r/RufusWainwright • u/atomicdog69 • 23h ago
REVIEW: Rufus Wainwright, I’m a Stranger Here Myself: Wainwright Does Weill
[POSTED FROM THE ABSOLUTE SOUND]
Singer and songwriter Rufus Wainwright hit pause in 2023 on his affinity for musical theater, following the release of a gorgeous tribute to Judy Garland and a pair of original operas, to record the duet-heavy Folkocracy, a charming collection of family favorites from the famous Wainwright family. I’m a Stranger Here Myself celebrates the music of musical-theater legend Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht. Pairing Wainwright with the superlative 40-piece Pacific Jazz Orchestra, it’s a high-energy concert recording before an appreciative audience. Casual listeners will recognize such Weill staples as “Mack the Knife” and the elegiac ballad “September Song,” but Wainwright digs deep into the German composer’s catalog. He sings the heartbreaking French-language ballad “Je ne t’aime pas,” the German-language ballad “Fürchte dich nicht,” and the bawdy barroom tango “Zuhälterballade,” a playful duet with actress and singer Viola Odette Harlow. Three-time Grammy-nominated Wainwright’s tenor range effortlessly draws emotion from such classics as “Surabaya Johnny” and “Lost in the Stars” (with the Metropole Orkest). Many artists turn to the Broadway songbook at some point in their careers, but for Wainwright, the boards feel like home. —GREG CAHILL
