RUFUS WAINWRIGHT
then I started working on my singing . I think around the time the Judy Garland shows came up , that ’ s when I really started focusing on my voice .”
He ’ s referring the Rufus Does Judy at Carnegie Hall shows he did in June of 2006 . Backed by a 36-piece orchestra , Wainwright recreated Garland ’ s legendary 1961 concert at the famed New York venue . A live album taken from those shows earned Wainwright his first Grammy nomination .
“ You can even hear a big difference in my voice pre- and post-Judy , where I started to pronounce things more and focused more on my breathing . So , my voice then became the thing . And then , once that was sort of under control and more fluid , I then went on to opera . So , I think it ’ s always important to have something that will really challenge you . If something becomes too regular , then it ’ s time to really move on to another discipline . What ’ s interesting about this pandemic , too , is that I ’ ve gone back to visual arts a little bit . I ’ ve gotten to draw a lot during this period . You know , you ’ ve just got to keep it scary .”
Throughout the pandemic , because there ’ s no touring going on , Wainwright has been performing a series of ticketed livestreamed concerts he ’ s dubbed the Rufus-Retro-Wainwright-Spective . For them , he ’ s been playing his nine studio albums in consecutive order , with one album side per show , plus “ fireside chat ” Q & As . The experience was a pleasant reminder for him that he ’ s always had that drive to , as he says , keep it scary .
In preparing to perform the albums Want One and Want Two ( released in 2003 and 2004 , respectively ), which really cemented his greatness with fans and critics , he admits to some nervousness about it .
“ That was kind of an epic project and a real sort of Herculean task , putting those records together and releasing them and touring them . I really remember thinking before I revisited them that I was fearful of the prospect because they were just so big . But they kind of went off without a hitch for me , just performing them in a more intimate way ,” he says . “ Then we hit Release
the Stars , which came out afterwards , which is an album I made in Berlin , mostly , and it has the song ‘ Going to a Town .’ That album was so difficult to do . I mean , it went really well , but I was kind of surprised at how challenging it was . But it was a good feeling that , at least fundamentally in my songwriting and my arrangements and in my ideas , I was still pushing , you know ? That after the kind of summit of the Want albums , I was still moving further .”
At 47 , he acknowledges that writing a hit pop song is less in the cards than it used to be , though he has been connecting and writing with some other L . A . -based songwriters over Zoom for fun , “ so it ’ s not out of the picture , necessarily , but I wouldn ’ t say it ’ s as pertinent to me , though it would be great . I just like to have several goalposts that I ’ m running towards , and who knows if I ’ ll get there or not .” After all , as Pitchfork pointed out in its positive review of Unfollow the Rules , Wainwright is around the same age that Leonard Cohen was when he wrote “ Hallelujah ” ( which Wainwright had his own hit version of from the Shrek soundtrack ), and his father , Loudon , was when he released his late-career highpoint , History , in 1992 .
“ The Judy record was nominated [ for a Grammy ], but I didn ’ t expect that to happen . But this one I ’ m a little more hopeful for anyways . But that being said , it ’ s always the case that whenever you finish an album , you think it ’ s the most amazing thing in the world , and that the whole universe is going to explode . You need that sort of egotistic drive in order to really complete an album and to really believe in an album . It is a sort of mirage and a manic state of delusion that every performer goes through when they put out a record . And then there ’ s , you know , the two-week period of just facing reality – either that or it catapults up the charts and you ’ re a trillionaire .”
Unfollow the Rules isn ’ t making Wainwright a trillionaire , but it is a return that his fans had been waiting for , even if they enjoyed his journey into operas and Shakespearean sonnets in the previous seven years . Those forays were a fun challenge and passion projects for the artist , but the new album is a re-embrace of sounds that long-time fans know and love . Working with veteran producer Mitchell Froom ( Paul McCartney , Bob Dylan , Peter Gabriel ), the album runs the gamut of classic Wainwright touchpoints . There ’ s the fun and jaunty “ You Ain ’ t Big ,” the acoustic love song “ Peaceful Afternoon ,” the strings and piano ballad of the title track , and the tense , near-apocalyptic crescendos of “ Devils and Angels ( Hatred ),” and a number of other stops along the way . But of course , throughout the 12 songs , Wainwright ’ s voice and piano are the through line and that keep it all together .
“ In retrospect , I ’ ve had some amazing moments , whether it ’ s some of the performances that I ’ ve been able to do , and , certainly watching the inauguration now , I mean , I ’ ve sung for Barack Obama , I ’ ve sung for the Queen , and I ’ ve been there at some great moments ,” he says towards the end of our conversation . “ But in terms of really conquering the pop world , that ’ s been elusive . I did care about it more when I was younger , but now , I don ’ t know , I think I ’ ve gained something perhaps more profound , which is longevity and a real respect from both my peers , older artists , and also a new generation . So yeah , I ’ m feeling pretty good about it these days .”
Michael Raine is the Editor-in-Chief of Canadian Musician .
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