When Rufus Wainwright took over Carnegie Hall for two nights a few months back to recreate Judy Garland's classic concert of 1961, it was both an homage to her influence and an attempt to be be taken seriously as one of "the voices" of his generation. We're huge fans of Rufus's songwriting -- few are as literate or ambitious -- but walking out of that Carnegie show, we felt that, with some exceptions, his voice may be most spectacular when he is the one writing for it.
But that's not stopping our favorite Wainwright from taking the Garland show to London's Palladium (where Judy played a whopping 68 times) and Paris's L'Olympia, for one-night-only engagements in February '07. From his website:
Rufus will once again perform the legendary 1961 Judy Garland Carnegie Hall concert with a full orchestra under the direction of Stephen Oremus.He will visit the historic London Palladium where Judy Garland performed over 68 times on February 18, 2007.L?Olympia in Paris, another famed venue played by Judy, will host the show on February 20, 2007.Rufus will once again perform this renowned program in its entirety.
In fairness, Rufus-on-covers can be quite enjoyable, as on this Pet Shop Boys collab, from their live album Concrete, recorded earlier this year in London's historic Mermaid Theater.
Pet Shop Boys ? "Casanova In Hell" (Featuring Rufus Wainwright) (MP3)
That awesome Lennon cover:
Rufus Wainwright - "Across The Universe" (MP3)
And a take on Leonard Cohen:
Rufus Wainwright - "Hallelujah" (MP3)
Any other worthy Rufus covers? Let us know.
