A couple that plays in its own league: For his new album “Out Of The Game,” Rufus Wainwright teamed up with Mark Ronson
On April 20, Rufus Wainwright will release his eagerly awaited new album “Out Of The Game” via Decca, produced by Mark Ronson. It is the seventh studio album of perhaps the best, certainly the most versatile songwriter of our time.
“It’s the poppiest album I’ve ever made,” says Rufus, while Mark Ronson states: “It’s the best album of my career.” That both are right is confirmed by every single track on this album. Recorded last fall in New York, the twelve songs of “Out Of The Game” sparkle and shine like musical crown jewels.
The songs on the new album are undoubtedly among the best that Rufus Wainwright has recorded throughout his career: from the upbeat title track (which is also the first single) to the gospel-tinged rock of “Jericho” and the sheer beauty of “Sometimes You Need” to the emotional “Candles.”
Among the musicians accompanying Wainwright are the Dap-Kings (with whom Ronson has already recorded Amy Winehouse's groundbreaking CD “Back To Black” and his own “Record Collection”), Wilco's Nels Cline, Nick Zinner from Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Andrew Wyatt from Miike Snow, Sean Lennon, and Martha Wainwright.
When two passionate eclectics like Mark Ronson and Rufus Wainwright meet, one can expect a musical fireworks display. While Mark believes that “Out Of The Game” has a “real 70s Laurel Canyon spirit,” Rufus cites influences from “all the greats - Elton [John], Freddie Mercury, David Bowie, basically the flamboyant and beautiful. So it’s very Rufus.”
No question: “Out Of The Game” reflects all this and much more.
Rufus Wainwright live on April 25, 2012, at the concert hall of the UdK Berlin.
* In Laurel Canyon, among others, Frank Zappa, Jim Morrison, The Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, and Joni Mitchell lived at that time.
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