Want Two

50 odd minutes of waiting for a song to get going. Reminded me too much of the Radiohead albums I dont like. I suspects it was a turning point album or wildley experimental for this artist but it was boring for me.

Ziemlich interessant, mir aber einen Deut zu lang. Aber mit dem werde ich mich nach und nach mal beschäftigen.

Dieses Orchestrale ist mir zu doll.

Loving the lush instrumentation / composition, middle eastern North African influences and hoedown references, BUT Rufus’ voice is giving me wobbly Radiohead and try hard cabaret, and I SO want him to carry and soar a note without whingeing nasally about it. Having said that, lyrics are funny and sharp, and the Old Whores Duet is wonderful.

I have never been big on Rufus Wainwright however this is a good album. Love his lyrics “Art Teacher” and the duet with Anthony on “Old Whore’s Diet” is great. I find his voice too much cabaret otherwise. I have noticed some parallels with David Byrne’s solo work which I like.

70

2,8 Highlights: The One You Love, Little Sister

I picture either Thom Yorke or the lead singer of The Strokes draped over a chez longue holding a rose in his hand with an open shirt, lazily singing and not moving from that same pose for the duration of the album. Music was OK, vocals - can tell he's a good vocalist but misses the mark for me and there's no enjoyment in listening to him or the album.

I liked the instrumentation but honestly Wainwright's voice was just tiring. It's like he's trying to be Thom Yorke but stretching out the words waaaaaaayyyy too often. Favorite Track: The One You Love

What a pleasant surprise that a Rufus Wainwright album made this list! My spark song for Rufus was “The One I Love,” which I must’ve first heard on World Café back when David Dye hosted. I picked up WANT TWO soon after. Rufus is one of my favorite artists and this album remains my favorite. I know it’s not for everyone, but I absolutely love his distinctive “velvet tongue.” And the storytelling in his songs really puts me in those places and situations. 4-1/2 stars

Interesting. I put this album on for background music when I was working and I kept stopping working like listening to the songs and overall it was a really great album..

On the Industry Plant/Nepo-Baby scale from Jakob Dylan to Stella Lefty, I give this album two Jeff Buckleys. I guess I just don't like "Baroque Pop" or whatever this genre is called.

I gave his other album a 1, but this one is slightly better. The question is, who needs to hear either of these albums before they die?

i didnt want one, i certainly didnt want two of Rufus' albums. Too whiney for me

This is pretty good

Listened to this twice. The first listen I found it very underwhelming. The second listen I got a bit more out of it, but still...it jut deteriorates as you go through the album. This is by no way anywhere close to want one. Part from Memphis skyline the album falls flat after little sister. The one you love is the standout track. All that said, it was still listenable and had enough notable songs to give it a 3. 3 stars

Good

At its best in the live piano performances. 3.5 for The Art Teacher.

Kann man anhören, aber einmal reicht

Wow! I heard so much hatred towards this album - well, not hatred - but definitely strong negative criticism, and I really don't see what they don't like. 'The One You Love' and 'The Art Teacher' (Especially the latter!) are some of the greatest tracks that I've heard in a while, and even weaker tracks like 'Agnus Dei' and 'Crumb By Crumb' were absolutely great! It's also lovely to see ANOHNI on feature, they're on so many albums, and it's a lovely surprise when you see them featured - as expected, the track was an album highlight!

After the last Rufus wainwright (why the fuck are there multiple of his on here?) and seeing this isn't on YouTube music, I was tempted to just not listen, but I had to go and check YouTube didn't I. He should be called Rufus Harrogate. Thom Yorke's somehow more pretentious cousin. If he was made of chocolate he'd eat himself. Why use multiple words when you can make threeeeeeeee laaaaaaaaaasssssstttt aaaaaaaaaaages.

3.5★/5 [10.07.2026] 10.08.2026

its alright, somewhat interesting but a lot of it sounds the same to me. its more unique then a lot of music but not worthy of a 4. it is almost putting me to sleep but its not bad so it shall stay at a 3.

I liked this more than I expected. Rufus’s voice is just so good! Am I crazy to think that Thom Yorke’s voice has a similar timbre? I like Radiohead’s music better, but I can see myself playing this in certain situations. Really good record and I am glad I listened

Rufus, I didn't want the first one, why would I want two? Are these two in addition to the first? I'm still trying to hose the stink off me. Ugh. Well, yeah I guess, fire away. This is a big day for my legions of fans, as my very old and horrible review of Want One has a dizzying 5 "likes" on this platform. Yes, the 2024 classic which is done in a track by track review style, where I don't denote the separations with anything but a paragraph break filled with amateurish takedowns and tortured grammar. It was clear to most, that the young buck writing that dissertation had a room temperature IQ (Celsius (!)) and a lot to say. I plan on showing how little I've grown in the convening two years by doing pretty much the same thing. This time, with no track reviews! I called Rufus' first effort "low budget Coldplay." I almost standby that barb, but I would like to amend it for this sequel. Squeakuel, if you will. I think this record is Coldplay for childless couples who move to a large city for "the vibes." The man is 48 and is paid $900,000 a year to smile and wear a suit while laying off admin workers. The woman is 24, "mature for her age," and is attempting to start a craft/yoga/design business to stave off the buzzing agony in her oft-ignored brain. Together they gingerly walk over homeless half-corpses, weary of life, one another, and themselves, and continue to propagate the financial ruin of an entire species. Through their pernicious boredom, and hatred for all things (especially themselves) they will spend a large sum of money on alcohol/furniture and pay entirely too much to live amongst "the happening," thus, inflating pricing beyond all but the soulless, empty flesh husks that they themselves pilot around their gentrified kingdom of tears. Drown the peasants in a deluge of neo-poverty and when this new endeavour's dopamine ebbs, find a new world to pillage. Long may the cycle continue. Sorry, Ruf (pronounced "roof"), you were great on drag race. 1 HIGHLIGHTS: Yeah, they just put in a Boca Bar down here. No, I don't know what that means. No, I can't feel emotions.

A lot of moaning and whining to a Victorian-era style orchestral sound. The sound is very rich and complex, no doubt, but it doesn't do it for me. Oh, and a big middle finger to anyone who compares this to Radiohead in any way,

Ugh. I like Rufus wainwright.

Yes, it is a pretentious album. But that does not mean it's without merit! It's a different pop sound that requires risk which I can respect. The lyrics are solid too. Highlights: Peach Trees

First song builds suspense and makes you wonder where this album could be going. Good build up for what is otherwise something I really don't get any enjoyment out of. It all sounds so mopey and sad. I really don't like the way Rufus Wainwright is communicating anything to me. The almost Classical-esque presentation in which the album cover and some songs are brought to me doesn't do it for me either. This shit really isn't for me and I have another album of exactly this to go.

How did this no-talent nepo-baby get even one, much less two, albums in this list?

this is want two, which is the second part of rufus wainwright's want album. i reviewed want one in 2025, so it's nice to come back to listen to more. compared to the first one, the artist describes want two as want one's "darker sibling", the first album being more light and personal, while this one heavier, a little less accessible and focused on the world around him. there's also a stronger religious and classical influence in this second part. just like the first part, this second part is on a similar or equal quality here. crooning, soothing and melancholic singing... a very handsome singing voice mind you... true neutral baroque pop composing, plenty of waltzing beats and slower, vocal focused songs too, there's a good amount of songs that go for different energies. this guy makes music that sounds like he's dressed up like a gypsy, pushing along a calliope and making up sonnets as he goes around the village. it's very very solid but you need to listen to the other half to get the complete experience.

Maybe one song was half way decent

Not feeling it

[Already rated. Original review:] Want One is so good! So why doesn't this one work for me at all?

It’s like an album of hymns for secular people. Every song is so long and drawn out. They weren’t unlistenable, just kind of boring and samey. I’m not upset I listened to this, but I can’t envision a scenario where I choose to listen to it again.

#462 Nothing offensive about this but wasn’t quite my thing. The instrumentation is interesting at times but I found myself a little disengaged for much of this. Heard before? ❌ Would I revisit? ❌ Listen before you die? ❌ Fave track(s): The One You Love Rating: 4/10 ⭐️⭐️

Having Anohni on the last track just highlights how much I hate Rufus. Some nice orchestration but I really didn't enjoy this one.

Sad and sweet

Picking up where Want One left off, Rufus is still more talented, better educated, nearly as theatrical as Liberace and drier than Bea Arthur. Then there’s that cover where he’s Lancelot’s hotter cousin. Jiminy Christmas

Found it a bit slow and as almost every reviewer has said, a bit whiny. If I was in the mood for this type of sound I’d probably pull out something from Radiohead instead.

I guess this is from his Radiohead phase?

Lovely album. Big fan of the moments where his voice is more Yorke-/Winteresque

Muy aburrido el disco de Rufus. Pensé que después de la primera canción, no me gustó nada, empezaba a mejorar pero me equivoqué. Muy monótono. Por momentos me hizo acordar a un disco de Radiohead, OK Computer.

I didn't Want One, let alone Two.

Wat

Pain, beauty, and longing.

I did not enjoy this nearly as much as the first one. I felt like it went to the same techniques too many times and became a bit repetitive.

Не чув такого)

This album smells like a dead skunk in the middle of the road. 2 stars or D-.

I like song of his songs, I guess I don't like an album of them, tho. 3/5

I liked want one more, but this album has a few good tracks

Just as scrappy as the first one

Mom, can we get Radiohead? No, we have Radiohead at home:

It took me the entire first song to realize that he was actually speaking English, and that these songs had words and weren't dramatically terrible and closetedly gay opera performances. Get out of my ears, Rufus, that's not the right hole.

It starts off promising with some gorgeous operatic piano and held my interest for about half the record. It bogged down in the second half with slower crooners. Ultimately, while Rufus is undeniably talented, he lacks the pop sensibility of his clear idol Elton John. And I’m just not that fussed on his overwrought cabaret/piano bar style.

First Listen; 2.5; I don't know what it is about this artist, but I just can't get in to it. It just feels too dramatic for me, sort of floats around, without ever really punching through or pinning something down. Although I did like the last track, reminds me of David Byrne. Favorite Track: Old Whore's Diet

Boring

This was really strange...but really good! It sounded like a religious dream about the renaissance? Rufus Wainwright's voice is like an intelligible Thom York.

Not my cup of tea. Maybe at a different time in life, but not a big fan of it on my first listen.

Boring

If you like dramatic show tunes that don’t have a hook, then this is for you. Complex, orchestral arrangements. His voice has a rich quality and he knows how to use it — but his melodramatic delivery, straight from the Broadway stage grates after the second song. This is creative and influential, but i just don’t like it. A 3.

I'd never heard of this guy , his music, or this album. After listening, I can see why. Completely forgettable. I think I already have.

This started off reasonably well and I had high expectations. But as it developed, it just turned into Thom Yorke derivative slop. Oh the warbling. Oh the inner torment. It’s been done before and better 2/5.

Some of this I loved, and some I hated.. will be relistening to try and figure it out better. Nice voice though

bit Thom Yorkie

Pretentious but very enjoyable and rich.

I got "Want One" a LONG time ago as part of this and I honestly don't remember shit about it. Rufus Wainwright oddly sounds a lot like Thom Yorke, which I personally don't care for. "The One You Love" was the only real notable track for me here.

If Prince Herbert from Monty Python and the Holy Grail had made an album it would've sounded like this. "But I don't want a kingdom...I just want to sing!" Anyway, it's OK in some places. Really bad in others. I wanted to like it. Lots of reviews reference Radiohead. While this voice is reminiscent of Thom Yorke, this can't hold a candle to Radiohead.

You get what you want. Honestly, Waiting For A Dream was the only reason this is getting more than 1 star.

Shit

Exceptional

Accomplished but quite inconsistent.

One of those that I’ll admit, brilliant but nothing about it was easy. Glad I heard it once, but never again. If I were going to recommend it to someone, it’s perfect for theatre kids who love Radiohead, enjoy a music challenge and maybe has done a few murders. Me personally, imma pass on this one dawg.

I hadn't listened to this for 20 years, and I didn't much like it then. Far too smug for my liking.

I knew the name but not the music. Not something I will return to as I found it incredibly boring.

Bit of a mixed bag. Loved some of this; found other songs a bit twee and over-clever. Love his voice though and the ambition in the album.

New to me. A listen that went from bland and irritating through to be actively painful. Absolutely horrible. One star. Tom.

Cozy, nice, lacking standouts. 6/10

Es curioso lo que me ha pasado con este disco. Ha empezado pareciéndome muy bueno, con un arranque muy potente, instrumentalmente muy atmosférico y una voz preciosa. ¿El problema? Que a partir de cierto momento lo que parecía una coincidencia entre la voz del cantante y Thom Yorke, poco a poco se fue convirtiendo en un vampirizado bastante guapo. "Peach Trees" por ejemplo, se parece demasiado a "Motion Picture Soundtrack". Amo a Radiohead, son mi banda favorita, por lo cual este digo también me debería gustar, pero no termina de ser así. El problema con inspirarte demasiado en algo es que ese algo sigue existiendo para realizar una comparativa, si yo mañana pinto una réplica de la Mona Lisa, puede ser muy buena, pero sigue existiendo una Mona Lisa Original que es mejor.

This was way more interesting than I would have believed. I guess I haven’t sat down and listened to Rufus Wainwright much.

Really? TWO of this guy's albums for this list?

⭐️Agnus Dei

This was a rollercoaster. I was all set to pen this review by noting Rufus is my least favourite Wainwright, both musically and personally, but then I realised I didn't really know his music that well. I was then really surprised by the first two songs - but very different but I enjoyed them equally. It then took me on a bumpy ride of ups and downs before I realised there's enough still here that's annoying, but enough that sounds like a baroque Radiohead for me to not hate him.

this is one of the few albums that i started liking more as it went on. and then he started singing in french to top it off. nice.

I stumbled across art teacher a few years ago and found it so original and intriguing, it's been on playlists of mine ever since. This album takes that approach and runs with it, although none of the tracks captured me in quite the same way it was all original, it was all fascinating, like and dislike his voice in a way that makes me listen out for the time that I will decide which it is. I think I'd need a few more listens before I decide if I really like the album, it's apparently a good simile for his voice, so likely I'll never decide and I'll just put this down as an interesting 4.

voice is scarily similar to radiohead's vocalist also kinda that tiktok guy who does songs with 5% more yearn

In the vocal ilk of radio head with a little tom waits style waltz. Great vocalizations

I've been complaining about other albums being dull and bland, and I could see how you could describe this album in the same way. However, there is something about this one, it just hits a chord with me and it's very enjoyable. I had to make sure it wasn't a fluke so I've listened again on other days with the same result. It a nice peaceful album with his voice as an additional instrument adding to the whole ambience.

Very inspired by Radiohead, just not quite as good. Had enough by the end of it. 2/5

3.4

I like his singing style, but it does get a bit tiring after a while. Stunning instrumentation! Beautiful album

Dreary, boring dirge

Caroline said this was "Pretentious like Muse" I find it hard to disagree. Mainly it was just a bit annoying.

Simplesmente um dos álbuns mais completos que já vi. Pop, Rock e muitas inspirações da música clássica, e não satisfeito com o Inglês, o álbum termina com uma faixa em ao vivo em Francês, com um piano de tirar o fôlego. Esse é o tipo de experiência que você almeja ter quando o assunto se trata de Álbuns que Você Deveria Ouvir Antes de Morrer.

I really couldn’t differentiate two songs and was bored of the moaning singing that seemed to only go between three long notes

Like if Radiohead were REALLY inspired by Electric Light Orchestra. Doesn't help that Rufus sounds like Thom Yorke most of the time. But, hey, I'm a sucker for this kind of overly theatrical nonsense, so this album was DIRECTLY up my alley. Not bad at all for the guy I know best for replacing John Cale on the 'Shrek' soundtrack album. Honestly, the worst thing I can say is that I think it's just a bit silly to include both 'Want One' AND 'Want Two' on this list, y'know? I know they were originally intended to be released as a single two-disc, but still, goodness.

More of the same styled tunes as on Want One, so I'll just give this album the same rating. Solid 5 Stars.

I’m at a 4.5, and I think I have to bump it down to a 4. I think it’s a really good album, don’t get me wrong. I just don’t think it’s as cohesive as “Want One” was, and while I shouldn’t necessarily let that lord over my judgment of this album, it’s hard not to, considering this was meant to be its back half. The writing here is meant to be more broad; while “Want One” focused on Rufus’s own desires & needs, this is meant to focus on the world at large. I hear it on a few tracks where he embodies other people’s desires, especially on parts of the stretch from “The Art Teacher” to “Waiting for a Dream”, which is most of the album. However, I just don’t find it as consistent, nor as befitting of the title “Want”. I know he plays a lady who wants to be in love with his art teacher, I know he wants his vision of a gay messiah to descend upon the Earth, I know he wants Jeff Buckley to have never died, and I know he wants his future love to be more befitting than the torture he’s in now. I can’t, however, gather the same thing from “Little Sister”, “Peach Trees” or “Old Whore’s Diet” other than far broader strokes that just aren’t quite as compelling. I would be a bit less harsh on this if it weren’t for “Want One” being as fantastic as it was to my ears, but at the same time, I think it deserves the extra judgment because of it. Musically, everything’s still pretty on point; lots of lovely arrangements abound here, but where “Want One” focused on additional flourish to let Rufus’s voice flutter more fruitfully, this feels more bottled up. Flourish has occasionally been traded for simpler & more intimate soundscapes, with some tracks leaving not much besides a piano or guitar & Rufus’s vocals (still great, by the way). The Radiohead comparisons are still there, but it’s hard to not see this as the “Amnesiac” to Want One’s “Kid A”. I find myself enjoying everything, but it’s just hard to feel the cohesion of it all. There’s still moments where that cohesion comes through, especially on the tracks with smooth transitions, but where “Want One” continued to build on itself as an exploration of Rufus’s own life, this just feels like a set of stories that don’t flow as cleanly. It’s most apparent on “Old Whore’s Diet”, which is really my breaking point for pulling this down to a 4 instead of bumping it up. It’s 9 minutes that just don’t really go anywhere. There’s still musical flair to it, yes, but it’s way more style than substance, and as a bit of a finale piece for 26 tracks that have managed to balance substance & style pretty fruitfully, it feels like a weak closing track, not just to “Want Two” by itself, but the entirety of “Want” as a 2-album experience. Every other track here, even if it gets a bit plain, still plays pretty straightforward & has some good heart & wit underneath it. “Old Whore’s Diet” is apparently just about some moldy Chinese food that Rufus found in a fridge one night and made an over the top song about. I’d understand it if it were a direct bonus track, and it may even kind of act like one given the finale vibes of “Crumb by Crumb”, but it’s taken so seriously in the actual progression that it’s hard not to hear it as an intended finale. It feels like the culmination of a slight flippancy that just sort of subliminally permeates through the album, and while it doesn’t ruin the experience too badly, that very slight part of the brain going “this just isn’t as good as the first half” feels justified by the end of the track. Ultimately, I think it’s a 4.5 bumped down to a 4. Once again, a barrage of paragraphs to justify .5 on a rating scale, but I’m an overexplainer, what can I say? I can say that it’s a good album regardless of my nitpicks & complaints about it, and I think its more straight-laced attitude towards storytelling & musicianship may play better for the crowd that was turned off by how over the top “Want One” might’ve felt. However, I just think it suffers from going a bit too dreary & plain comparatively. You can’t maintain the same air of importance without a slightly bigger soundscape, and you can’t go this constantly dreary without a bit of levity to balance it out, and I just don’t think there’s enough. Even on the more light-hearted tracks, it just feels somber. It just makes it all blend together a bit more for me in a way that didn’t quite hit as well, as well as a myriad of smaller issues that just pull it down for me. Hence, a 4.5 bumped down to a 4. I’d still recommend it though, and I think both “Want One” & “Want Two” are worth being on the list, especially the former.

Para currele puede estar bien, tranquilo sin estridencias. Cuesta que entre pero a la tercera ya fluye mejor, sin algidez #work

Quirky with some amusing lyrics. Not all bad, but nothing really grabs me.