GenQ - For the not so straight individual

I must admit I don’t own any of Rufus’ albums… until now. But I do recognise his harmonic voice when I hear it. ‘Hallelujah’ would be one of his better known songs, found on the soundtrack albums of the L Word and Shrek. Moulin Rouge the soundtrack also was fortunate enough to have Rufus sing in French, no less (a bit hard to comprehend but enchanting nonetheless). And that song was hauntingly romantic, mainly due to his thick, soothing voice. So I was really looking forward to being appeased again by Rufus. I made a cuppa, sat at my computer wrapped in blankets and closed my eyes.

Opening with the uplifting orchestral ‘Do I Disappoint You?’, I was left with the feeling of encouragement and self efficacy, especially as Rufus and his backing vocalists crescendo, accompanied with appropriately placed violins and a whole range of instruments.

‘Between my Legs’ is my personal favourite, as an upbeat love song of sorts. It has this lovely ability to make your head bop and your feet tap. At the same time, Rufus has never been afraid of being intimate with his words and this song is no exception. As he says himself, “I’m afraid of one thing, will I walk away from love knowing nothing, wearing my heart between my legs?� His incorporation of spoken word by Sian Phillips reminds me of a song out of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show�, adding an eerie conclusion.

Other songs of note are ‘Going to a Town’, written in five minutes and has that haunting factor again. ‘Nobody’s Off the Hook’ offers more string accompaniment as well as leaving Rufus’s voice alone to do most of the story telling itself. ‘Not Ready to Love’ was the slowest song as well as the most depressing. The electric guitar element added a hint of Moody Blues or slow Pink Floyd, something very seventies about it, nonetheless. The rollercoaster ride that is ‘Tulsa’ provides Rufus and the violinists a bit of play, as they experiment with dynamics and tone colour. Rufus appears to be having fun (the bit where he shouts ‘Not you baby!’ made me giggle).

The title song of the album ‘Release the Stars’ has an element of 1930’s cabaret as the trumpeters make their presence known, complete with backing singers and piano accompaniment. He dedicates the album to his mother, who underwent surgery whilst Rufus wrote most of the songs and, as he says, “who still whispers in my ear that I’m great�.

There is just something about this man’s voice that makes not only your ears but your heart stand up and pay attention. Only so much is conveyed through words; it is tone and body language that communicates what is really meant. And Rufus’ voice says it all. No wonder I didn’t care that I couldn’t understand his French Moulin Rouge song! I was too entranced by his magical dulcet tones.

Release the Stars is available now through Universal Music.