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On "Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk," the opening track of his stunningly sophisticated sophomore album, Poses, Rufus Wainwright confesses to his indulgences: "Everything it seems I like is a little bit sweeter, a little bit fatter, a little bit harmful for me." Set to a seductively simple keyboard vamp that slips into occasionally dissonant chords, the song is as artful as it is amusing, especially when it ends in an ironic flourish with, "So please be kind/ if I'm a mess." Although he is the son of singer-songwriters Kate McGarrigle and Loudon Wainwright III Rufus covers one of his father's best-known tunes, "One Man Guy," here, his songs are indulgently theatrical, more suited for the cabaret than the coffee house, and given to sweeping, swooning piano-based melodies and crescendoing string arrangements. The stately, poised title track features witty wordplay worthy of Stephen Sondheim -- "Life is a game and true love is a trophy" -- and lovely background vocals from his sister, Martha Wainwright. Elsewhere, "Shadows," a collaboration with the Propellerheads' Alex Gifford, overlays a sexy funk groove with a string section, while "California" is a shining pop moment masking disillusionment with the state's shiny veneer: "So much to plunder that I think I'll sleep instead." Poses is a remarkable album, one that establishes Rufus Wainwright as one of pop music's most exciting and unique young voices.
Condition: NEW Sealed
TRACK LISTINGS
Disc 1
1 Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk (4:44)
2 Greek Song (3:56)
3 Poses (5:02)
4 Shadows (5:35)
5 California (3:23)
6 The Tower of Learning (4:47)
7 Grey Gardens (3:08)
8 Rebel Prince (3:44)
9 The Consort (4:25)
10 One Man Guy (3:31)
11 Evil Angel (4:43)
12 In a Graveyard (2:22)
13 Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk (Reprise) (3:59)
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