rufus wainwright: poses

Probably going to be the only person voting for Shadows, but it was what immediately came to mind as soon as I saw the poll. BUT I also love Grey Gardens a lot & Evil Angel (the strings outweigh the deviantartness of the name).

I’m now listening to this again for the first time in years, so thanks for the poll.

In A Graveyard.

"One Man Guy" has to be one of the most loaded cover choices ever

Because my gf's mom is an ultrasupermegafan, I have now probably seen him live more than any act I've seen of my own volition. I'm never disappointed, tbf. His performances of the title track and 'Cigarettes' always stand out from this particular album. The last time I saw him was the anniversary tour for Poses, which he performed in its entirety, and that particular arrangement of 'Evil Angel' was...kinda next level.

(This is probably it tho I can't watch vids @ work so I can't say with certainty...)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TacKIZ_EoZA

His best album.

The summer '02 show I saw with Pet Shop Boys in attendance was one of the most delightful loosey-goosey things of its kind I've seen.

I may vote for Grey Gardens because the melody is so sumptuous.

there was an anniversary tour for poses!?!??!?! i regret not going!!!

The Tower of Learning
Grey Gardens
Rebel Prince
The Consort

torn between every song in this sequence

plus "greek song"

xxpost The show was very good + long (like he basically did an entire set before he eventually got around to Poses). And he also performed an extraordinary a capella cover of 'Both Sides Now'. I'm sure most/all of it is YouTube-able.

Oh 'Grey Gardens' is the one I never remember as the song named 'Grey Gardens' but which I like very very much. I should probably give the album a spin before voting, huh.

At my show he was obv high/drunk but his sister and Teddy Thompson were -- no joke -- miraculous on harmonies.

Greek Song, which floored me when i first heard it. Then Want One came along and was even better still.

He's been doing literally this whole album and all of the debut on the recent tour.

Greek Song but there’s an easy argument for probably 4-5 other songs.

I saw him recently - he did his whole first album then came back a mix of all the other albums. “California” really does get people up.

Greek Song but there’s an easy argument for probably 4-5 other songs.

I saw him recently - he did his whole first album then came back a mix of all the other albums. “California” really does get people up.

omg. this was my soundtrack while i was discovering my sexuality. it's still so important for me, although i don't listen to it for so long.
i always had a special place for 'poses'. but 'grey gardens'...

xpost totally agree about being floored by greek song at first. unbelievably gorgeous

always wanted to make an evangelion amv set to "evil angel"

I came out at the same time that I discovered his first album (June '99), so his whiny voice and knotted arrangements suited my sensibilities.

A bit of a letdown for me at the time, as I thought it sounded like a more polished version of his magical debut, but as I've found his output beyond this album steadily more inscrutable, I've finally warmed to this one a bit. I did think then, and still do now, that the title track is his masterpiece, or at least the purest distillation of his elegantly wasted aesthetic to a single song. "California" would be my runner-up, with its shout-out to Bea Arthur and its blithe, Prince-like "come on ginger slam!"

This was one of my favorite records when it came out and will always be remembered as the soundtrack to a very specific period of being young and stupid and feeling invincible.

Very difficult to choose but probably either the title track or "Grey Gardens".

I prefer Want One but do like a lot of this! Votes “Poses”

I prefer Want One but do like a lot of this! Votes “Poses”

― flamboyant goon tie included

Pretty much all of this. The title track is one of the most beautiful songs in his back catalogue. When I first got into him when Want One came out, I was drawn to his bigger pop songs like I Don't Know What It Is, California, April Fools and 14th Street. Now my favourites are some of his more low key ballads, Poses, Going To A Town, The Art Teacher, Memphis Skyline, Vicious World and Natasha, especially Natasha. That song is absolutely devastating.

i'll poll want one next! i truly love it though i think it flags a little toward the end and i still think "vibrate" sucks

"natasha," "beautiful child," and "dinner at eight" are still all 10/10 masterpieces

and "go or go ahead" is the sound of falling in love for me

(and is the best rufus song and is what i would vote for in that poll a thousand times over)

I'm afraid to relisten to Want One, partly because his voice was a risk I took even when I loved his songs.

"natasha," "beautiful child," and "dinner at eight" are still all 10/10 masterpieces

― jolene club remix (BradNelson)

Ooh, yeah Dinner At Eight is such a perfect ending to the album. Probably his best vocal.

Shame he had such a drop off after Want One. Want Two is half a great record, but there's some filler on there too. After that I'm pretty much out apart from Going To A Town which still gets me. Release The Stars was a heartbreaker for me at the time. It just seemed so empty. I can barely remember anything about the albums after that.

"Dinner at Eight" is beautiful. "Natasha" was unfortunately forever ruined for me by (of all things) its disgustingly on-the-nose deployment in an episode of Nip/Tuck.

Ha, I remember that! Wasn't it when Christian was dating a blind woman?

....named Natasha.

now i'm listening the album for the first time in years (?) and is 'shadows' the best song?

yes

Release The Stars was a heartbreaker for me at the time.

Yeah, same here. I've not listened to his albums after that one, but all the ones before are great to fantastic, with Want Two probably being my fave of the lot. Poses is so good though; it is a great 'write bad poetry to' album. Voted 'Shadows'. 'Out of these shadows comes a light"

I've always wanted to love Want Two more than I have. The Art Teacher, Gay Messiah, Memphis Skyline and This Love Affair are up there with his best songs. But then you get songs like Little Sister, Hometown Waltz and Old Whore's Diet which really grate on me.

I agree the first three albums are his high water mark - each one a little better than the previous. All the other albums have incredible moments though. “Going to a Town” is easily a top 3 Rufus song.

The last straightforward album he put out—wow, 7 years ago!—was pretty good. “Montauk” is another song that I’ll just never get tired of. Chokes me up every time I hear it.

I liked Out of the Game a lot at the time, haven't played since fall '12.

Yeah, aside from “Montauk” I haven’t really returned to it much but I do recall enjoying it overall. It was refreshing at the time because it felt like he’d scaled his ambition back—no double album, no opera, no sonnets. Just a dozen or so pop songs. In that way it felt like a return to the Poses mindset.

was really disappointed with his albums after this one and have never really taken much interest since :-(
but saw him in a tiny (100 capacity?) London show a few months before Want One came out, when he was just starting to get some proper media attention and 90% of it was stuff from this and a few from the debut (which i prefer) and it was excellent. in fact i've probably still got the bootleg i made on my pre-ipod mp3 player around somewhere. anyway I would probably go for Greek Song or Grey Gardens.

havent listened to this in over ten years i dont think.

but going with The Consort cos the back half is perfect.

Love the part of "Greek Song" where it goes from all that lush imagery to

When I get back
I will dream in Barnes and Noble
Oh leave me here
Oh leave me where angels fear to tread

Hey Hmmmmm i wouldn't mind hearing that bootleg!

Hey I love this version of Poses by Dave Douglas:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIp52a5om0Q

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

Even the songs that got zero votes are super terrific.

"Grey Gardens" has his most straightforward hook, y'all are insane, including me for not voting for it.

If you haven't heard 'Grey Gardens' live, throw Rufus a few bucks next time he rolls through town and thank me later. That piano melody has burned itself into my own self.

oh what a coincidence i just did “cigarettes and chocolate milk” at piano karaoke

Another top-notch tune, live or otherwise. And relatable, to say the least.