Rufus Wainwright
September 23, 2003 |
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The summer of 2002 turned out to be one "hellish summer," when drug and alcohol use, mixed with sex and crystal meth binges, finally reached its height. During this time of addiction, Rufus was living in NYC and starting to work on Want One along with Marius de Vries. While some of the songs were recorded under the influence, Rufus eventually hit rock bottom and later admitted that "the party was over." The drugs and partying finally caught up to him, and Rufus asked his manager and Elton John for help. Rufus underwent rehab at the Hazelden Foundation in Minnesota, and later continued working on his music with a new perspective.
Together, Wainwright and Marius de Vries recorded up to 35 songs. Unwilling to throw away half of the material for one album, they knew a second album would be in the works shortly following the current project. Therefore, both Want One and Want Two were created from the same studio sessions, but were released separately and under different record companies as well.
"Go Or Go Ahead" deals with hitting rock bottom, while "Vicious World" is about discovering his dissatisfaction with aging. "Natasha" and "Dinner at Eight" was very moving, emotional pieces, the first being about his friendship with actress Natasha Lyonne, and the latter relating to his troubled relationship with his father. "Oh What a World" and "I Don't Know What it Is" are quite catchy, and use trains and traveling in a thematic manner. While this album does have some very simple tracks, this is arguably the most elaborate collection of songs as far as production goes.
Produced by Marius de Vries.
Executive Produced: Lenny Waronker.
Cover Art: Rufus Wainwright, with photography by Yelena Yemchuk and styling by Zaldy.
This record is dedicated to me |
