, cohesive vision. And now, with Poses, he
takes that vision and refines it, resulting in an epic album that speaks with
grand gestures and a refined eloquence rare in young songwriters.
Of course, it never hurts to have a killer cast of collaborators to help you
achieve your vision, and Wainwright has certainly assembled one for this record.
Drummer Jim Keltner (Elvis Costello, Ry Cooder) returns on the traps, trading
off spots with Victor Indrizzo (Chris Cornell, Redd Kross). Paul Weller cohort
Pete Wilson mans the bass, and Dennis Farias (Burt Bacharach) provides colorful
trumpet accents. Propellerhead Alex Gifford, Ethan Johns (Ryan Adams, Robyn
Hitchcock), and Damian LeGassick (Blur) combine for production that veers
effortlessly from the dark strings of "Evil Angel" to the beat-infused "Tower
of Learning," and widely across a lot of terrain in between.
Poses opens and closes with the Tin Pan Alley tribute "Cigarettes and
Chocolate Milk," recalling some of the Divine Comedy's more playful moments
with its ode to subtle addictions and the way our compulsions rule our lives
("If I should buy jellybeans/ I have to eat them all in just one sitting").
In between, we get everything from a Ouija board session with the ghost of
Jeff Buckley ("The Consort") to the faithful and endearing cover of Loudon's
classic "One Man Guy" that proves Rufus has at least a touch of dad's folk
roots in him.
The album's title track stands as one of Wainwright's finest songs, with an
aching melody and Spartan piano backing. It also illustrates how far his voice
has come since his debut. He's become far more expressive in the last few years
and his voice is a bit less of an acquired taste than it used to be. The funky
"Shadows" is coated in thickly layered vocal harmonies that betray a definite
debt to vocal jazz, though the swelling strings might sound a little more at
home on the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. Still, it's pretty fantastic
stuff, and Rufus takes pains to breathe life into his Frankensteins, never
letting them degenerate into limp genre exercises.
"Tower of Learning" is more impressive still, opening wide up in the second
verse over programmed beats in an arrangement that looms over the rest of the
album. Barring the reprise of "Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk," Poses is
closed on a somber note with the beautifully simple "In a Graveyard," a soulful
reflection on moribund themes that momentarily leaves the oboes and strings at
the door for a direct heart-to-heart with the listener.
It's always refreshing to see a recording this singular find its way out the
door of a major label, and it's heartening to know that Wainwright probably has
a secure home at Dreamworks. With Poses, he proves that he's swinging
for the big leagues, and that he has every right to be there.
-Joe Tangari, October 8th, 2001