The answers to the mix madness post have been posted below the very awesome sufjan post. What a fun ride it was!

Noo Soof (roof) toons!

I have been waiting to post these until after the Mix Madness results are up, but I'm terrifically impatient: You know you've reached eljay celeb-staus when you're featured in "OhNoTheyDidnt." TWICE IN ONE DAY. Apparently they LOVE him over there (and here, I'd given up hope with all their Paris/Britney/Lindsay posts).

First! There's a NEW SONG streaming on stereogum: In the Words of the Governor. It's VERY different that anything he's put out recently--sounds like it belongs on A Sun Came!, actually. Get ready for some face-melting screamo RAWK that sounds like an Icky Thump outtake!

EDIT: Here it is for download!

Sufjan "Buckey Beaver Billy Bird" Stevens - In the Words of the Governor.mp3

---

Secondly, our Portuguese correspondent in Lisbon sent us a link to the Seven Swans 7" A-Side:

Sufjan Stevens - I Went Dancing With My Sister.mp3

Thank you!!

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Finally, this has been out for about 2 days but between holidays, graduations, deaths, interviews, heat waves, moving and wedding photos (a small sampling of the events in the everyday live of a Volume Knob blogger) we bring it to you now. That mini-movie of Sufjan performing "Lakes of Canada" is up! This is the one we previously saw just the trailer for in which Sufjan is freezing, haha.

It opens with the director telling Sufjan they can get up to the roof. Once up there he starts with a few chords of He Woke Me Up Again(.mp3) before freezing. (And giggling. OMG I thought I was gong to die from cuteness.)
After a cut for the title, We rejoin Sufjan, now with a jacket, performing his cover of the Innocence Mission song.
At the end you hear a few bars of Barn Owl, Night Killer(.mp3), the new piano song he debuted at the MusicNow Festival in Cincinnati.

IM ON UR R00F,PLAYIN MAH BANJO:

#50.2 - Sufjan Stevens (MusicNow) - The lakes of Canada
Uploaded by lablogotheque

...and for your downloading pleasure:

Sufjan Stevens - Lakes of Canada (Innocence Mission Cover).mp3
Live at Judson College Nov. 19, 2003

The Madness Is Over! (For now...)

And we have a winner! The lovely Miss Allison guessed the most songs, and so to her will go the three super awesome and shiny mixes! It was very close though, with many people having guessed only one song less! So congratulations Allison, you'll be hearing from us here at Volume Knob soon!

And now, to the fun part! Below are all the answers with, by popular request, links to where you can download all of the songs featured.

And no, the fourth song was not Hallelujah.

1. Walk of Life : Dire Straits
   
2. The Cell: Part Seven : Jandek
   
3. Life on Mars : David Bowie
   
4. Don't Let Me Explode : The Hold Steady
   
5. Little Green Bag : George Baker Selection
   
6. Beauty Mark : Rufus Wainwright
   
7. Wolf Like Me : TV on the Radio
   
8. Take on Me : A-Ha
   
9. Mr Tough : Yo La Tengo
   
10. Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels) : Arcade Fire
    
11. We Used to be Friends : The Dandy Warhols
    
12. L.A. : Old Man River
13. Ghost : Neutral Milk Hotel
    
14. Born to be a Dancer : Kaiser Chiefs
    
15. Yeah! Oh, Yeah! : The Magnetic Fields
    
16. Hey Jude : The Beatles (guessed by only one person!)
    
17. No Rain : Blind Melon
    
18. Don't You (Forget About Me) : The Simple Minds
    
19. All The Pretty Girls Go To The City : Spoon
    
20. Seven Nation Army : The White Stripes
    
21. Black : Okkervil River
    
22. Sundress : Ben Kweller
    
23. Parachutes (Funeral Song) : Mates of State
    
24. Century of Elvis : Belle & Sebastian
    
25. At The Bottom of Everything : Bright Eyes
    
26. Sphagnum Esplanade : The Shins
    
27. Odalisque : The Decemberists
    
28. They Are Night Zombies!! They Are Neighbors!! They Have Come Back From The Dead!! Ahhhh! : Sufjan Stevens
    
29. Whiter Shade of Pale : Procol Harum
    
30. Young Folks : Peter, Bjorn & John
    
31. Dance Music : The Mountain Goats

Well done to everyone who entered! And keep watching Volume Knob for more Mix Madness competitions!

Party like it's 1994

All this Jeff Buckley nostalgia got me thinking about all the other killer albums released in 1994. In addition to being the year that spawned Grace, a couple of West Coast slackers known as Pavement released Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain and the prolific lo-fi reign of Guided By Voices continued with the release of their masterpiece, Bee Thousand, just to name a few albums that quickly come to mind.

Here is the playlist I would have listened to had I been hippest nine year old ever, and um not exposed to Ace of Base instead. Not that there's anything wrong with The Sign.

Range Life - Pavement

I Am a Scientist - Guided By Voices

Geronimo - The Divine Comedy

The More You Ignore Me, The Closer I Get - Morrissey

The Sign (Ace of Base cover) - The Mountain Goats

Oh and one more thing: expect the results of the mix madness contest to be posted shortly, along with complete downloads of all 31 songs.

Eternal Life pt. 2

"Jeff Buckley, Gregorian Punk," Stephen Alcorn

...As promised, enough Jeff Buckley rarities, live cuts, covers, tributes and so on to last you until your tears finally run dry.

Re-Uploaded! Entire Arlene Grocery show From February 9, 1997 in NYC.
(Warning: 1:13:32 long, 67.4MB)
Here's the tracklist:

1. Intro
2. Nightmares by the Sea
3. Witches' Rave
4. So Real
5. Haven't You Heard
6. Lover, You Should Have Come Over
7. Morning Theft
8. Vancouver
9. Snail
10. The Sky Is a Landfill
11. Chocolate/Mojo Pin
12. Grace
13. Last Goodbye

What's great in this complete show is the between-song commentary and banter with the audience. Jeff talk about quitting smoking with the patch (and it failing), he spoofs on Tom Waits in a very "Piano Has Been Drinking" sort of way, and has laughs at his own expense.

• 3 is a Magic Number (Schoolhouse Rock cover, live at the New Year's Eve 1995 show at the Mercury Lounge in NYC)
• Catnip Dream (Shonen Knife cover)
• White Man Trouble (live blues)
• Radio (from the Babylon Dungeon Demos, 1990)
• I Want Someone Badly (with Shudder To Think, from the First Love, Last Rites Soundtrack)
• Dido's Lament (from "Dido and Æneas," the Henry Purcell opera. Performed at the Meltdown Festival, London, July 1, 1995)
• When the Levee Breaks
• Ulalume (Spoken word Edgar Allen Poe poem)
• Alligator Wine (Screamin' Jay Hawkins cover, from WFMU's The Music Faucet, October 10, 1994.)
• We All Fall In Love Sometimes (Elton John cover, from same WFMU broadcast)

The above tracks are non-album bootlegs and thusly aren't available to buy anywhere. And as much as I'd like to stick it to Mary Guibert, I'm providing some purchase links. These are albums you need to have:
Grace, the 1994 masterwork that put Jeff on the map. A "Top 10/desert island" album for just about everyone. SHAME ON YOU IF YOU DO NOT OWN THIS.
Mystery White Boy, the album collection of some of Jeff's greatest live performances from 1995-1996.
Live at Sin-é (Legacy Edition) Jeff at his best. Before Grace, his live solo acoustic performances from a tiny café in New York.

Various covers:

• Howie Day - Secret/New Year's Prayer (live)
• Auto Pilot - Jewel Box (from the Jeff Buckley Tribute Concert Live at Uncommon Ground in 2005)
• Adem - Mojo Pin (from the album Dream Brother: a Tribute to Tim & Jeff Buckley. I don't go much for tribute or cover albums as a rule, but this one was exceptionally well done and heartfelt. Recommended!)
• The Tea Party - Everybody Here Wants You (live)

Rufus Wainwright did a heartbreaking tribute to Jeff on his Want Two album. All too appropriate for today:

Rufus Wainwright - Memphis Skyline

Eternal Life

"Grace Going Down" by Ken Meyer Jr.

For those unaware, today marks the 10th anniversary of Jeff Buckley's drowning in the Wolf River in Memphis, Tennessee. He was 30 at the time.

Tonight there will be gatherings and celebrations worldwide for fans to remember his life and music.

There's been so much said and written about the our favorite male chanteuse who channelled Edith Piaf, Leonard Cohen, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Robert Plant with equal passion and fervor.

Anything I could say has already been said, so instead I'll let his music speak for itself. Here's a *small* batch of rarities I've collected over the years. Expect a much larger one later today.

Mama, You've Been On My Mind (Bob Dylan cover)
All Flowers in Time Bend Towards the Sun (with Elizabeth Fraizer)
Jolly Street
Once I Was (Tim Buckley cover at St. Anne's cathedral)
You & I (guitar version)
We Could Be So Happy
Snail (live at Arlene Grocery)
The Boy With The Thorn in His Side (Smiths cover)

Also check out The J Files: Jeff Buckley, an Australian radio tribute.

Here's a *short* list of concerts and other events for remembering Jeff.

I'm new here, and I bring you Sons of William.

Well, though my name has been listed over there on the right since this blog's inception, this is my very first post. So hello, it's nice to meet you. If the Volume Knob blog is a family, June, Jess, and Megan are siblings, and I'm that one cousin who lives far away and only turns up occasionally for holidays. Sad.

I do have a couple artists in mind for future posts, but this first one was inspired by a show I saw on Friday.

All I knew about Sons of William was that they were touring as the opening act with Griffin House this spring, and that he liked them well enough to have them play as his backing band as well. Griffin's endorsement made me eager to see them, but these guys and girl from Louisiana exceeded even those high expectations!

The "sounds like" on their Myspace page nails it: Sons of William's music is steeped in traditional rock and roll songwriting and simplicity. They write songs that already feel like classics, and play them with an incredibly tight rhythm section, beautiful male/female harmonies, and some honest-to-guitar-god solos. It's been a long time since I was blown away by a live set from a new (to me) band, but this band had me from their first song.

Unfortunately my favorite song from their set isn't on the EP I bought, so I can't offer a download. But you can stream it on Myspace. Check out "Savannah" for a chorus that reminds me of Fleetwood Mac*, keep an eye out for their upcoming album, and definitely check them out if one of those tour dates is near you.

[purchase Sons of Williams EPs and other merchandise]

And since it was Griffin House who introduced me to this band, I should give him a little plug, too. He is probably best known for "Waterfall," the song from that Rembrandt kissing commercial that always makes me both giddy to hear the song and a bit uncomfortable to watch those people kissing from an inch away. Can't they feel me invading their personal space?

If you ever saw that commercial and dug the song, download the whole thing! And then go buy some of Griffin's CDs! ("Waterfall" appears on Lost & Found.)

That's all for now, but I'm going to try to be back soon. Thanks for reading.

*Which makes sense, since they ended their set with a cover of "The Chain" that I must say I enjoyed even more than the original. Is that blasphemy? Sorry.

The Gratuitous Graduation Post: Poughkeepsie's Always Proud

I'll try and make this brief. As of today I am a college graduate. I spent four pivotal years in Poughkeepsie, New York studying and procrastinating my life away at the lovely bastion of liberal academia that is Vassar College. Essentially there is absolutely nothing noteworthy about the city of Poughkeepsie. It's just a typical blue collar town, slightly economically depressed, yet still contains a surprising amount of decent sushi restaurants nonetheless.

However -and here's the why this post is relevant to all of you- not one, BUT two songs explicitly reference the city I no longer call home.

Poughkeepsie - Devendra Banhart
By the banks of ol' Poughkeepsie my love swam to me...

A word of note to listeners: I really wouldn't advise swimming in the Hudson River the way Devendra espouses.

Poughkeepsie's Always Proud - Soltero

You keep me like a cold, Poughkeepsie's getting old...

Tim Howard, aka Soltero is probably the best singer-songwriter you still haven't heard. Acerbic yet endearing, Howard does a remarkable job describing small town ennui buoyed by some damn jangly acoustic strumming. I can relate on a disturbingly literal level.

Mix Madness Reminder!

Just a reminder that all entries for the mix madness contest are due May 29th. That's just 2 days away, so hurry up and enter now for your chance to win 3 fabulous mix CDs courtesy Megan, June and myself.

Where U At

O wonders of technology, Volume Knob has garnered a lot of attention recently. Here's a map of US states we've received hits from (red states are hits):


...and when I mean a lot of attention, I mean A LOT:


(Included but not shown: Netherlands Antilles, Hong Kong, Tuvalu, Trinidad & Tobago. Both maps updated Friday, July 13th)

I'm saddened by the fact that VK is so much more well-traveled than I am, yet I'm happy to live vicariously through it. I'm surprised to see people stopping by from all corners of the globe (What up Nepal, Iraq, Croatia??) and not-so surprised at the absence of others (helloooooo Greenland, Uzbekistan, Somalia, North Korea...).

Anyway, perhaps consider this our first "Thank You For Reading!" week, with the Mix Madness contest and all. Keep those submissions rolling in!

LOLSufjan

It had to happen eventually: Take one part Sufjan fanaticism and one part lolcats (with ROFLbot as a catalyst) and what do you get?

Sufjan Macros.

I'll spare you the rest. Much funnier ones can be found here.

It's just "down the road"

What's (almost) better than a new album discovery? An album Re-discovery! You know... you grab something off the shelf mindlessly that you loved 2, 5, 10 or 15 years ago, pop it in the CD player, and you're instantly whisked back to that all-too-familiar place of "I LOVE this album! Why did I ever stop listening to it?!"

OR You buy a critically acclaimed work, give a good listen or two, like it, but then shelve it for reasons unknown, to only "hear" it for the first time months or years later. Then you kick yourself for missing out on it all this time.

This happens to me all too often. It's almost embarrassing, like getting sucker punched. You just don't see it coming, but you totally should have.

My most recent assailant happens to be Songs: Ohia, Jason Molina's haunting 2002 release. A sonically vast departure from Ghost Tropic, Didn't It Rain has a sparse emptiness. Minimal instrumentation with female-backed vocals, this gospel-esque piece is slow, sleepy, melancholy. A collection of seven songs filling out a full-length album.

It's hard to describe accurately without making it sound bad, because many thoughts that come to mind have a negative connotation: hollow, empty, depressing. These things are all true, but the album itself is none of these things. Blue Factory Flame, an 8 1/2-minute track, gives the impression of rainy nights, trashy dwellings, hard times, fighting lovers, insomnia, cockroackes, broken TVs, broken hearts and cigarettes. But the exquisite sadness painted leaves the feeling of beauty rather than suffering.

This album, in the best way possible, completes my list of "Top 5 Albums to Commit Suicide To" (along with Sparklehorse's It's A Wonderful Life, Cat Power's Moon Pix, Death Cab for Cutie's Transatlanticism, and Vic Chesnutt's Drunk.)

Songs: Ohia - Blue Factory Flame.mp3
Buy Didn't It Rain

Unhappy Birthday!

It's hard to believe, but as of today Morrissey's perpetual misery, acerbic wit, to-die-for croon, and questionable fashion choices (think a crotch laden with gladiolas) have graced the planet for a whopping 48 years. It weirds me out that the man who "never had no one ever" is the same age as my mom, although I'm thankful age is the only thing they have in common. In honor of 17,532 days of moping, whining and wallowing up to his elbows in self-pity, I'm obliged to present a couple of classic and apt songs by the man himself.

Unhappy Birthday - The Smiths
Sing Your Life - Morrissey

I'm off to a champagne toast in honor of my impending college graduation, but as everyone else raises their glasses to the future, I think I'll drink to the man responsible for helping me make it through four very interesting years.

So drink, drink, drink and be ill tonight!

Indeed.

Mix Madness! (a competition for cool kids)

So what we have here is a two minute or so long clip containing 31 little song snippets. What possible reason could there be for this madness? It is simply a sign that Megan has just a little bit too much time on her hands? Well, yes. But, also, it's a competition!

Exciting, yes?

Simply download the clip, listen, and identify as many of the songs featured as you can, and then send an e-mail of these songs off to us here at Volume Knob, (volume.knob@hotmail.com). If it were any more simple, monkeys would be entering!

And what does the Volume Knob reader who guesses the most correct songs receive? They will get not one, not two, but three, yes, that's right, THREE mix CDs! Each one lovingly and thoughtfully complied by Jess, June, and myself.

Have you ever heard anything more awesome than that?

So quickly! Download! Identify! Enter!

Winners (and answers) will be announced one week from today, on Tuesday the 29th, so that gives you plenty of time to mull over it.

The 31 Song Mix Madness!

Going Ga Ga

No, the title of Spoon's sixth full length album isn't a joke. Nor was the album named by a toddler. Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga is about as fun to listen to as it is to pronounce. Although, I'm a little baffled as to why "The Underdog" wasn't picked as the lead single instead of the plodding "The Ghost of You Still Lingers". "The Underdog" is probably the poppiest song they've ever recorded. Yes, poppier than "Monsieur Valentine". Yes, poppier than "The Way We Get By". And yes, Britt Daniels still sounds as sexy as ever. And get this, there are handclaps - lots and lots of handclaps. Ga!

The tracklisting is as follows:
1. Don't Make Me A Target
2. The Ghost of You Lingers
3. You Got Yr Cherry Bomb
4. Don't You Evah
5. Rhthm and Soul
6. Eddie's Ragga
7. The Underdog
8. My Little Japanese Cigarette Case
9. Finer Feelings
10. Black Like Me

The Underdog - Spoon

Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga is set for release July 10th

I can love you in a wheelchair baby

Sometimes, as if out of nowhere, a song will randomly play and totally rupture your focus on whatever it is you happen to be doing, because clearly the task at hand is not nearly as important as the song. "I Can Love You in a Wheelchair Baby" is one of those songs. I don't know much about Benni Hemm Hemm other than the fact that he is Icelandic and is currently giving Jens Lekman and Stephin Merritt some stiff competition in the most romantic singer-songwriter ever division. Essentially the title sentiment says it all, as does the flourishing horn section and crooning vocals. They are all simply swoon-worthy. It's official, I'm in love.

I Can Love You in a Wheelchair Baby - Benni Hemm Hemm

Buy

Crash! Observe the front wheel spinning upside down

If you'll excuse my attempt at karmatically righting things in the world, to say nothing of trying to make myself feel better, here are some songs for the people who got stuck in traffic from the accident I got in yesterday (er, I was the one on the moped).

One of the Johns of They Might Be Giants fame describes his own bike accident. Mild injuries as never as bad as a blow to the ego.
John Linnell - South Carolina.mp3 (Buy State Songs)

Let's take advice from those who know. I'm sure you don't want your rates to rise any more than mine, so...
Crash Test Dummies - Keep a Lid on Things.mp3 (Buy Give Yourself A Hand)

Finally, I own up to my own neglected brake maintenance. These songs have less to do with car accidents than lost loves perhaps, but let's consider for a moment that I really, really love my bike. That counts for something, right?
Nirvana - All Apologies.mp3 ( Buy MTV Unplugged in NY)
Jude - I'm Sorry Now.mp3 (Buy No One's Really Beautiful)

"People in love lie around and get fat, I didn't want us to end up like that"

So quips Eddie Argos on "People in Love," just one of several awesome new tracks leaked off their upcoming album, It's A Bit Complicated. The brilliant ode to break-ups and booze bodes well for the rest of the album, with it's jangly, yet angular (jangular?) riffs and clever lyrical musings. In typical Art Brut style, the song is simultaneously snarky and sincere. Never mind modern art, Art Brut still make me want to rock out. And unlike all of Eddie's tenuous relationships, there's nothing complicated about it.

People in Love -Art Brut
To every girl that's ever been with me, I've gotten over you...eventually.

Pre-order It's a Bit Complicated

You can brave till dawn

For all you Puget Sound-area fans of groups like The Misfits and Rev. Horton Heat, there's a special group coming to Seattle this Saturday, May 19th. The Wastelanders, hailing from Bellingham, Wash., will be playing at the Sunset Tavern with IceAge Cobra, At the Spine, and The Whore Moans (hah, get it?). They're first up, at 9:00pm.

Copping to friend-rock disclaimers, the group's sound has a heavy, fast-paced take on southern garage rock. The bassist and lead singer, Ryan Roullard was my RA in college, and guitarist Loren Huggins, also of Chuckanut Drive, was a staple at the 3B Tavern for shows to be performed and enjoyed. It's great to see they're still making fab music.

Band sez: "We'll be there around sevenish, though, to hang out and say "hi." Come out and say "Hi," and get a copy of our new album while you're at it! Thanks!"

The Wastelanders - Better Men Than I.mp3
The Wastelanders - Left Hand Slap.mp3

You can buy their new album, Blackhearted American Water, at the shows or by dropping them an email.

You taste of potato chips in the morning

It took a good long while for my mind to get over the image of Rufus Wainwright in lederhosen (monogrammed lederhosen, no less), but eventually I was able to give my freshly bought copy of his latest album Release the Stars a listen.

The opening track, “Do I Disappoint You” is Rufus at his most operatic. The song builds, swells, and explodes in a dramatic frenzy of action, complete with a tormented chorus of women wailing in the background. After hearing this song, I assumed that the whole album was going to be more of the same, and I wasn’t thinking of that as a bad thing.

Which is why track two, the albums first single “Going to a Town” is such a shock. Where “Do I Disappoint You” screams, “Going to a Town” whispers softly. Where the former is clear, the latter is subtle, from a frenzy of instruments to a pared back arrangement. To be sure, there are still touches of opera lingering about “Going to a Town,” in the tortured cry of ‘tell me!’ that swells around his words, but on the whole it is a much more refrained piece.

From here the album moves onto two more softer tracks, “Tiergarten” and “Nobody’s of the Hook.” The latter has become one of my early favorites, with a beautiful string arrangement and lyrics that, in my opinion, are some of his best.

I was beginning to feel concern at this point. After the slightly hysterical action of the opening track, the album had so far been of the slow and dreamy variety. Which is all well and good, but I had maybe hoped for something more. And then…. As “Nobody’s Off The Hook” drifts to an end…

“Oh boy,” mutters Rufus. “Oh my god!” Cries a female voice. A familier tune begins to build and, heart in mouth, I realise that it’s….

“Between My Legs!” Live versions of this song have long been loved by fans, and here finally was the studio version of this rollicking, tongue in cheek number. (About, according to Rufus, his attempts to coax a man to his bed with the story that his house had a tunnel to the sea, which would come in handy if the world ever came to an end…) I know a lot of folks feel it doesn’t live up to the live versions, but I don’t agree. It may lack the raw power of the live takes, but this over the top, gloriously camp, imposable to not smile while listening to song has its charm. And lots of it. Indeed, if the personally of Mr. Wainwright was taken and turned into song, I imagine this is what it would sound like.

And from here we ease back into something a little more down key. “Rules and Regulations” is perhaps the most conventionally “poppy” song on the album, and in these early days of listening it is the only one that has failed to grab me in someway. Although I did smile to see the return of the wailing chorus. (“Not to mention the Gods!” They wail. Awesome stuff).

“Not Ready To Love,” the next track, is a lot like “Katonah,” the track Rufus contributed to the Plague Songs compilation a few months back. It has that slow, almost country twang to it. A very solid number, one that I am sure will grow on me over time.

Once again at this point I found my heart rate was settled and, while I was not growing bored, I was getting antsy once more for something a bit faster. “Slideshow,” at first, did not seem to be going to deliver that. A slow, almost acoustic beginning, it seemed like it was going to be a pretty standard balled. I should have known better than to thing I had Rufus all figured out. The chorus of this song is incredible. Incredible! It comes out of nowhere, rising from the acoustic beginning like a tidal wave in a perfectly calm ocean. It builds and crashes back down, only to build again almost instantly. Oh, it’s an amazing moment! And the lyrics! Ah, these lyrics are fantastic. Tongue in cheek, in that uniquely Rufus way. It is a song unlike any other song I have ever heard, and that is a marvelous thing. This is what Rufus himself has to say in regards to the song:

"That song is my most treasured caption right now," [Rufus] said. "I feel like it accomplishes what I set out to do a long time ago. There have been other songs, like 'Evil Angel', or 'Go or Go Ahead', similar works that were striving for what 'Slideshow' attained -- this rock 'n' roll explosion of thematic sensuality and sexual muscle. I finally accomplished it."

Nothing, I thought, could come close to the glory of “Slideshow.” Ha. You think I would have learned from the previous song not to doubt Rufus? I’ll learn one day. “Tulsa” was the next track to be warmly welcomed by my ears. A song which, if you believe the story, Rufus wrote about none other than The Killers’ Brandon Flowers. Well, I don’t know who it’s about, I just know that it’s awesome. The opera in Rufus’ soul returns here at full force. Crazy operatic strings that dance and spin, and Rufus’ voice rising and falling with perfect grace. This song sounds like it belongs in some high class opera house somewhere. Until, that is, you listen to the lyrics. Sexy, cynical, acidicly funny, and so very, very, Rufus. (“She waited for hours in the rain to meet me,” he sings. And then adds in a cheeky little voice, “not you baby!”) This song is everything I love about Rufus, from the music to the lyrics to the vocals. Oh, and I just love the reference to that other song we all know and love, "Gay Messiah."

What struck me most about the next song, “Leaving for Paris No. 2,” was not the lyrics or Rufus’ voice. It was the music. Spare at first, with these little complex touches that really grabbed me. This is a song that you think is going to build up to something, but never does. Which is not a bad thing, the pent up tension is delicious and creates an amazingly tense atmosphere. In a lot of ways the song reminded me of another well known number 2 song, “Chelsea Hotel #2,” although I can’t quite place why. This track leads nicely, very nicely, into the next song, “Sanssouci.” Another more conventional, poppy, track. Well, conventional for Rufus anyway.

And then, all too soon, it was time for the album to end, with the albums title track. “Release the Stars” starts out like some long lost Want One outtake. A pleasantly familiar, classic Rufus, kind of sound that I didn’t even realised I was missing until I heard it here. But it isn’t long before the track descends into the operatic glory that categorises most of this album, and while I was sad to see the Want One sound go, I was eager to hear what new things Rufus would show me with the song.

Which, I guess you could say, pretty much sums up this album right there.

Nobody's Off The Hook
(haven't fallen down in a while)

Slideshow
(and usually I am such a happy prince)

buy.