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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.

Want Two
by Rufus Wainwright


8.3

based on 24 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 26 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album

Official Artist Site

The singer's fourth album features the same producer (Marius deVries) and backup musicians as his previous outing, 'Want One.'

LABEL:	Geffen
RELEASE DATE:	16 November 2004
DISCS:	1 CD + 1 DVD
GENRE(S):	Singer-Songwriter, Pop, Rock

NOTES: A bonus DVD contains live concert footage of tracks from both 'Want One' and 'Want Two.'

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

Los Angeles Times

Demanding and artful, he just may be this generation's Joni Mitchell. [5 Dec 2004]

The Guardian

Another broadsheet rock critic waxing rhapsodic may be the last thing Wainwright needs, but here goes: Want Two is a stunning album.

Uncut

More, and even better, of the same--one of the dead-cert Albums Of The Year. [Album of the Month, Apr 2005, p.96]

Playlouder

'Want Two' is simply in a league of its own.

New Musical Express

Showcas[es] Rufus as one of, if not the best songwriters of his generation. [19 Mar 2005, p.59]

Mojo

A little too much. [Apr 2005, p.90]

No Ripcord

A bold, brave, and beautiful record.

Q Magazine

Want Two isn't an immediate album, but what it lacks in pop hooks in makes up for in ambition. [Mar 2005, p.92]

Rolling Stone

Wainwright's fanciful songs about love and faith place him in the rarefied company of Bjork and Brian Wilson, whose audacious Medulla and SMiLE his album most resembles.

All Music Guide

It's more focused than Want One and as such packs more of wallop both musically and emotionally.

E! Online

Two is his most highbrow effort yet.

Entertainment Weekly

It didn't seem possible, but Wainwright gets more florid and over-the-top with each new album. [19 Nov 2004, p.82]

cokemachineglow

Want Two disposes of almost all of the commercial elements that had been blamed for One's downfall without revealing a satisfying work in the process.

Delusions of Adequacy

The songs that are good are amazing, but the songs that aren’t quite as good could end up being skipped over, which is a shame, seeing as how there isn’t a bad song, per se, on the album.

Billboard

His voice is beautiful, his phrasing adventurous and his arrangements intense.... But the material could stand a bit of pruning

The Onion (A.V. Club)

A quieter, more intimate, and more demanding set than its predecessor, Want Two offers few of Want One's sweeping pleasures, but it cultivates a creeping beauty that's as satisfying in its own right.

Spin

Sounds like the morning after, confused and calm all at once. [Jan 2005, p.100]

Austin Chronicle

Want Two is a serviceable collection of songs that glimmer with Wainwright's former élan, but still wants for that old intimacy.

Village Voice (Consumer Guide)

This is too classical, too romantic, and too I-yam-what-I-yam all at once.

Blender

The mood is so uniformly droopy it seems to be affecting Wainwright's drowsier-than-ever vocals. [Jan/Feb 2005, p.113]

Dot Music

What niggles is that many of the songs aren’t whole enough or, if we’re honest (and it’s hard because he’s just so darn loveable and charming), good enough for an album. Even superior compositions like “Art Teacher” suffer under this record’s careless construction.

Pitchfork

Watching such an undeniably talented artist blindly follow such an errant muse can be endlessly compelling, and the failure of these two albums to capture his visions and ambitions with any adequacy possesses the pull of true tragedy.

Stylus Magazine

Certainly Want Two is the weaker and less tuneful of the siblings, strings, horns, pipes and choirs distracting attention from the occasionally dirgey and indulgent (but still grandiose) melodies.

Paste Magazine

Where Want One emphasized his ability to soar, Want Two drowns him in costumes; his range actually sounds restricted when you hear the same droopy-lidded croon against such varying backdrops.

The average user rating for this album is 8.3 (out of 10) based on 26 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Robbie C gave it a6:
Good, but not great. The ugly step-sister of Want One, which was amazing, ostentatious, and honest, this album is simply pretentious. But still sometimes good.

Philippe D gave it a9:
Again, a very personnal album. Little Sister, The Art Teacher and Waiting For A Dream are amazing songs. He's voice is simply beautiful and he sounds like nobody else. Keep making those albums Rufus.

Alice Alice gave it an8:
It's like a magical musical mystery journey...I love it.

Eyeball Tickler gave it a0:
absolutely bo****ks!!!!

mads l gave it a7:
Sure rufus is a great talent but he still has a problem of how to use it to the best effect. His singing voice is obviously very good but the way he uses it is tiring as well...plus the melodies on Want two is not as sharp as his earlier material. Still we are lucky to have people like him working in music and contributing to the musical education of todays younger generation

Andy H gave it a10:
He's up there with Nick Drake and this proves it.

Goblinski L gave it a3:
The most self-obsessed, self-indulgent album I have ever heard. It's lavish to the point of being sickly with no effort to write a proper melody, to sing beyond a lazy nasal drone and no compassion towards anyone but Rufus Wainwright.

Want Two by Rufus Wainwright

Want Two
by Rufus Wainwright