Want One

Sounds like the marketing department opted to keep me out of the target audience for this one.

I wasn't sure what to expect from a Rufus "the Hallelujah guy" Wainwright, but this definitely exceeded my expectations. It has many sounds to be later found in later alt / indie music of the next few years. Specifically reminiscent of artists like Andrew Bird and Sufjan Stevens. Really excellent songwriting with a lot of eccentric charm throughout the different styles. Heartfelt and theatrical, bits of whimsy intercede with deep emotion. Put it on early thinking it'd be casual but it really gripped me while listening

what a great album of awful songs!

So emotional that I get the feeling That this is Music for People with no feeling, for those who do not listen to music but get these 1 or 2 recommendations per year they completely dig. CD rack holds 27 albums.

Not bad at all. Never listened to him before. A little much in parts. Kind of Nilsson in parts. A little like Thom Yorke but more theatrical. Go or Go Ahead is great! Sounds a bit like a Radiohead song. Overall pretty good! At least a 3.5. Cover is weird though.

Something disgustingly beautiful about the way he sings and the way these songs are orchestrated. I can appreciate it but it's not something I will likely choose to listen to. One of my favorite parts was the very end of "Harvester of Hearts" when he says "that's all you're getting tonight" then laughs that goofy strange laugh. It felt like a glimpse behind a lush facade to something that is hiding behind meticulously crafted prose and arrangement - something that I'm more interested in seeing that what's being shown.

A great flowering of talent here, it seems. Rich and lush and layered and interesting – "breathtaking, eccentric opulence" is about right. A criticism might be that it all runs together a bit, in tempo and mood and excess layering, but how enjoyable and engaging it all is along the way and the combo of ambition/vision and fearless execution/willingness to go for it on every cut seems borderline genius. It’s a steady flow from strength to strength, with every cut registering – “Oh What a World” is a strong opener and great mood-setter, “Vicious World” and “Movies of Myself” keep things moving in rich cinematic fashion, And then what a sequence from the power of intense “Go or Go Ahead” to the yearning “Vibrate” to the rollicking “14th Street” to the legit-lovely “Natasha” to the wry “Harvester of Hearts” – RW leaves nothing on the table (hard to believe another record is coming). “Want” is beautiful, too, with the strong “11:11” and the riveting (if maybe overwrought) “Dinner at 8” make for an extraordinary (and fitting) close. Maybe it’s a little weak vocally, with a one-note style that throws up the same modulations and tics at every song. And it’s not hard to see how the overall feel might be overly dramatic for some tastes (not to mention excessively multi-tracked and overly instrumented/orchestrated). But the payoff is there, song after song after song. One expects to build a long-term relationship with this record (and its twin, which is nearly – but not quite – as excellent) as they have already repaid multiple listenings and definitively give off the air of a masterpiece.

Exceptional. I loved every song on this. Jericho was a personal favorite.

I listened for a few tracks, lost interest, shut it off and didn’t feel bad about it, because this album has been removed from the book.

powerful. transportive. emotional. beautiful.

An immediate classic when it dropped. Still one of his best.

This is magnificent. It's a soundtrack for a beautiful life, any life, in all it's pain, joy, heartache, and optimism. The whole album is full, front-to- back, with wonderful arrangements and rich instrumentation on songs that all sound like the perfect end credit track for a truly stunning movie experience. It's contemplative and sometimes sad yet often triumphant. I've never heard this before, but I'll be back often.

Was so good really enjoyed 8/10

Beautiful compositions

Beautiful album. First time hearing him.

One of my faves. Perfect baroque pop.

Soothing

Amazing listen. Vocals, melody, lyrics. Emotional waves and one great song follows another.

I discovered Rufus through Elton John, who recommended him in an interview in his beginnings. I loved him in many of his songs! Thanks, Reg!

I've enjoyed Rufus from afar for years, but have never listened to a full album. Marvellous, heartfelt, theatrical, passionate, and vintage are all words that come to mind, and it all comes together in such a uniquely rich and unique way. Love it.

Delicate and brash, pulling from a wide array of genres. Lyrically playful and vocally enticing, the songs ebb and flow throughout. A beautiful album

Adored everything about this. It made me very emotional. The variety and layers to this really got me. I'm going to want to dedicate time to dig deeper into this.

For want two I said I enjoyed it but wouldn't go back (and I haven't) but I'll definitely go back to this. It was still a singer songwriter version of Thom Yorke in parts but also reminded me of Jeff Buckley and Beirut. The classical influences were a bit too thick in parts, preferred it when it was a bit more indie. Otherwise a really good album. 4.5

I like the guy - similar vein to Sufjan Stevens although more emotive and theatrical. Loads of references to other songs throughout. Other than Poses, not listened to one of his albums all the way through. A bit samey but I think this is partially due to how he sings - the orchestration and songwriting are fantastic. On the fence between a 4 and 5. Feeling kind.

I love the lyrics, the music, the voice. One I want to keep listening to. Wonderful!

Oh yeah, I know Rufus Wainwright. Wait, looking at the cover, maybe I don't. Oh yeah, I am familiar with this sound. Wait, maybe I don't know what I am talking about at all. Whatever, it was pretty amazing!

Oh, I'm so glad this one's on the list. I became a fan of this album after hearing Beautiful Child in a movie. That's still a favorite, along with What a World and 11:11. I like Wainwright's whole deal.

His voice on this album reminds of something between Robbie Williams and Thom Yorke. First song of the album is very original. And I like it mainly beacuse of it.

No. 226/1001 What A World 3/5 I Don't Know What It Is 3/5 Vicious World 3/5 Movies Of Myself 3/5 Pretty Things 3/5 Go or Go Ahead 3/5 Vibrate 2/5 14th Street 3/5 Natasha 3/5 Harvester of Hearts 3/5 Beautiful Child 3/5 Want 3/5 11:11 3/5 Dinner At Eight 3/5 Average: 2,93 Just an average album. Nothing I didn't like, but also nothing that really excited me.

The ultimate hipster album.

My grocery store needs new music. I will suggest this.

Pulled out the oil like diddy and jerked my shit to each song

abi ben cok begendim cidden tekrar kesin dinlicem en sevdigim sarkı go or go ahead

Unique Rêveries. like listening to someone's beautiful secret. Rich full colourful art rock that's gently theatrical and cinematic but also too personal for those descriptors . An assemblage that at times reaches intensity thats almost excessive but makes you want to hang on and let it expand your capabilities ... It may span too varied a range to truly hang together as an album, as it feels more like a compilation of rapidly evolving styles, but maybe that is Rufus, nothing is the same as the last and there isn't a particular style, just a voice and talent doing the work and sharing the lyrics.... or maybe these are just emotions and not enduring moods that he wishes to share: like pages from a poetry book.... Because then... he drops in a slow ballad stripped down and pours the shining gleaming weight of his story into your upturned palms. More intimate and personal than anything I've heard in a long time. And so lyrical and beautiful. He has a voice. I think it's unique in warmth and that singular reediness, a soaring Karen Carpenter in a male voice. Oh how O hope he holds this together and evolves and performs like. Happy to reminded of this artist.

I was familiar with this album back in the day. It was good to return to this! The two opening numbers are exquisite, and the rest of the album is pretty darn good as well.

I haven't actually made it all the way through this album yet, despite starting it about 5 times. The opening track hooks me in and I want to keep teasing it apart, so I start back at track 1 after every interruption. I'm enjoying Rufus's voice, and the contrasts between vocal and instrumentation on various tracks. Some of the harmonies are wonderfully unexpected. An album to return to, and an artist to explore.

Oh What A World I don't know what it is Vicious World Big drama, ali nježne i zanimljive stvari.

I haven't listened to this in years, I had forgotten how good it is.

Me ha gustado bastante...se parecían a panic at the disco

Oh good, so Want One was in the book at one point. I am very clear that they kept the wrong one in, Want Two is not a patch on this. Incoming message from the Big Giant Head - "this is The best album ever made containing a reference to Third Rock from the Sun." Not a big Rufus fan tbh, but I was introduced to this album a few years back and for me it's a masterpiece. Very much enjoyed the performance he did of this with BBC Phil a couple of months ago also. I see a review call him Rufus 'Hallelujah' Wainwright which I thought odd as there's at least 3 other artists I think of for that song before him, not sure I've heard his version much at all. This record appeals to the side of me that loves the Divine Comedy - indeed the central chord progression in Go or Go Ahead massively reminds me of the Certainty of Chance. But wider than that the general vibe and sweeping instrumentation really scratches something for me. Gloriously overblown from the off, occasionally evoking a stage musical, and delivered beautifully. Most obviously with the bolero of Oh What a World. The voice described as Broadway meets Thom Yorke pretty much nails it. Also a rare example of a really long album which I wouldn't drop a song from. Honestly it's the only record he's done which I like, but I bloody love it. Favourites, Beautiful Child, Go or Go Ahead, 14th Street.

simply lovely. i love this style of music.

Masterpiece

Þessi plata er ógeðslega góð. Við fyrstu hlustun er þetta ekki rödd sem ætti að ná til mín, en hún gerir það nú bara samt. Productionin íburðarmikil en aldrei of, og lögin eru góð, sum hver geggjuð. Óskiljanlegt að hann sé ekki stærra nafn.

Pretty darned lovely. 4.5 stars... Oh. what the heck, give him 5.

I wasn't overly familiar with Rufus Wainwright coming into this, but I was pleasantly surprised. The opening song is fantastic with the marching band sound going behind the lyrics. And it just gets better. Really one of my favorite albums thus far.

Wonderful - like a warm hug on a cold day. An artist I have never appreciated before this, but now have a huge admiration for. A great voice, interesting songs (lyrically and musically) - all round, a brilliant album

Never heard of him before, but I'm now a big fan.

BEAUTIFUL

Dásemd! Hvílík rödd! Hvílíkar laga- og textasmíðar! Elsk <3

Now THIS is how you pop a baroque.

Even though I listened to Want Two first, this is The Return of the King

A great album all around.

awesome

Interesting, very different to any kind of music that I have listened to before. Very funky but enjoyable to listen to.

Distinto, místico, mágico. Para mí este siempre fue un disco perfecto de punta a punta.

This one really worked for me. Every song is expertly crafted, expansive, and poetic. It's night and day compared to the second entry. Best track: Oh What A World

Great album. One of the best two-song openers of any album I've heard. Movies of Myself, 14th Street, Go or Go Ahead are also great. The inbetweeners also have a lot to offer. Well done, everybody.

got better and better the more i listened to it. beautiful lyrics! first track kinda reminds me of FUN.'s music

Lush and gorgeous

Never heard of him before this. I enjoyed every second of this album. I wouldn't say it achieved greatness but it was very pleasant.

Never heard this album before. I liked it very much. Beautiful music and vocals.

It's been over a year since I listened to Want Two by Rufus Wainwright for the album project. Now, I finally get to listen to that album's predecessor, the aptly named Want One. It's kind of a shame that I had to listen to these two swapped. I feel like it would've made a lot more sense to listen to Want One before Want Two. Whatever, let's just talk about this album for a bit. I like it. I'd say it's about as good as I remember Want Two being. The things I liked from that album are definitely here too. The singing definitely has a sort of Thom Yorke-esque vibe to it, but I'm okay with that. The sound is nice. I don't think I said anything about the instrumental sound in the Want Two review. Obviously this isn't a review for that album, but I do want to say that the sound on Want One is pretty good. The writing is still quite interesting. It's good though. The album is a bit long in my opinion, but when these songs are as good as they are, I don't care that much. I especially like the opener, "Oh What A World" and "Go Or Go Ahead." There aren't really any bad songs on the album though. Overall, I like this album a good deal. I may want to revisit Want Two after this to see which one I like more. It's close though. 4/5.

Getting strong radiohead vibes from this one, solid listen

Pretty good stuff.

4.0

A troubadour in the style of his father. Great stories.

To know that Rufus Wainwright is the child of a musical legacy in Kate McGonical and Loudon Wainwright, plus has a background in opera, classical and theater would make sense that Want One is such a classical study of music. I mean, who else could incorporate Bolero into a pop music song and make it seem flawless? Rufus isn't for everybody, but speaking for this period of pop music for such a quirky person to sneak into popular charts is a good thing. 4/5

Pop. Dudo entre un 3 o un 4. Venga, un 4 porque tiene algo de pop barroco en alguna canción.

beautiful music amazing singer and songwriter

Movies of Myself and 14th Street are super chad. Chamber and Baroque Pop are Alfa. 4.5

8/10 - I really liked this album. It kind of reminded me of radiohead for some reason. I thought his voice was nice and the songs were well written.

EASIEST 4.5 of my life genuinely an instant classic! I only know this guy from loneliest time with carly rae but HOW does he make this so soulful and beautiful while it still being singer songwriter vibes. The first track hooked me due to how it reminded me of Red Rock Riveria and I fell in love. The references to NYC just make me feel. The instrumentation and the rhythms. I wanna listen again!

This album is sneaky good. Didn’t expect it.

Interesting record. Enjoyed a lot of the music but Wainwright has a Dylan-esq vocal tone and I think that it works for Bob and not so much for Rufus. I don't think I'd run into it before and I'm glad it was on the list.

I fell in love with his song Cigarettes And Chocolate Milk years ago and explored a few other songs, but never got around to a full album. This was lovely, theatrical, and vulnerable. His voice is gorgeous and very legato, and I'm a sucker for great storytelling behind a piano. I Don't Know What It Is, Vicious World, Go Or Go Ahead, and 11:11 are my favorite tracks after a couple of listens, but I enjoyed them all.

I'm not very familiar with the (apparently famous) Wainwright family. To the extent that I always thought Rufus was the father. So I went in quite blind to this album and was pleasantly surprised. On first listen, I was hooked by a couple of songs ('I Don't Know What It Is' and 'Beautiful Child'), and the rest of the album has continued to open up with repeat plays. The music reminds me a lot of Sufjan Stevens and sounds very cinematic at points. The album as a whole is quite dynamic. It's easy to stop paying attention during some of the quieter moments, like the first half of 'Go or Go Ahead' but it always wakes up again draws me back. It is maybe a bit pretentious of hipstery (the album cover doesn't really help), but I really did enjoy it, much more than I expected. If it's good enough for Bowie, it's good enough for me.

Very heartfelt. From the bottom of his heart he pulled this album. I enjoyed listening more than I thought. Never liked his version of “Hallelujah” so I didn’t have high expectations, but he pleasantly surprised me. Simple, yet entirely complex by adding the smallest of details. A great album from start to finish, if not, a little repetitive. Otherwise, hurrah. 4/5

Passed me by at the time, but I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this. It's indulgent and vain, but it works in a Todd Rundgren lite kinda way.

This felt like a breath of fresh air after the string of fairly terrible picks I’d been given in the last week. Loved the tone of this, it felt like a warm hug!

4/5

El cantante suena como Thom York

rufus is nice

Now THIS is Baroque Pop. Not usually my favorite genre, but I think Wainwright has the musical abilities to actually make it sound great. This album was a very good showcase of his singing and song writing capabilities, and was solid from start to finish.

I enjoyed this. There would have been a period of my life where I would have thought this was the greatest thing ever created. JLS have formed since then, so it’s all changed. A little bit samey but that’s not much of an issue when you like it, I suppose. 3.9

I have flirted with various Rufus tracks in the past but have never listened to an album all the way through. After track 1, Oh What A World I thought it was going to be a bit of a slog as I didn’t really enjoy it. After that though the album just got better and on the whole really enjoyed it. Stand out tracks for me were I Don’t Know What it is, Natasha and 11:11. Good album will definitely listen again.

Really quite enjoyed this tbh. Gave me Sufjan vibes. Track 1 was the stand out

I liked this album a lot. Very similar to what I usually go for

"Want One" is the third studio album by Canadian-American singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright. Pop, baroque pop and rock. Yes, they all work. This album is the first of what was intended to be a double album. The critical reaction was positive and the album won the award for Outstanding Music Artist at the 15th GLAAD Music Awards and was nominated for the 2004 Shortlist Music Prize. Commercially, the album reached #60 on the US charts. The first song and second single "Oh What a World" opens with a choir of harmonies. A tuba and Wainwright's vocals come in. The song builds as the harmonies come back as well as a full orchestra. He's observing the world around him. The first single "I Don't Know What It Is" is another song that builds from piano, strings and a clickety beat to a full orchestra. It reminded me of paisley pop and was a song Wainwright wrote after attending a Strokes concert and about searching but not knowing what you're searching for. "Go or Go Ahead" begins slow with strings and soft vocals and explodes into a rockin' song. This sounded a lot like Radiohead. There's a lot of mythological references as Wainwright faces drug addiction and the person he's become. It's my favorite song on the album. "Vibrate" is a simple song. Strings, piano and a flute as Wainwright is falling for his drug dealer and will leave the phone on vibrate for him. The album ends with a more melancholy ballad in "Dinner at Eight." Piano and string accompaniment to a song where he describes inter-familial fighting. A very sad and personal way to close it out. This album has well constructed songs. There's a variety of approaches/genres including pop, baroque pop, rock, ballads and even over-the-top musical-esque songs. The songs can be simple or more intricate. The lead vocals are loud and clear. The production is very good especially the choral and vocal arrangements. I liked this album a lot more than the companion "Want Two" which I felt went too "all over the place." This album does too but I found it to work better. It's worth listening to especially the singles and others mentioned.

Shockingly fresh and vibrant.

Rufus W is one of the treasures discovered during the 1001. Their first album (which was the follow up to this one) really struck a chord with me. My objective side said this was far from perfect and kinda odd but my subjective opinion is that it is a piece of perfection. Have a listen, it's really good.

Wow, I really loved this - what a great voice and interesting compositional style. Lots of fantastic new songs to explore and I will check out more of Rufus' stuff.

A guy I liked made me a mix cd with a bunch of songs from this album in my early twenties. I loved it. Such a lullaby

Yeah really love this one - first two tracks are bout perfect.

Rufus Wainwright. An artist I've seen passing by quite some time but never took the time for. Well, seems like I was wrong. Absolutely loved this and this is going on my regular listens for sure. I checked his latest album as well but that was not nearly as captivating as this.

Funnily enough I heard this for the first time last week. Want Two came up on this list and I didn’t love it but enjoyed it enough to want to check out more of Wainwright’s work, so naturally went straight to part one. Everything came together a bit better on this one in my opinion, and some of the songs were absolutely huge. Go or Go Ahead is the standout here, and it sounds like the perfect blend of The Bends/Ok Computer era Radiohead and Origin of Symmetry era Muse - with the spacey guitars, gorgeous verses that sprawl and build to massive choruses, and the swells and stabs of choral backing vocals - and I’ve practically had that track on repeat ever since

Rufus Wainwright makes gorgeous music. I’m not afraid to say it!

Opulent, maximalist and massively overdone (in one view) but also all-in and absolutely gorgeous. If one likes an artist with a vision and the guts to explore it all the way to the end and lay it out all there in pursuit of executing it, this is youre record. Because of the layers, one must be patient to appreciate the actual subtleties. Want Two is every bit as good, but different. There are a half-dozen top-rate songs – Movies of Myself," "Go or Go Ahead," “Vibrate," "14th Street," “Natasha," “Harvester of Hearts," “Want” 11:11” and “Dinner at 8." Just extraordinary. The vocals might strain a bit after a time, but the range of emotions well expressed lyrically is singularly impressive. Damn near a 5, really.

лучше чем все что было до этого в предложениях, приятных голос, можно расслабиться

I like it. definitely on the weirder end of pop of the time, but what it tries mostly works. I don't know if I was supposed to listen to Two too, but I did. I think I like it a bit more, but both of them lean too heavily on that period of media (90's to mid 00's) where a normal, stable life is somehow the most dehumanizing thing in the world.

Quite pompous and orchestral but also charming and very beautiful at times. Too long. Stand-out: I Don't Know What It Is, Beautiful Child