Rufus Does Judy At Carnegie Hall [2 CD]

Rufus Does Judy At Carnegie Hall [2 CD]
RUFUS WAINWRIGHT - RUFUS DOES JUDY AT CARNEGIE HALL - CD

ALONG WITH A 36-PIECE ORCHESTRA RE-CREATES JUDY GARLAND'S CELEBRATED 1961 CARNEGIE HALL CONCERT SONG-FOR-SONG

On June 14, 2006, Rufus Wainwright took to the stage to recreate "the Greatest Show of All Time ever staged in honor of the Greatest Show of All Time"--Judy Garland's legendary 1961 concert at Carnegie Hall; song-for-song, in its original venue. Garland fanatics feared a fiasco, but the show was a triumph. His sophisticated act of homage to his hero was both a loving tribute and an arch commentary on the original, featuring classics like "Over The Rainbow," "Come Rain Or Come Shine" and "Zing! Went The Strings Of My Heart."

Backed by a 36-piece orchestra and arranged by the Broadway famed Stephen Oremus (Wicked, Avenue Q), Rufus's vocal talent soars over those classic melodies on this 2-disc set.

Also Available: RUFUS WAINWRIGHT - RUFUS! RUFUS! RUFUS! DOES JUDY! JUDY! JUDY! LIVE AT THE LONDON PALLADIUM -DVD

Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 0602517516724
Format: Import
Label: Geffen Records
Manufacturer: Geffen Records
Number Of Discs: 2
Publisher: Geffen Records
Release Date: 2007-12-04
Studio: Geffen Records


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Spotlight customer reviews:
Customer Rating: Average rating of 1/5Average rating of 1/5Average rating of 1/5Average rating of 1/5Average rating of 1/5
Summary: !OMG! ugh
Comment: R.W. does not even have a decent voice because it is sooo nasal. The only positive momentum that this atrocity should generate is to stir the interest up for the legendary Garland and help give Jim Bailey a career boost as he is the only one that can come close to recreating her magic. You could not pay someone to listen to this without getting sick or tired or bored at a minimum.
Customer Rating: Average rating of 1/5Average rating of 1/5Average rating of 1/5Average rating of 1/5Average rating of 1/5
Summary: Emulation or Immitation, in this case, Produced Disaster!
Comment: I grew up loving and listening to JudyG at Carnagie Hall! I heard about Rufus's tribute to her, and couldn't wait to hear his sound.
All I can say is, this isnt a tribute, its a disappointment!
Its more a tribute to a less than mediocre artist, who used a real artists name, to make himself famous!

Customer Rating: Average rating of 1/5Average rating of 1/5Average rating of 1/5Average rating of 1/5Average rating of 1/5
Summary: Who Needs Him?
Comment: He may have talent, but who in his/her right mind would pay good money to buy a cd of him impersonating Judy when we have dozens of wonderful recordings of Judy spanning twenty-five years? Rufus' attempt appears rather ghoulish to me. Judy had a great sense of humor, but I believe she wouldn't be too pleased with this effort to milk the public. If you wish to learn who Judy was, buy her Carnegie Hall album, not his.

Tony
Customer Rating: Average rating of 4/5Average rating of 4/5Average rating of 4/5Average rating of 4/5Average rating of 4/5
Summary: 3.5 Stars... Ambitious recreation and loving tribute
Comment: Recreating the 1961 Judy Garland Carnegie Hall show in its entirety 45 years later at that very same venue was a stroke of brilliance on Rufus' part. His at times over the top style of music (as displayed on the Wants One and Wants Two albums) lends itself particularly well for this kind of project.

"Rufus Does Judy At Carnegie Hall" (26 tracks; 114 min.) is lush and stylistic in every way, and really does transport you back to the heydays of the American big band music. The highlights of this set for me include "Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart", which Rufus stops about 15 seconds into it, only to urge the band to play it "a little faster", "Stormy Weather" which is sung by his sister Martha Wainsright, and of course "Over the Rainbow", which features his mother Kate McGarrigle. (Makes you kinda wonder how Rufus couldn't fins a song to bring out his dad, Loudon III.) It is striking how Rufus is straining himself towards the end of the album, as if from sheer physical exhaustion.

The liner notes are quite interesting, particularly his mom's, which includes a pciture of the 1961 Judy Garland show where you can see Rufus' grandmother and grandfather sitting in the audience! As is the case with Rufus' other recordings, I find that it is best enjoyed in small doses, sort of like eating Belgian chocolates: one or two are heavenly. After that, enjoy at your own risk.
Customer Rating: Average rating of 1/5Average rating of 1/5Average rating of 1/5Average rating of 1/5Average rating of 1/5
Summary: Very expensive night of karaoke
Comment: I am certain that there were a few people in the audience of this show who thought, "I could get up on stage and do what he's doing if I had a full orchestra behind me." Guess what? They were probably right. Poor Rufus. His voice is very limited. It lacks power, strength, and is quite thin. It's not an attractive voice. As much as he strains (and strain he does), he simply can't sing this collection of standards with the expressiveness they are entitled to. He lacks the emotional depth (his between song anecdotes reveal him to be shallow and charmless. One anecdote has to do with him meeting the man who was the drummer who played in the original Judy Garland concert. Rufus' classy description of him: "he was old and smelly."). Whatever possessed him to go through with this mammoth vanity project? Perhaps the ghost of Judy Garland while she was on another pill and alcohol fueled lost weekend? I am amazed that anyone put up the money to produce this night of self-delusion and self-absorption. This is nothing but karaoke with an orchestra standing in place of the karaoke machine.
Ok, Rufus, the bar heard you sing once already. Shut up, sit down, and let someone else get a chance at the microphone. Why do I keep coming to this bar on karaoke night? Boy, do I have too much time on my hands. Hey, there's a cutie over there; I think I'll go over and say, "hello." Wait a minute! Who's singing now? Rufus again?! That's it, I'm outa here!
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