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House of Rufus

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House of Rufus
House of Rufus box set.jpg
Box set by Rufus Wainwright
Released July 18, 2011
Recorded 1995–2011[1]
Genre Baroque pop
Language English
Label Decca, DreamWorks, Geffen
Producer Jon Brion, Nick de Grunwald, Marius de Vries, Alex Gifford, Ethan Johns, Bradley Kaplan, Damian LeGassick, Pierre Marchand, Paula Quijano, Phil Ramone, George Scott, Martin R. Smith, Barry Taylor, Rufus Wainwright, Greg Wells
Rufus Wainwright chronology
All Days Are Nights: Songs for Lulu
(2010)All Days Are Nights: Songs for Lulu2010		 House of Rufus
(2011)		 Out of the Game
(2012)Out of the Game2012

House of Rufus is a collection of six studio albums, two live albums (one being a double album), four additional albums of previously unreleased material, and six DVDs recorded by Canadian-American singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright, reissued as a 19-disc box set in the United Kingdom on July 18, 2011.[2][3] Wainwright's official site claimed that the collection "spans Rufus' entire career and represents the most complete collection of Rufus Wainwright recordings to date."[2]

The box set's title commemorates the five-night residency of the same name at London's Royal Opera House during July 18–23, 2011. Only 3,000 copies were produced for worldwide distribution. The collection contains "hard-to-find" tracks and is encased in a red velvet-covered book. While some reviewers questioned the need for such an extensive collection, critical reception of the box set was mostly positive.

Background

The box set's release was confirmed on Wainwright's official site on March 21, 2011.[4] Only 3,000 copies were produced for worldwide distribution.[5] Box sets were sold for £150 in the United Kingdom, €170 throughout Europe, and were available as imports in the United States for $350.[6][7][8] As part of the marketing strategy to promote the collection and concert series, Universal Music Catalogue developed a "treasure hunt" video for YouTube where visitors identified clues and navigated links within a collage of Wainwright's music videos.[9][10] According to Wainwright, the rarities box set was a "little Rufus blast" before he began work on his next pop album.[3] Wainwright also said the following of the collection: "There's my old demos, a lot of them were recorded in Montreal... when I had a very, very different voice, I kind of sounded like a little old man. There's that and there's a lot of fabulous collaborations with my mother, my father and some other great artists."[3] Wainwright had originally intended to call the box set The Rufus Cycle. After being told the title was "too sophisticated", he went with House of Rufus, partly inspired by Lady Gaga's Haus of Gaga.[11] Wainwright claimed the box set's release shortly following his father's (Loudon Wainwright III) box set 40 Odd Years was "totally serendipitous".[11]

The box set's title commemorates the five-night residency at London's Royal Opera House during July 18–23, 2011, also referred to as the "House of Rufus" (sometimes the "Haus of Rufus") or billed as "Five Nights of Velvet, Glamour and Guilt".[12][13] During the first night, Wainwright performed his tribute concert to Judy Garland previously recorded in June 2006 and released as Rufus Does Judy at Carnegie Hall in 2007. The production was repeated on July 22, the fourth concert of the series. The July 19 and 21 shows included performances alongside his sister Martha Wainwright and father Loudon.[8][14][15] The residency's final night included a program called "Rufus Does Rufus" and featured Wainwright performing selections from his 2009 opera Prima Donna.[16] Stephen Oremus conducted the Britten Sinfonia for three of the performances, and soprano Janis Kelly was featured in the "concert version" of Prima Donna.[13] Reception of the residency performances was mixed.[8][17][18]

Contents

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... I'm very very lucky to have over the years worked with so many wonderful people, made some pretty good music and traveled all over the world to see you folks, the fans, and I thank you profusely from the bottom of my heart for generously supporting my career and spending a lot of money on this beautifully crafted collection of my work.[19]

Wainwright on the reason his box set was released at age 37

The box set contains six studio albums: Rufus Wainwright (1998), Poses (2001), Want One (2003), Want Two (2004), Release the Stars (2007), and All Days Are Nights: Songs for Lulu (2010). Each of the albums contain material that was not released previously.[2] Also included are two live albums (the Grammy-nominated 2007 double album Rufus Does Judy at Carnegie Hall and Milwaukee at Last!!!, released in 2009), each with previously unreleased tracks, along with four additional albums of rarities and six DVDs. Musicians described as "friends and family members" that appear on one disc of collaborations include Kate & Anna McGarrigle, The Pet Shop Boys, Teddy Thompson, Martha Wainwright, and Loudon Wainwright III.[2] Another disc contains demo tracks from the tape which earned Wainwright a recording contract. DVD recordings include Live at the Fillmore, Rufus! Rufus! Rufus! Does Judy! Judy! Judy!: Live from the London Palladium, Milwaukee at Last!!!, a collection of Release the Stars commentary and live performances, All I Want and Prima Donna: The Making of an Opera. House of Rufus contains approximately thirty unreleased or "hard-to-find" tracks.[11] The collection is encased in a "red velvet-covered 90-page hardback book" featuring lyrics, photos, hand-drawn tour posters, art prints, and liner notes by Neil Tennant, Linda Thompson, Lenny Waronker, Martha Wainwright and Rufus himself.[2][20] Wainwright dedicated the box set to publicist Barbara Charone, "without whom it wouldn't have been possible".[21][22]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
BBC Music Positive[23]
The Daily Telegraph 4/5 stars[6]
Evening Standard 3/5 stars[24]
The Irish Times 4/5 stars[7]

Critical reception of the box set was mostly positive, though some reviewers questioned the necessity for such an elaborate collection, especially given Wainwright's age, and the higher-than-expected price. Will Hodgkinson of The Times wrote that a box set for Wainwright, whom he described as a "not yet middle-aged artist", was unnecessary, but that the collection "shine[s] a spotlight on its creator's rare, remarkable songwriting".[25] Hodgkinson called Wainwright and the box set "charming" overall, but thought the "excess of material stops the great moments from really shining out".[25] Hive magazine contributor Luke Hannaford complimented Rufus and Loudon's performance of Richard Thompson's "Down Where the Drunkards Roll", which he described as "achingly beautiful" and was recorded specifically for this collection.[26] Martin Aston's review for BBC Music was positive; in addition to other tracks, Aston complimented "Get Out of Town" (Cole Porter, 1938) and "Sweet Repose", both demos he considered to be "unreleased stunners that betray [Wainwright's] show tune soul".[23]

Though she noted the higher-than-expected cost of the box set, Helen Brown of The Daily Telegraph wrote that it served as an "impressive array" that showcased Wainwright's range and hard work.[6] Evening Standard contributor David Smyth wrote that "this luxurious treasure chest will be too deep for almost anyone apart from its creator". Smyth found the Rufus Family and Friends album to be "most charming", specifically "What'll I Do" which features the whole Wainwright family.[24] Brian Boyd of The Irish Times considered the box set to be "sensory overload" and thought the quality of the previously unreleased material appearing on the studio albums varied, but called the collection "magnificent... from a delightfully unorthodox and consistently engaging performer".[7] Boyd also noted the cost of the box set but complimented the quality of its packaging and "extras".[7]

Track listing

Kate McGarrigle of the duo Kate and Anna McGarrigle
File:Martha wainwright madrid.jpg
Martha Wainwright
Studio albums
Live albums
DVDs
Box set albums

(*) designates previously unreleased material
Track listings adapted from Allmusic,[27] Hive magazine and Universal Music.[26][28][29]

References

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  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Allmusic sources for studio albums, live albums and DVDs in chronological order:
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  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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