Rufus Wainwright - 'Want Two' (Dreamworks) Released 07/03/05

Rufus Wainwright must feel like one of those toy teddy bears strapped to the front of a juggernaut. Behind the wheel, the corporate marketing team propelling their precious crown prince of lush, theatrical pop forward towards the shimmering horizon of fame, celebrity and fortune. Only Rufus knows if he is truly enjoying the ride, but he certainly would not have been too unhappy at the sight of his vehicle passing the turn off into the cul-de-sac of the anonymous singer/songwriter. Likewise, he has avoided the lost highway of the ‘boy living in the shadows of his parents’ (if you didn’t already know, he is the son of folk legends Loudon Wainwright III and Kate McGarrigle); he is certainly now an artist in his own right. But the big decision is yet to come. Does he go with the juggernaut to the end of the line, or does he jump off before they cross the border into the dangerous territory of the sell-out superstar? Certainly the signs are not looking good: a duet with Dido, the endorsement of Elton John, an appearance on the Des and Mel show. It maybe good for the record sales, but doesn’t credibility or integrity mean anything anymore? But does he care? Maybe he just wanted to be the next Cole Porter all along - a household name, albeit singing his own songs - appearing on the soundtracks to smash movies about neurotic thirty-something women and big green ogres.  
     
Thankfully, his new album 'Want Two' is as difficult, un-commercial and esoteric as anything he has ever done. Oh and it’s not too bad either. It begins with ‘Angus Dei’, a mournful, building, violin-led piece with lyrics in Latin, and ends (if you discount the bonus tracks – both in French) with ‘Old Whore’s Diet’, a song which seemingly can’t make up its mind whether it wants to be played at a party or a funeral. As the desolate, jagged strings fight it out with almost Samba-like rhythms, Rufus and friends sing along to the mantra: “To say I love you…gets me going in the morning.” And that is just the beginning/middle of the track, by the end we have opera sung along to a marching, military drumbeat. 
 
'Want Two' is such a diverse record, that you almost wonder where the real Rufus is coming from. At times, like on ‘Gay Messiah’ – a song which imagines Jesus returning in the form of a seventies porn star (a big seller in the American mid-west, wouldn’t you agree?) – he sounds camp, flamboyant and playful. Then on the following track ‘Memphis Skyline’ he sounds almost distraught, bewailing the sad death of Jeff Buckley. Indeed, it's hard not to be touched, as the plaintive ebb and flow of the piano accompanies Rufus’s wish to “turn back the wheels of time, under the Memphis skyline.”

Elsewhere, there are the same jumps in mood, from the jaunty orchestral pop of ‘Little Sister’, to the repetitious, brooding surge of ‘The Art Teacher’. The latter, in particular, is notable for its lyrical content, with Rufus singing from the point of view of a girl recounting her first crush (likewise reflected by him appearing in Pre-Raphaelite drag on the cover). And if that is not enough, ‘Hometown Waltz’ could have been recorded in some dark, subterranean cabaret bar and ‘This Love Affair’ – morose, string-laden and dramatic – sounds like it were written for Radiohead: The Musical. And, oh yeah, to keep those guys behind the wheel happy, ‘The One I love’ is a solid, radio-friendly single, with a melody your gran could hum.

Where Rufus Wainwright goes from here is anyone’s guess. There is still time for an album of heterosexual love ballads and a guest appearance on the next Paul McCartney record. But let’s hope not. 'Want Two' is as uncompromising, intelligent and iconoclastic as any major label release you will hear all year. Hopefully, he will not cling to that juggernaut for too long.