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Want

It was Radio DJ Marc Riley's advocacy of Rufus Wainwright's Want albums that eventually led to my acquiring them ca. 2018 or '19. I have the 2005 2-CD set including both Want One and Want Two: I gather Wainwright had meant these songs to be released as a single set all along, and it was only his record company's reluctance that led to them first being issued as his third and fourth solo LPs respectively.

To my mind Disc 1, i.e. Want One, is the stronger of the two halves, with a whole slew of knockout tracks on it, out of which my favourites are probably 'I Don't Know What It Is', 'Movies of Myself', '14th Street' and 'Beautiful Child'. Several of the songs give the impression of having been recorded in a big room crowded with musicians and singers: they're generously-proportioned, both musically and emotionally.

Disc 2/Want Two has its highlights too though: with its singles being the stand-outs to my ears: 'The One You Love', 'The Art Teacher' & 'Gay Messiah'. The long closing track ('Old Whore's Diet') on the other hand, is my least favourite track out of them all. Tacked on to the end of Disc 2 are a pair of bonus tracks, including Wainwright's version of Leonard Cohen's 'Chelsea Hotel No. 2' (Cohen also gets a mention in the lyrics of 'Want'). The songs & performances are top-notch and producer Marius de Vries did a superb job twiddling the knobs.

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