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It's an ornate, dizzying affair, where all his interests and talents collide in one brazen gesture. It's impressive in scope, but where does that leave the listener? Possibly with a headache.
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Such frequent attempts to elevate the banal into the meaningful ultimately keep Release the Stars from achieving any significant momentum and only add weight to the notion that Wainwright's shaky aim-- rather than his lack of talent-- might be his biggest downfall.
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This is so rich, so intelligent, so feeling, that most of us will throw our hands limply in the air and join voices with mum Kate McGarrigle who, according to the dedication on the back, "still whispers in my ear that I'm great".
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It's a glorious tangle of excess.
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He’s an acquired taste, perhaps, but a distinctive and extraordinarily talented songwriter.
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As a whole, the album feels less definite, less driven, than the 'Want…' albums, which is both a strength and a weakness.
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Someone needs to tell Wainwright there's a huge difference between 'epic' and 'over-egged'.
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The real problem with Stars is that the most poignant, affecting songs sound like natural, and somewhat neutral, follow-ups to his other songs.
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It's another strong effort, but someone might have checked the orchestral excesses, which sometimes get in the way of the songs.
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It’s as warm and forgiving and generously tender a collection of songs as you’ll hear all year.
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Release the Stars is a coherent, sophisticated exposition of the usual Wainwright themes, but it won’t be the shooting-into-mainstream pop-rock opus Wainwright was potentially hoping for.
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The results are often wonderful.
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Rolling StoneOnly a slight improvement [over Want Two]. [14 Jun 2007, p.102]
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FilterA record that leaves the listener teary-eyed, standing and utterly, breathlessly inspired. [#25, p.92]
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Beneath the haughty schmaltz of his fifth LP—embodying Herb Albert one moment and a particularly peach-scented Little River Band the next—there are only momentary flashes of the high-quality torch songs we fell for so long ago.
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SpinThe songs are actually strong enough to hold the weight of the over-the-top arrangements. [Jun 2007, p.96]
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UncutPossibly [his] best album. [Jun 2007, p.84]
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MojoLike [Brian Wilson's] Smile, it extends the language of pop, setting a fearsome standard for anyone equal to the challenge of matching his limitless invention. [Jun 2007, p.98]
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Release The Stars swoons and sweeps until the final curtain and Rufus Wainwright has delivered music perfectly suited for the elaborate set of the world around us.
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His music always offers an emotional complexity to mirror its melodic sophistication.
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[A] black hole.
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Under The RadarMost of Stars ends up feeling like a sleight of hand; pay no attention to the lack of accessibility, but instead be distracted by the unecessarily grandiose 'I'm Not Ready to Love.' [Summer 2007, p.86]
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Complex, melodramatic, ambitious, vain, beautiful and frequently magnificent - Release the Stars may not yield many chart hits, but it feels like an album that will endure.
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The outlandish baroque-cubed excess here, from the warbling chorales to the bleating woodwinds, weighs down track after track after track after track.
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His melodies — and what melodies they are — are drowned out by the bombast. But he still yearns more beautifully than anyone.
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A wonderful album, packed with stunning melodies and brilliant lyrics.
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It feels more like a collection of tracks than a cohesive work.
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While these songs are lushly produced, often with full orchestration, and while Wainwright has a knack for pretty, lilting melodies and concrete imagery there is nonetheless a distinct lack of pop hooks here.
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Remarkably, Mr. Wainwright infuses “Release the Stars” with enough honest emotion to overcome the grandiosity, or at least undercut it a bit.
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BillboardThough the final third of the album drags a touch as Wainwright lets up on the heart-pounding melodrama, the highs here are exceptional. [19 May 2007]
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It is different in many ways, but never neglects the melodic, vocal and lyrical genius that has established, and will continue to establish, his status as one of the all time greats.
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BlenderThe songs are more blustery than ever. [Jun 2007, p.108]
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Release The Stars, if not a step forward, is at worst a side-step en route on to a knockout album.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 61 out of 76
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Mixed: 12 out of 76
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Negative: 3 out of 76
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Apr 7, 2012Altogether it's a good & enjoyable effort -- and a welcome end to the Want One's & Two's! As Rufus sings "I'm tired of writing elegies to boredom!"
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AdamWNov 17, 2007
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SYanoffOct 4, 2007