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Rufus Wainwright is back!
Dopo l'omonimo, 'Poses' e l'accoppiata 'Want One' e 'Want Two', torna finalmente sugli altoparlanti il cantautore americano più controverso e lontano dai riflettori nel panorama attuale, paragonabile solo per attitudine ai vari Antony, Bonnie 'Prince', Bright Eyes e Sufjan Stevens, ma con uno stile personale, debitore al massimo della scuola Neil Young e/o Scott Walker (e qui mi fermo con i riferimenti altrimenti passo per l'ennesimo citazionista rompiballe). Chi ha apprezzato i capitoli precedenti, non mancherà di certo a questo appuntamento, ritrovandovi la stessa voce straziante e corposa di sempre, simile ad un Thom Yorke (ecco che ci sono ricaduto) riappacificato col mondo, più l'immancabile apporto orchestrale a tratti pomposo, a tratti drammatico, a volte epico. Anche stavolta evito di entrare nel dettaglio della descrizione track by track, per non annoiare in primis, ma soprattutto per lasciare spazio alla libera fruizione che genera sempre quel fremito di sorpresa e curiosità.
Giusto per non deludere il malcapitato lettore potrei nominare qualche traccia, a mio modesto parere fra le migliori: l'opener "Do I Disappoint You", maestosa e cinematografica nel suo incedere marziale, sorretta dall'orchestra e dal coro gospel; la successiva "Going To A Town", malinconica e perfetta per crogiolarsi nei propri sogni irrealizzati; "Nobody's Off The Hook", col piano e la voce di Rufus al centro della scena, a dialogare con miraboli melodie d'archi; "Between My Legs", spiazzante all'inizio per quella vena pop rock estranea al corpo, ma che attecchisce senza rigetto, grazie all'innata propensione alla melodia del nostro; la conclusiva "Release The Star", blues ballad dal sapore retrò, arricchita da una sezione fiati in gran spolvero e che chiude nel modo migliore questo viaggio nel mondo Wainwright.
Elegante, struggente, filmico, è la colonna sonora di questi tempi moderni, in bilico tra autocelebrazione ed autodistruzione. Un disco che non si discosta di tanto dai lavori precedenti, che regge benissimo il paragone con le cose migliori fatte in passato, ma che forse (e ripeto forse) può suonare di maniera (o mestiere), dato il perpetrarsi di temi e struttute lungo la sua discografia, ma che personalmente non dispiacciono e che riportano Rufus Wainwright, se ancora ce fosse bisogno, al centro dell'attenzione internazionale, quale artista dalla personalità complessa, ma dal suono universale.
Elenco tracce testi samples e video
01 Do I Disappoint You (04:40)
Do I disappoint you, in just being human?
And not one of the elements, that you can light your cigar on
Why does it always have to be fire?
Why does it always have to be brimstone?
Desire
Cool this body down
Do I disappoint you, in just being lonely?
And not one of the elements that you can call your one and only
Why does it always have to be water?
Why does it always have to be holy wine?
Destruction
Of all mankind
And do I disappoint you?
Do I disappoint you in just being like you?
Tired of being the reason the road has a shoulder
And it could be argued, why they all return to the order
Why does it always have to be chaos?
Why does it always have to be wanderlust?
Sensational
I'm gonna smash your bloody skull.
'Cause, baby, no, you can't see inside
No, baby, no, you can't see my soul
Do I disappoint you?
Do I disappoint you?
02 Going to a Town (04:06)
I'm going to a town that has already been burned down
I'm going to a place that is already been disgraced
I'm gonna see some folks who have already been let down.
I'm so tired of America
I'm gonna make it up for all of the Sunday Times
I'm gonna make it up for all of the nursery rhymes
They never really seem to want to tell the truth
I'm so tired of you America
Making my own way home
Ain't gonna be alone
I got a life to lead America
I got a life to lead
Tell me do you really think you go to hell for having loved?
Tell me and not for thinking every thing that you've done is good
(I really need to know)
After soaking the body of Jesus Christ in blood
I'm so tired of America
(I really need to know)
I may just never see you again or might as well
You took advantage of a world that loved you well
I'm going to a town that has already been burnt down
I'm so tired of you America
Making my own way home
Ain't gonna be alone
I've got a life to lead
America
I got a life to lead
I got a soul to feed
I got a dream to heed
And that's all I need
Making my own way home
Ain't gonna be alone
I'm going to the town that has already been burnt down
05 Between My Legs (04:26)
You can go out, dancing
And I'll write about you, dancing without you
And I'll shed a tear between my legs
When you were here, I missed you
Now that you're away, I'm out there without you
And I shed a tear between my legs
Though we live in the same city,
You live in another state far away from me and all of my unfaded charms
But when the rocket ships all fall, and the bridges, they all buckle
And everybody's packing up their station wagons
There's a number you can call, like a breast that you can suckle
And we quietly will exit as it all is happening
Again, I'm afraid of one thing,
Will I walk away from love knowing nothing, wearing my heart between my legs?
But when I know you're naked, lying on the bed while I'm at the piano
All I can say is I can't fake it
When the rocket ships all fall, and the bridges, they all buckle
And everybody's packing up their station wagons
There's a number you can call, like a breast that you can suckle
And we quietly will exit as it all is happening again
'Cause there's a river running underground, underneath the town towards the sea,
That only I know all about
On which from this city we can flee
On which from this city we can flee
09 Tulsa (02:19)
You taste of potato chips in the morning
Your face has the Marlon Brando club calling
And who would have thought that I'd owe it all to Tulsa?
And that fat guy with the green shirt that we both signed together
Once he hears the song, won't live it down forever
Your suit was the whitest thing since you-know-who
I fear that that savior I mentioned may be you
And who would have thought that I'd owe it all to Tulsa?
And that poor girl who waited in the rain for hours to meet me (not you, baby!)
Once she hears that song, won't live it down completely
And I owe it all to Tulsa, Oklahoma
This is just a reminder of the antique shop that I want to go back to and visit when it's open
In Tulsa, Oklahoma
Just in case you don't appreciate this song about you!
10 Leaving for Paris No. 2 (04:52)
I'm leaving for Paris, no I don't think that I'll see you
I'm leaving for Paris, no I don't think that I need to
So I'm leaving for Paris, won't you try to take care of yourself?
Just you try to take care of yourself, 'cause I'm leaving
Yes, I'm leaving for Paris
I pray you won't follow through the crooked streets behind me
I pray you won't follow, like so many who I've roamed there
So I'm leaving for Paris, don't you try to find out where I am
Just you try to take care of yourself
'Cause I'm leaving, yes I'm leaving
'Cause I'm leaving, yes I'm leaving for Paris
Goodbye
12 Release the Stars (05:50)
Why do you keep all your stars in from your studio on Melrose Avenue?
You've lost all your acetone in life-long contracts to you
Didn't you know that old Hollywood is over?
Oh, can't you see all the good that celebrity can do for those in the dark?
Yes of course, I am speaking in metaphors for something more in your heart
Didn't you know that old Hollywood is over?
So why not just release the gates and let them all come out?
Remember that without them there would be no Paramount
No paramount need to hold on to what isn't yours
Release the stars
The more that you fight, then the more they will scrutinize and realize just your size
And believe me, you are no match for the public that has seen the whites of your eyes.
Didn't you know that old Hollywood is over?
Old Hollywood is over
So why not just release the gates and let them all come out?
Remember that without them there would be no Paramount
No paramount need to hold on to what isn't yours
Release the stars
Release the stars, release your love, release the stars
Release your love, 'cause Hollywood is over
Why do you keep all your stars in from your studio on Melrose Avenue?
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Altre recensioni
Di Starblazer
"Un lavoro piuttosto disomogeneo e pieno di alti e bassi, con alcuni passaggi che lasciano decisamente perplessi."
"'Going To A Town' dà vita a una ballata tanto dolente e amara quanto autentica ed affascinante."
