All Days Are Nights: Songs for Lulu,Polydor, ****
Rufus Wainwright is nothing if not ambitious – though of course we already know this. Over the course of his career, the Montreal-raised musician has released an exceptional two-part album set ( Want Oneand Want Two), recreated Judy Garland's famous Carnegie Hall concert of 1961, and, last year, debuted Prima Donna, his first opera.
So it stands to reason that the studio album following such a project should be suitably ostentatious. Yet contrarily, All Days Are Nights: Songs for Lulu(a personification of the "dark, brooding, dangerous woman that lives within all of us") is Wainwright's most bare-boned release to date.
The album is largely self-produced, with the emphasis placed on his eternally powerful vocals and fine piano-playing skills. The latter has arguably been underplayed on recent releases, but here, as evidenced on the tumbling arpeggios of opener Who Are You, New York?, they're executed with expertise and no little panache.
Lyrically, it's one of his most personal releases. Although recorded before the death of his mother, Kate McGarrigle, there are several songs that touch on her illness. Marthais an especially evocative number that sees Wainwright implore his sister to "go up north and see mother, things are harder for her now", while his adaptations of three wordy Shakespearean sonnets work especially well alongside the exposed, simplistic instrumentation.
That doesn't mean there aren't dapples of sunshine here as well. Give Me What I Wantand Give It to Me Nowis a playful, rambunctious affair that flaunts Wainwright's well-documented love of showtunes and the Cole Porter Songbook, while the euphoric peaks of evenly weighted closer Zebulonraise a mountain range of goosebumps.
There are times when some light percussion or a sumptuous double bassline would have mellowed the often intense mood. But the avoidance of clichéd string arrangements is ultimately a wise decision. Perhaps not as immediately gratifying as some of Wainwright's previous material, but all the more satisfying for it, All Days Are Nightsmarks yet another coup in the career of an exceedingly talented songwriter. See rufus wainwright. com
Download tracks: Zebulon, Martha
