When I was about to listen to his tape, I remember clearly I was thinking, "Gee, if he has the mom's musicality and smarts, and the dad's smarts and voice, that'd be nice"...Then I put it on and I said, "Oh, my God, this is stunning."
-Lenny Waronker on Rufus Wainwright
The scope and longevity of Rufus Wainwright's career is almost underserved by his own historic musical lineage. The eldest child of folk singers Loudon Wainwright III and Kate McGarrigle (who would divorce when Rufus was three), his music is at times evocative of both but in a completely more adventurous direction. Rufus' style is considerably more baroque than either of his parents, with a style that recalls theatrical tradition (Wainwright recently announced a second opera for performance in 2018) and a songbook overflowing with beautiful, yearning compositions.
After some 15 years of recording and touring, Wainwright will release Vibrate: The Best of Rufus Wainwright this spring in standard and two-disc deluxe editions. The standard edition covers 18 tracks, including songs from nearly all of his studio albums between his critically-acclaimed self-titled debut for DreamWorks Records in 1998 and 2012's Out of the Game for Decca Records. That disc is augmented by a non-LP track (and arguably one of Wainwright's most famous recordings) - a piano-driven cover of Leonard Cohen's now-immortal "Hallelujah," released on the hit soundtrack to the animated film Shrek in 2001 - and a new track, the perhaps-appropriately named "Me and Liza." (Wainwright's love for Liza Minnelli's mother, Judy Garland, hit a fever pitch in 2006 when he performed a pair of shows in tribute to Judy's acclaimed live set at Carnegie Hall in 1961; a resultant live album was released the following year.)
The deluxe edition, meanwhile, features even more rare and unreleased content, including soundtrack songs ("La Complainte de la Butte" from Moulin Rouge!, "The Maker Makes" from Brokeback Mountain, a stunning take on The Beatles' "Across the Universe" for the film I Am Sam), several exclusive bonus cuts (such as "WWIII" from the Out of the Game sessions, making its physical debut here); another new track, "Chic and Pointless" and a host of unreleased live content, including tracks from a celebrated gig at London's Kentwood House in 2010. (At least one of those tracks was released on House of Rufus, Universal U.K.'s mega complete box set of Wainwright's career up to 2011.)
Both versions of Vibrate: The Best of Rufus Wainwright hit stores in the U.S. on March 4. Hit the jump for pre-order links and full track lists!
Vibrate: The Best of Rufus Wainwright (UMe, 2014)
Disc 1: Standard Edition (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)
- Going to a Town
- Out of the Game
- Me and Liza
- Hallelujah
- Oh What a World
- April Fools
- Poses
- Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk
- Vibrate
- The One You Love
- I Don't Know What It Is
- The Art Teacher
- Go or Go Ahead
- Dinner At Eight
- Foolish Love
- Sometimes You Need
- Grey Gardens
- Tiergarten
Tracks 1 and 18 from Release the Stars (Geffen, 2008)
Tracks 2 and 16 from Out of the Game (Decca, 2012)
Track 3 is a new track
Track 4 from Shrek: Music from the Motion Picture (DreamWorks, 2001)
Tracks 5, 9, 11 and 13-14 from Want One (DreamWorks, 2003)
Tracks 6 and 15 from Rufus Wainwright (DreamWorks, 1998)
Tracks 7-8 and 17 from Poses (DreamWorks, 2001)
Tracks 10 and 12 from Want Two (Geffen, 2004)
Disc 2: Deluxe Edition bonus disc (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)
- Bitter Tears
- The Maker Makes
- Across the Universe
- La Complainte de la Butte
- Chelsea Hotel No. 2
- Chic and Pointless
- WWIII
- Jericho (Live from The Artist's Den)
- Montauk (Live from The Artist's Den)
- If Love Were All (Live @ Kenwood House, London - 3/7/2010)
- Do It Again (Live @ Kenwood House, London - 3/7/2010)
- Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart (Live @ Kenwood House, London - 3/7/2010)
- Memphis Skyline (Live @ Kenwood House, London - 3/7/2010)
- Martha (Live @ Kenwood House, London - 3/7/2010)
- One Man Guy (Live on KCRW-FM 2001)
- BBC Interview with Jo Whiley (Royal Opera House 2011)
Track 1 from Out of the Game (Decca, 2012)
Track 2 from Brokeback Mountain: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Verve, 2005)
Track 3 from I Am Sam: Music from and Inspired by the Motion Picture (V2, 2001)
Track 4 from Moulin Rouge! Music from Baz Luhrmann's Film (Interscope, 2001)
Track 5 from Want (DreamWorks/Geffen (U.K.), 2005)
Track 6 is a new track
Track 7 was a digital bonus track to Out of the Game (Decca, 2012)
Tracks 8-13 and 15-16 previously unreleased
Track 14 from House of Rufus (Universal Music Catalogue (U.K.), 2011)
Ken Abreu says
Looking forward to this. One random track (not on this compilation) I'd like to point out to readers would be his cover of "Wrapped Around Your Finger", from Sting's 60th birthday concert a couple of years back. It is just fantastic, and is actually what turned me onto him (I'd link the video, but my work connection to YouTube is wonky right now. But it's definitely worth looking at. The footage of the show is top-notch, as well. Which brings up a different topic about that show...)