Want Two
Rufus Wainwright’s *Want Two* comes on the heels of its similarly titled predecessor, *Want One*, and they definitely go hand-in-hand. Nestled in lush arrangements, strings, and choir backdrops, Wainwright’s vocals soar operatically (“Agnus Dei”), yearn (“The One You Love”), and reflect (“Memphis Skyline,” a tribute to Jeff Buckley). Overall, the album has a heavily orchestrated tone. While this can be intriguing the more grandiose moments border on the overwhelming at times. Quieter moments, such as the acoustic, romantic “Peach Tree\'s” and the live storytelling-style of “The Art Teacher,” are all the more powerful in their sparseness. *Want Two*’s most introspective track, “Gay Messiah,” finds Wainwright grappling humorously and poignantly with his growing gay icon status. Though his lyrics explore love and lust, sin and loss, it’s Wainwright’s voice – melancholic and moving, passionate and sweeping – that expresses all the emotion that mere words can’t convey.
This is the second entry in Rufus Wainwright's Want series, which pairs his dreamy voice and droll lyrics to audaciously over-the-top orchestration.
Picking up where Want One left off, Rufus Wainwright's Want Two is a deeply introspective, sometimes kinky, and often personally critical set of mini-operettas that ruminate on his various relationships, drug abuse, and image in the media.