One day, sometime in 2001, I was flipping through the Judy Garland section at a local music store when an older man standing beside me said, “You have to buy Judy at Carnegie Hall, her voice is mesmerizing.” With a smile, he handed me the CD, and walked away. From my first listen, Judy at Carnegie Hall: The Fortieth Anniversary Edition would become one of my favorite albums.
Naturally, it was with both curiosity and trepidation that I listened to Rufus Does Judy at Carnegie Hall. I wondered if another person could truly recreate the excitement managed by Miss Garland for two nights in June, 1961. Despite her well documented battles with pills and alcohol, Garland pulled herself together for those shows, producing an album that stayed on the billboard charts for 95 weeks and won five Grammy awards. Of course, it is no secret that Judy Garland has long been a gay icon; nor that Rufus Wainwright has had his own issues with the temptations of celebrity culture. Wainwright’s devotion to his subject is total. The mere fact that Rufus is willing to recreate such an iconic moment in music history says something about his confidence in his ability to pull it off.
Rufus clearly approached this project with artistic seriousness. He could have done an over-the-top version of Garland—the swaggering, clearly inebriated figure the public occasionally saw—instead Wainwright has employed a 36 piece orchestra to assist him in paying reverence to the legend. He gets a bit campy when after singing “Almost Like Being in Love” he says, I’m going to speak now, because on the album Judy speaks here. When I was a kid, I wanted to be Dorothy.” Maybe he did, maybe he didn’t, but Judy was a bit campy herself, she probably would have laughed at the comment.
The orchestral arrangements of all the songs are very faithful to the original 1961 concert. The talent of the musicians chosen and modern technology give the orchestral sound a ‘pop’ that even Judy at Carnegie Hall: The Fortieth Anniversary Edition lacks. While committed to following the original arrangements, the orchestra has also set itself up to highlight the vocal talents of Rufus Wainwright. Approaching a stack full of songs by the likes of Harold Arlen and George Gershwin was undoubtedly very difficult . The songs are often marked by wanting and loss. Wainwright performs all of the songs well. He showcases an array of emotions with his soft, graceful tones. Occasionally, his voice exhibits a loud, nasal quality that shows the elasticity of his vocal chords. Wainwright displays great fun and frivolity on numbers like “Puttin’ on the Ritz” and “That’s Entertainment.” He easily switches gears to the serious solitude of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” where he is joined by his mother, Kate McGarrigle. Rufus is also joined by Judy Garland’s youngest daughter Lorna Luft, for a touching duet of “After You’ve Gone.”
Rufus doesn’t have the vocal range Judy Garland did; the fact is, few do. Wainwright has created a wonderful tribute to a legendary entertainer and along the way, has proven himself to be a tremendous talent. Music fans should give Rufus Does Judy at Carnegie Hall a listen. For younger people who may not have heard Judy at Carnegie Hall: The Fortieth Anniversary Edition, I hope you’ll pick that up too and hear the inspiration for Rufus’ wonderful album.
