Phases & Stages

Rufus Wainwright

Want Two (Geffen)

One look at the Divine Mr. W. kitted out as a medieval peasant girl on the cover of Want Two is enough to strike fear in one's heart that this might be a bit too … fabulous to enjoy on any deep level. After all, Want One was just so stagy and polished that it took some doing to love it. The secret of Wainwright's genius is his ability to render raw intimacy and sly vulnerability in complementary tones, something that took a back seat to glossy showboating on last year's release. Want Two returns occasionally to that earlier aesthetic, especially with "The Art Teacher," which is told from the perspective of a former schoolgirl whose favorite piece of art was her hunky teacher. Although its subject matter is somewhat cliché, the song's current of regret is universal. Wainwright also offers a glimpse of his earlier self with "Gay Messiah," singing, "He will fall from the star Studio 54 and appear on the sand of Fire Island's shore." It's wry, hilarious, and moving all at the same time. "Better pray for your sins," Wainwright warns. What sorts of sins against homosexuality are we talking about? Is this Wainwright's existential crisis? Is this a statement about how our society treats gays, and the Gay Messiah's wrath will be decidedly not fabulous? At the end of the day, Want Two is a serviceable collection of songs that glimmer with Wainwright's former élan, but still wants for that old intimacy. Don't ignore the bonus DVD with live concert footage; Rufus live can never be too fabulous.