Release The Stars

Product Details

Artist : Rufus Wainwright
Binding : Audio CD
EAN : 0602517301610
Label : Universal Music Group
Number of Discs : 1
Product Group : Music
Release Date : 2007-05-15
UPC : 602517301610

ASIN : B000O78LH8

Track Listings for

Disc-1
1. Do I Disappoint You
2. Going To A Town
3. Tiergarten
4. Nobody's Off The Hook
5. Between My Legs
6. Rules And Regulations
7. Not Ready To Love
8. Slideshow
9. Tulsa
10. Leaving For Paris
11. Sanssouci
12. Release The Stars

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Recorded in Berlin and executive produced by the Pet Shop Boys' Neil Tennant, Rufus Wainwright's fifth album offers an ounce of restraint from the man that dressed up as Sir Lancelot's crossed girlfriend Lady Shallott on the cover of his last. Well, not really. Having fallen in love and curbed his self-destructive streak, the New York-born singer-songwriter has certainly sharpened his wit on Release the Stars but the songs remain as ornate and over-the-top as ever, drawing as much inspiration from opera and the musical theater as the desire to purge personal demons. So while Wainwright spends considerable time here pondering the state of the world ("Going to a Town") and his own battles with drug and sexual addiction ("Sanssouci"), every note is punctuated by a choir, orchestral swell, or big burst of brass. It wouldn't be Rufus with anything less. --Aidin Vaziri

Customer Reviews

Rufus has done it again (2008-01-02)

Rufus Wainwright has done it again with his his new Album - "Release the Stars", something that cannot be said about his live Judy Garland Album.Release the Stars is probably Rufus' best album to date.

A musically complex and lyrically compelling album (2007-06-01)

Rufus Wainwright is quite an enigma in today's superficial music business. Without a trace of a big hit single, and without pandering to any musical trends, he has managed to build a loyal following who keeps coming back for more of his intense, dramatic and emotional music. "Want two", the 2004 predecessor to this album, was a triumph of style and substance, shivering with palpable emotions, memorable melodies and a wonderfully refreshing musical diversity. "Release the stars" will likely keep his fan base happy, and just might earn him a bunch of new fans. Not because it's a more commercial album - the debut single "Going to a town", essentially about his disenchantment over America, is hardly going to get him on mainstream radio - but because it's a musically complex and lyrically compelling album, delivered with Rufus' trademark intensity and superbly produced.The album opens with the surprising "Do I disappoint you", which typically follows some of Rufus' most endearing musical features : arrangements inspired by baroque and classical music, arresting modulations in both rhythm and melody, passionately delivered vocals, introspective lyrics and a melody that will take more than one listen to sink in but that will ultimately refuse to leave your brain. The good news is that most of the remaining tracks feature the same astounding qualities, and then some. Songs like the title track, "Going to a town", "Not ready to love", "Tulsa", "Slideshow" and "Nobody's off the hook" are as intense as you can get in 2007, while "Rules and regulations", "Leaving for Paris No. 2", "Sanssouci" and "Tiergarten" flow with an appealing softness and arresting melodies.It's an album that takes a little time to get into, as Rufus certainly has a way of defying conventions and following his muse into his own little world. Rather than trying to duplicate the artistic triumph of "Want two", Rufus builds upon his wonderful foundations and heads in a different direction, one that has more and more to do with classical music and showtunes. It's an album that deserves recognition - and judging from its high entry on the UK album charts, it just might get it.

The ultimate song and dance man of the 21st century . (2007-05-22)

The original intention was to title his fourth record "The Black And White Album" - simplistic and stark to reflect a no-nonsense and fewer frills musical approach - but after slipping on what he describes as a "creative banana skin", the result is a vivid affair executive produced by Neil Tennant of the Pet Shop Boys. No matter. It is a glorious wash of pastels with dark lyrical undercoats bleeding through to portray this collection in its true light. Lead track 'Going To A Town' fumes beautifully at America over lush arrangements, Rufus ensuring that even when he is as mad as all hell nothing ever sounds vulgar. Coarse maybe, but vulgar never. "Between My Legs" is strangely neither, a tale of a bed too big without a certain someone and a rhythmic drive we are assured was inspired by Franz Ferdinand, while "Sansouci" is a fond reflection of past haunts seen in a rear view mirror. Or is it? "I'm tired of writing elegies through boredom", he intones sweetly, as if the hedonistic days are not entirely behind him. The more measured approach we are told is courtesy of Wainwright being in his first steady relationship, one which he clearly still enjoys agonising over: "Do I love you because you treat me so indifferently", he asks in "Slideshow", one of the album's highlights. "Release The Stars" confirms Rufus Wainwright's stature as the ultimate song and dance man of the 21st century . My Favourite tracks : "Going to a Town" and "Release The Stars".

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