Rufus Wainwright

The singer/songwriters working today who point to Tin Pan Alley and Broadway musicals as central inspirations can be counted on an index finger. Rufus Wainwright is quite an anomaly--but, then again, he's the son of Loudon Wainwright III and Kate McGarrigle. Wainwright has been compared to Randy Newman for his piano-based orchestral sense, but unlike Newman, he rarely turns those poppy conventions against themselves: he's always sentimental and sincere about the fluff he explores. When he drives his melodies and lyrics hardest--as on the Beatlesque "April Fools" and the barroom "Matinee Idol"--his considerable imagination is most convincing and entertaining. Fans of folk simplicity should skip this one, but the more adventurous may find the charm in Wainwright's ambitious debut. --Roy Kasten