User ratings in Music are temporarily disabled. More info

Rufus Does Judy At Carnegie Hall
by
  • Record Label:
  • Release Date:
Rufus Does Judy At Carnegie Hall Image
Metascore
69

Generally favorable reviews - based on 10 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
7.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 16 Ratings

  • Summary: The live album of Rufus Wainwright's recreation of Judy Garland's 1961 concert at Carnegie Hall.

Top Track

When You're Smiling (The Whole World Smiles With You)
When you're smiling, when you're smiling The whole world smiles with you When you're laughing, when you're laughing The sun comes shining... See the rest of the song lyrics
See Full Track List ยป
Powered by

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 10
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 10
  3. Negative: 0 out of 10
  1. musicOMH.com
    80
    On hand, as ever, is sister and mother to crank-up the feel good factor, and a more life-affirming live album you'll not find.
  2. AllMusic
    80
    So while the performance isn't perfect, particularly toward the end of the show (where, after two hours of performing swing tunes and jazz standards, Wainwright is understandably low on steam), it's still nice to hear the singer in his element, crooning about dinging trolleys and zinging heartstrings with flamboyancy that only he can muster.
  3. Slant Magazine
    80
    By turns baroque, jazzy, morose, and enraptured, they're a perfect opportunity for Wainwright to showcase his capacity as a singer in terms of tone and melodic emphasis. And showcase he does, deploying his dulcet foghorn of a voice with subtlety, grace, and elasticity
  4. Entertainment Weekly
    67
    That said, if it drives anyone to Judy at Carnegie Hall--one of the best live albums ever then bravo.
  5. Uncut
    60
    It might be playful, and it might be versatile, but however light-hearted it may sound initially, it ends up sounding serious.
  6. Mojo
    60
    The idea remains more brilliant than the performance can hope to be; because Wainwright is very good but Judy ia unassailable. [Feb 2008, p.98]
    All this publication's reviews
  7. Billboard
    40
    This song-by-song re-creation of Judy Garland's iconic 1961 Carnegie Hall performance, staged there by Rufus Wainwright in 2006, seems better-suited to a cabaret act.

See all 10 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 4
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 4
  3. Negative: 0 out of 4
  1. JohnS.
    Dec 11, 2007
    10
    went to see this concert at palladium and was blown away as am with cd. Rufus rules.
  2. WillyL.
    Dec 8, 2007
    9
    A cracking CD - better on every listen, and brings the show right back to life.
  4. IgnacioA.
    Dec 9, 2007
    9
    Great concert.
  5. jyotirmayadas
    Dec 10, 2007
    7
    Hearing these songs sung by Rufus Wainwright is such an exciting experience simply because of the undertaking of the project itself. His Hearing these songs sung by Rufus Wainwright is such an exciting experience simply because of the undertaking of the project itself. His tenor/alto is so beautiful and pure to hear during softer moments such as in "I Can't Give You Anything But Love (Darling)"... but a little too often, his persona gets in the way, and then one can appreciate how much Judy Garland herself, a great actress also, imbibed in her concert her battled life and her vulnerability, whereas Rufus struggles a little too hard to make witty statements which often do not come off very well. But that's mostly me nit-picking. This is a great addition to the American Songbook, and it is very well done. Perhaps if Rufus could have described his own feelings in between songs instead of mimicking Garland, it might have worked even better. Highlight is where Lorna Luft, Judy's half-sister joins in on one song. Where was Liza? She could have made this a four-star release very easily. But, yes, buy it if you are a Garland or Wainwright fan. it is a well-done diversion from his own singer/songwriting.… Expand