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If Release the Stars displayed Rufus Wainwright as a weary, wannabe expatriate who was (in his own words) "so sick of America," then Rufus Does Judy at Carnegie Hall -- released just seven months later -- shows him falling in love with the country all over again. Few things are as American as the American Songbook, which Wainwright tackles here with energy, camp, and a sly wink. Reprising the entirety of Judy Garland's 1961 concert at Carnegie Hall, he regains much of the momentum that was lost in Release the Stars' slower moments, performing live with a brisk 36-piece orchestra and several family guests. Perhaps there are people better suited to this task than Wainwright, singers who more closely embody the innocence that Garland always seemed to radiate in spite of her growing addiction to booze and Benzedrine. But Wainwright is obviously enamored with Garland -- who, in addition to her role as one of America's greatest female entertainers, has also become an enduring icon in postwar gay history -- and he revels in the glamour and glitz of her 45-year-old set list. These songs hail from a golden era dotted with trolley cars, Cadillacs, and glitzy jazz clubs, an era in which Wainwright never lived but still has the ability to convey. The secret rests in his vocals, which rise and fall between notes with all the smoothness of a slide guitar. Steeped in opera music and Tin Pan Alley tunes, Wainwright doesn't fall prey to the trappings of a contemporary pop singer, but rather comes across as someone much older. He sings in a fail-safe tenor with colorful vibrato, unafraid to tackle several songs in their original keys and rarely, if ever, missing a note. His infrequent mistakes are mostly lyrical or rhythmic in nature -- a flubbed line here, a botched intro there -- and they're met with applause from the audience. So while the performance isn't perfect, particularly toward the end of the show (where, after two hours of performing swing tunes and jazz standards, Wainwright is understandably low on steam), it's still nice to hear the singer in his element, crooning about dinging trolleys and zinging heartstrings with flamboyancy that only he can muster.
© Andrew Leahey /TiVo
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Phil Ramone, Producer - Ira Gershwin, Author - Harold Arlen, Composer - Hugh Martin, ComposerLyricist - Ralph Blane, ComposerLyricist - E.Y. HARBURG, Author - Rufus Wainwright, MainArtist
℗ 2007 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Phil Ramone, Producer - MARK FISHER, ComposerLyricist - Joe Goodwin, ComposerLyricist - Larry Shay, ComposerLyricist - Rufus Wainwright, MainArtist
℗ 2007 Geffen Records
Phil Ramone, Producer - Richard Rodgers, ComposerLyricist - Lorenz Hart, Author - Frederick Loewe, Composer - Alan Jay Lerner, Author - Rufus Wainwright, MainArtist
℗ 2007 Geffen Records
Phil Ramone, Producer - George Gershwin, ComposerLyricist - Buddy DeSylva, ComposerLyricist - Rufus Wainwright, MainArtist
℗ 2007 Geffen Records
Phil Ramone, Producer - J. Fred Coots, ComposerLyricist - Haven Gillespie, ComposerLyricist - Rufus Wainwright, MainArtist
℗ 2007 Geffen Records
Phil Ramone, Producer - Howard Dietz, ComposerLyricist - Arthur Schwartz, ComposerLyricist - Rufus Wainwright, MainArtist
℗ 2007 Geffen Records
Phil Ramone, Producer - George Gershwin, ComposerLyricist - Ira Gershwin, ComposerLyricist - Rufus Wainwright, MainArtist
℗ 2007 Geffen Records
Phil Ramone, Producer - Irving Berlin, ComposerLyricist - Rufus Wainwright, MainArtist
℗ 2007 Geffen Records
Phil Ramone, Producer - George Gershwin, Composer - Ira Gershwin, Author - Rufus Wainwright, MainArtist
℗ 2007 Geffen Records
Phil Ramone, Producer - Raymond Klages, Author - Jesse Greer, Composer - Rufus Wainwright, MainArtist
℗ 2007 Geffen Records
Phil Ramone, Producer - Ira Gershwin, Author - Harold Arlen, Composer - Rufus Wainwright, MainArtist
℗ 2007 Geffen Records
Phil Ramone, Producer - Gus Kahn, Author - Walter Jurmann, Composer - Bronislaw Kaper, Composer - Rufus Wainwright, MainArtist
℗ 2007 Geffen Records
DISC 2
Phil Ramone, Producer - Howard Dietz, Author - Arthur Schwartz, Composer - Rufus Wainwright, MainArtist
℗ 2007 Geffen Records
Phil Ramone, Producer - Dorothy Fields, ComposerLyricist - Jimmy McHugh, ComposerLyricist - Rufus Wainwright, MainArtist
℗ 2007 Geffen Records
Phil Ramone, Producer - Johnny Mercer, ComposerLyricist - Harold Arlen, ComposerLyricist - Rufus Wainwright, MainArtist
℗ 2007 Geffen Records
Phil Ramone, Producer - Richard Rodgers, ComposerLyricist - Lorenz Hart, ComposerLyricist - Rufus Wainwright, MainArtist
℗ 2007 Geffen Records
Phil Ramone, Producer - George Gershwin, ComposerLyricist - Ira Gershwin, ComposerLyricist - Rufus Wainwright, MainArtist
℗ 2007 Geffen Records
Phil Ramone, Producer - Noel Coward, ComposerLyricist - Rufus Wainwright, MainArtist
℗ 2007 Geffen Records
Phil Ramone, Producer - Rufus Wainwright, MainArtist - James Frederick Hanley, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2007 Geffen Records
Phil Ramone, Producer - Harold Arlen, ComposerLyricist - Ted Koehler, ComposerLyricist - Rufus Wainwright, MainArtist - Martha Wainwright, FeaturedArtist
℗ 2007 Geffen Records
Phil Ramone, Producer - Hugh Martin, ComposerLyricist - Ralph Blane, ComposerLyricist - EDGAR LESLIE, ComposerLyricist - George W. Meyer, ComposerLyricist - E. Ray Goetz, ComposerLyricist - Rufus Wainwright, MainArtist - James V. Monaco, ComposerLyricist - Joseph Allan McCarthy, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2007 Geffen Records
Phil Ramone, Producer - Sam M. Lewis, Author - Joe Young, Author - Jean Schwartz, Composer - Rufus Wainwright, MainArtist - Morris Stoloff, Arranger, Orchestrator
℗ 2007 Geffen Records
Phil Ramone, Producer - Harold Arlen, Composer - E.Y. HARBURG, Author - Kate McGarrigle, FeaturedArtist - Rufus Wainwright, MainArtist
℗ 2007 Geffen Records
Phil Ramone, Producer - George Gershwin, ComposerLyricist - Rufus Wainwright, MainArtist - I Caesar, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2007 Geffen Records
Phil Ramone, Producer - Turner Layton, Author - Lorna Luft, FeaturedArtist - Henry Creamer, Composer - Rufus Wainwright, MainArtist
℗ 2007 Geffen Records
Phil Ramone, Producer - Fred Fisher, ComposerLyricist - Rufus Wainwright, MainArtist
℗ 2007 Geffen Records
Harold Arlen, ComposerLyricist - Ted Koehler, ComposerLyricist - Rufus Wainwright, MainArtist
℗ 2007 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Album review
If Release the Stars displayed Rufus Wainwright as a weary, wannabe expatriate who was (in his own words) "so sick of America," then Rufus Does Judy at Carnegie Hall -- released just seven months later -- shows him falling in love with the country all over again. Few things are as American as the American Songbook, which Wainwright tackles here with energy, camp, and a sly wink. Reprising the entirety of Judy Garland's 1961 concert at Carnegie Hall, he regains much of the momentum that was lost in Release the Stars' slower moments, performing live with a brisk 36-piece orchestra and several family guests. Perhaps there are people better suited to this task than Wainwright, singers who more closely embody the innocence that Garland always seemed to radiate in spite of her growing addiction to booze and Benzedrine. But Wainwright is obviously enamored with Garland -- who, in addition to her role as one of America's greatest female entertainers, has also become an enduring icon in postwar gay history -- and he revels in the glamour and glitz of her 45-year-old set list. These songs hail from a golden era dotted with trolley cars, Cadillacs, and glitzy jazz clubs, an era in which Wainwright never lived but still has the ability to convey. The secret rests in his vocals, which rise and fall between notes with all the smoothness of a slide guitar. Steeped in opera music and Tin Pan Alley tunes, Wainwright doesn't fall prey to the trappings of a contemporary pop singer, but rather comes across as someone much older. He sings in a fail-safe tenor with colorful vibrato, unafraid to tackle several songs in their original keys and rarely, if ever, missing a note. His infrequent mistakes are mostly lyrical or rhythmic in nature -- a flubbed line here, a botched intro there -- and they're met with applause from the audience. So while the performance isn't perfect, particularly toward the end of the show (where, after two hours of performing swing tunes and jazz standards, Wainwright is understandably low on steam), it's still nice to hear the singer in his element, crooning about dinging trolleys and zinging heartstrings with flamboyancy that only he can muster.
© Andrew Leahey /TiVo
About the album
- 2 disc(s) - 27 track(s)
- Total length: 01:47:27
- 1 Digital booklet
- Main artists: Rufus Wainwright
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Geffen
- Genre: Pop/Rock Pop
© 2007 Geffen Records ℗ 2016 Geffen Records
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