Rufus Wainwright is a musician’s musician. As the son of quirky ‘70s folksinger Loudon Wainwright III, he is one of the few children of musicians to surpass his parent in influence, popularity and critical acclaim. His eponymous debut announced Wainwright as a unique talent, fusing his own style of pop songwriting punctuated by influences of folk, classical, opera, and musical theater.
His sophomore release, Poses, features a slightly poppier sound while expanding on this musical eclecticism – it solidified Wainwright’s standing as a singing-songwriting force to be reckoned with and quickly earned both critical accolades and the respect of many other musicians from a widely varying array of styles.
On all of Wainwright’s albums, you are likely to see credits for a “French horn string quartet” or “alto flute and bass clarinet duet.” Wainwright utilizes the entire pantheon of musical history available to him and nowhere is that pastiche more seamless and appealing than on Poses. Weaving beautiful harmonies over his ubiquitous piano base while incorporating everything from Asian-tinged melodies to French cabaret vocals to a reference to pop-culture cult obsession Grey Gardens, this is an album that absolutely shimmers.
The album opens with the appealingly peppy “Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk,” about the dark side of craving, and moves effortlessly to the lush “Greek Song,” where the Asian influences are most noticeable. In the wrong hands, this kind of thematic songwriting could easily sound like an outtake from The King and I, but Wainwright somehow makes novelty Asian music sound gorgeous and relevant.
“Poses” is a hauntingly beautiful piano ballad, the rolling bass of the left hand opposing the lilting melody of the right like a sad rag while a lone cello drones the loneliness of the lyrics — “Life is a game and true love is a trophy,” Wainwright intones desperately, and the sound is purely lovely, like a score swelling to the climax of a movie.
This languorous movement is contrasted sharply on the next track, “Shadows,” which opens with a hard rhythmic drum beat that persists danceably through the song even as the chorus expands into angelic four-part harmony.
“California” is poppy in tone and ironic in theme, featuring pop-culture references to sitcoms from the 1970s and expressing Wainwright’s disillusionment with the LA social scene, reminiscent of the droll irony of his father’s songwriting style.
”The Tower of Learning” starts simply, just Wainwright and a piano, but quickly layers on sonic elements like chanting vocal harmonies and a light techno beat to create a very unusual sound.
“Grey Gardens” opens with a sound sample from the pop-cultured-adored documentary of the same name. The song is catchy, full and instantly likeable. “Rebel Prince” opens in a minor key and reveals the influence of French cabaret music, particularly on the third verse, which Wainwright sings entirely in French. “The Consort” sounds like a movie score, a trumpet duet evoking a period piece while a well-placed electric guitar helps the track keep one foot in the present always.
“One Man Guy” is a welcome respite from the lushness of the rest of the album, featuring Wainwright, his sister Martha and Teddy Thompson (son of folk legends Richard and Linda Thompson) singing one of Loudon Wainwright’s songs with the accompaniment of a lone guitar. With this update, the song becomes an anthem of the isolationism of modern youth, made all the more ironic by the ever-swelling chorus of voices that rises up to sing a song about a solitary life.
“Evil Angel” again sounds like a movie score in a minor key, the tension building toward the middle of the song, where influences of death metal can even be heard in the dissonance and hardness of the choruses and final verse.
Album closer “In a Graveyard” sounds like a musical vesper, drawing from classical etudes. Later issues of the album also feature an even more radio-friendly version of “Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk” and Wainwright’s cover of the Beatles’ “Across the Universe.
From beginning to end, the album is inspired. Wainwright’s amazing songwriting skills are complemented by his operatic tenor voice, all of which is given an expert producing touch. This is an album that demonstrates what can be done with the art of pastiche, and it creates a beautifully warm and lush tone that begs for many re-listens.
"Poses" is on sale June 5, 2001 from Geffen.
