Out Of The Game
Rufus Wainwright's Mark Ronson-produced seventh album represents the singer's return to more formal song structure, but it also marks a break from the florid, operatic pop that defined his first five albums.
Rufus Wainwright has recorded plenty of ambitious, idiosyncratically personal, not-always-accessible albums, but every so often he goes full pop, releasing an eclectic, catchy record designed to be embraced. Out Of The Game is one of the latter, joining Poses and Release The Stars as the Wainwright album most likely…
Few people twist the opposing aesthetics of lush and stark with the dexterity of Rufus Wainwright, the chanteuse with the…
Rufus Wainwright's 2012 studio effort, Out of the Game, is a '70s singer/songwriter album with some soft rock and disco and elements that bring to mind a mix of Boz Scaggs, ELO, and Todd Rundgren.
Rufus Wainwright has been overtly stating of late that being a highly regarded yet somewhat esoteric pop star isn’t good enough. He wants to drop the ‘esoteric’ part. And so, on seventh studio album Out Of The Game, he’s drafted in the uberlord of mainstream, Mark Ronson, and the pair do all but literally throw the kitchen sink at this one. ‘Genre-bingo’ begins with the opening track, a baleful country number where Wainwright somewhat mischievously ponders his own relevance (a recurring theme).
Having rounded out the first phase of his career with a lavish boxset, Wainwright turned to Mark Ronson to smooth down the flamboyant edges and ensnare the music-buying masses.
Rufus Wainwright returns with a smooth, easy-going collection that's undeniably classy, writes <strong>Ally Carnwath</strong>
Mark Ronson has produced Wainwright's seventh album, but he can't impinge on the singer's fundamental Rufusness, writes <strong>Caroline Sullivan</strong>
Rufus Wainwright - Out of the Game review: Rufus Wainwright’s out of the game, sure, but if he were comfortable enough in his shoes then this would not be a problem.