- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
-
Entertainment WeeklyIf Sondheim had been reared on old Van Dyke Parks records, he might sound like this. [26 Sep 2003, p.94]
-
Q MagazineThe musical scope is breathtaking. [Dec 2003, p.139]
-
UncutTakes his lush, orchestrated pop to staggering new heights. [Nov 2003, p.124]
-
This is a record of breathtaking, eccentric opulence.
-
More scattered than his past works, Wainwright's skills bubble to the surface here only after repeated listens.
-
Want One blows his music up to Cinemascope size.
-
It's a staggeringly ambitious album with an emotional complexity the like of which is rarely seen in pop music of any era, never mind this one.
-
MojoDespite such flamboyant touches, the songs here are more caustic than camp. [Oct 2003, p.120]
-
Whether you listen closely, for the sonic textures, or in a cursory fashion, scouting out the allusions galore, with each listen you'll likely appreciate something different.
-
Painful as the backstory gets, the work itself remains lovely and luxuriant.
-
Wainwright’s powers of observation recall both Morrissey and Cole Porter.
-
Rufus is self-effacing and clever enough to keep the music from becoming totally insipid.
-
A top-heavy album, with his best material-- the more operatic and unconstrained works-- all unfolded within the album's first half hour.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
-
Positive: 38 out of 44
-
Mixed: 3 out of 44
-
Negative: 3 out of 44
-
DaveVDec 4, 2009If it were not for a couple of clunker tracks, the album as a whole would have been a perfect work of art.
-
GeorgeC.Jul 16, 2009
-
RobbieCNov 10, 2007Grandiose, tragic, dramatic, beautiful, and HONEST. A wonderful achievement.