Customer Reviews

Rufus Does Judy At Carnegie Hall [2 CD]

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(22)

 

 

Why did Rufus Wainwright decide to perform his version of the classic songlist from Judy Garland's Carnegie Hall concert? At first, I thought it was a joke. How could he take on such a risky and frankly bizarre endeavor? Then, as I thought about it and heard about it and tried to understand it, I began to see. Wainwright has a two-fold purpose. First, he wanted to push his talent to a place where it had never been. Be plunging into this material, he was forced to go placed that he doesn't need to visit. This project pushed his ability to look into the truth of a song that is not a perfect fit for him. Second, I think he decided to redefine the limits of what it means to be "out." He decided to do something that is so audaciously gay, so bordering on camp with setting up a tent, that he basically became the "outest" gay man on the planet, and that in itself is a political statement. Finally (I guess there are three reasons), he wanted to pay tribute to the talent of the great Judy Garland. I think that this CD set succeeds on all of those counts. He strives for a new depth in his communication of lyric, he stands out as a gay icon, and he pays homage to Garland. Admittedly, this is not a clean and perfect album. There are retakes and vocal problems to be found. But, he goes on and tries again to push himself into the material...not an easy tast, but I feel that he chooses to do it "not because it is easy, but because it is hard."
I found the album moving on several levels, and a uniquely devouring experience.

While I agree that the cd of Rufus doing Judy Live does not include the encores (but the dvd does), I must say that this is still a fantastic and brilliant Rufus release. His voice is in top condition. He delivers beatiful versions of classics made famous by Judy Garland. His versions of "That's Entertainment" and "Over The Rainbow" alone make this set worth getting. I also find it interesting to hear Rufus perform songs that were not written by him, and are from a whole other genre of music... He pull is off wonderfully!! A must buy for any Rufus fan!!!

This CD has made me so happy I may not be able to stop smiling for a good year or more. What cracks me up most of all, however, is some of the negative comments customers have written here. I am sure that Rufus is laughing his head off over "physiological inability to form an `e' vowel"! Of course, Rufus' voice is unique and I would not expect all of God's creatures to love or understand it, just as many don't get the "Judy Garland obsession" of many people. Some couldn't stand Jimi Hendrix, some didn't like Jimmy Durante. People have different tastes.

But for some of us, this Judy Garland concert by Rufus is enough to make us get down on our knees, reach to the sky, and shout to the heavens "Thank you God!" I bought the CD having some wee little doubts about whether I would like it or not, but I enjoy Rufus' music so much that I just had to try it. From the very beginning of the CD I was totally hooked. It was the most fun I have ever had listening to a music CD. I listened to it as I rode the bus to and from work, and as I walked home from the bus stop.

I was walking down R Street here in Washington DC as I listened to Martha Wainwright singing "Stormy Weather" and having never heard her before I initially thought "Oh gosh, I really wish I could hear RUFUS sing this song instead of his sister!" But it didn't take long for me to say "Wait a minute. This gal is fantastic!" Oh yes, she is amazing, with a totally unique voice, much like Rufus, which some might not like, but which I could listen to for the next 50 years. Her rendition of "Stormy Weather" is the best rendition of that song I ever heard in my life. I fell to my knees right on the sidewalk of R Street and screamed "I love you Lena Horne, but this Martha gal has made this song HER baby now!" I don't think I ever heard anything so wonderful as this. I may have to erect a statue in her honor one day.

Rufus' stories preceding various songs are priceless. And the story written by his mother, Kate McGarrigle, on the CD may well be the most beautiful thing I have ever read. What a family this Wainwright clan is! Holy smokes! They absolutely reflect the best of America.

How I wish we had more music like this to listen to. Great melodies, great lyrics... the kind of song you could actually enjoy with people of all ages and share a laugh together. Some of them have me swaying and tapping my feet so loudly on the bus that I have to keep looking up to see if the bus driver is squinting at me, preparing to ask me to get off the bus. Above all, it is a special treat to hear Rufus sing "Over the Rainbow" to his wonderful mother. Yes, I adore Judy, but I prefer hearing Rufus sing "Over the Rainbow" to anyone else who ever walked the earth. I will never forget the powerful rendition of it he gave as Lance Loud's memorial service. To me that was the best that song will ever be sung.

It's hard to guess who will love this CD, and who just won't get it. You just have to try it and see. I suspect that most people will either (1) adore it to pieces and want to go do their own Judy show, or (2) wonder why on earth anyone would like this stuff. As for me, I think this CD is as beautiful as can be.

So wonderful to hear a contemporary singer breathe some new life into the old standards. I love it when performers don't allow themselves to be bound by one genre. This recording has brought all the joy back into my heart that I felt on June 14th up in the balcony of Carnegie Hall. This was no vanity piece - it was performed with heart, soul, love, and just a little wink of the eye. The reviewer who referred to Mr. W.'s vocals as "painful" sounds like a member of the hard-line old school friends of Judy club. Listen to the music, folks. Sure, Rufus has some vocal challenges, but Judy's voice alone was not so stellar all the time either. She warbled, went off pitch sometimes, missed words, messed rhythms. But sang with emotion and meaning and grit and honestly. And Rufus did pretty much the same. I've waited for this cd since the concert ended. My only disappointment is that Rufus' rendition of Every Time We Say Goodbye was left off the cd. This was one of the most glorious and poignant moments of the concert, and frankly the song I was most looking forward to on cd. But, hey, it will likely turn up on a bootleg or maybe even an official release. As for the cd - buy it. It is a loving tribute to one of the great ones. While you're at it, buy hers as well.

Rufus does a fabulous job re-creating the Judy Garland concert on this live album, but one must keep in mind that Rufus Wainwright is NOT Judy Garland and therefore if you are judging it expecting it to be Judy Garland with a male voice then that is entierly the wrong approach here.

Rufus shines brilliantly on songs like "do it again", "over the rainbow", "san francisco", "come on get happy", "foggy day", "if love were all" and many others. Lets not forget that the stlye of some songs is very campy and old school ( I wouldn't like some of the songs on Judy Garland either) so this is not the kind of CD one would play at a get together with friends, at least I wouldn't.

Overall, Rufus charisma and one of a kind vocals still come through when the songs itself are good enough to showcase it.

Re-creating Judy's legendary Carnegie Hall concert is like remaking "Citizen Kane." WHY, IN GOD'S NAME? Well, commercial novelty comes to mind; artistic ego also seems to have played a part. Here is the reality: Wainwright CAN'T INTERPRET THESE SONGS. His voice is not suited for the material and he seems to have little affinity for the lyrical content (going so far as to disparage Gershwin's "Who Cares" prior to singing it!). On just one example: Judy dipped into her warm lower register for the sexiest "Do It Again" ever recorded; Rufus does it in near-falsetto and drains it of all eroticism. I could go on, but that would be giving this project more attention than it deserves. All of Rufus' fans will buy it anyway, as he well knew, giving his bank account a nice boost without having to write any new material about his poor choices in boyfriends (i.e. "Release The Stars," his recent weak effort). "Want One" stands as the strongest testament to his true talent as a contemprary singer/songwriter... but that was how many years ago? Maybe he will surprise us with a mature, deeply-felt original effort, but for now his songwriting talent seems to have peaked. I gave this two stars for the terrific arrangements (Nelson Riddle? Mort Lindsay? Both?) which have stood the test of time quite nicely.

Absolutely breathtaking. I saw Rufus do this show live at the Hollywood Bowl, and it was one of the greatest live performances I've ever seen. I've been listening to this over-and-over all day today. It just gets more beautiful.

I was apprehensive when I started to listen to this CD, and I was still a bit anxious after the first song, ("When You're Smiling"). But Rufus had me hooked after "Puttin' on the Ritz" and I was completely sold by the end of the first act, ("San Francisco"). After that, I was his, all the way to "Chicago".

Yes, he has his vocal quirks, but his enthusiasm and obvious love of the material more than make up for it. And the orchestra is fab.

It would have been easy to camp it up, but he elects to do the songs (you should pardon the expression) relatively straight. It's a joyous experience. Honestly, this is the most fun I've had listening to a CD in a long time.

I could have done without Martha Wainwright's "Stormy Weather", to be honest. And Lorna Luft's vibrato is kind of scary, although some of "After You've Gone" was pretty swell.

The pinnacle of the whole CD is Noel Coward's "If Love Were All". I'd love to hear Rufus tackle an entire CD of Coward's work. It seems their dry humor and bruised romanticism would be a perfect fit.

Anyway, if you're a Rufus fan, it's worth a listen.

Rufus may think he's doing Judy, but he's certainly doing her no favor. Wainwright is ill-suited to the material and his vocals are monotanous and purely monotone. It's like listening to someone who can only sing in one note; for Wainwright, the songs were literally too much of a stretch.

BTW, his Hollywood Bowl concert where he also tried to ape the Garland concert was a night to forget too. He couldn't reach some of the high notes and seemed badly prepared to do this kind of concert. It was more or less like a bad rehearsal. In fact, so is this CD.

A huge disappointment. I'd really been looking forward to borrowing of a copy of this thing so I could finally hear what when on. I pop it in, and off it goes. Soon I'm thinking... wow his vocal-range isn't very great... gee his voice really isn't suited to this material AT ALL... yikes he's missing as many notes as he hits! Maybe you had to be there?? Rufus is amazing with certain types of material, but this sure didn't work for me. I could say it was a missed opportunity, but I'm not sure that an opportunity ever really existed to start with. So glad I didn't actually pay for a copy, I'd be really annoyed!