View source for Want One

{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2020}}
{{italic title}}
{{Infobox album
| name       = Want One
| type       = studio
| artist     = [[Rufus Wainwright]]
| cover      = Want One Cover.jpg
| alt        =
| released   = September 23, 2003
| recorded   = <small>The Maid's Room (NYC), Bearsville Studio A, [[Loho Studios]] (NYC), Looking Glass Studios (NYC) and The Strongroom (London)</small>
| venue      =
| studio     =
| genre      = {{hlist|[[Pop music|Pop]]|[[baroque pop]]<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.royalalberthall.com/tickets/proms/bbc-proms-2023/prom-66-rufus-wainwright-want-symphonic-want-one/|work=[[BBC Proms]]|title=PROM 66: RUFUS WAINWRIGHT - WANT SYMPHONIC: WANT ONE|accessdate=5 September 2023}}</ref>|[[chamber pop]]<ref name= "Treble Staff 2016">{{cite web|last= Treble Staff|title= 10 Essential Chamber Pop Albums|website= Treble|date= September 22, 2016|url= https://www.treblezine.com/best-chamber-pop-albums/|accessdate= September 27, 2024}}</ref>|[[rock music|rock]]<ref name=Slant/>}}
| length     = 58:17
| label      = [[DreamWorks Records|DreamWorks]]
| producer   = [[Marius de Vries]]
| prev_title = [[Poses (album)|Poses]]
| prev_year  = 2001
| next_title = [[Want Two]]
| next_year  = 2004
| misc       = {{Singles
 | name        = Want One
 | type        = Studio
 | single1     = [[I Don't Know What It Is]]
 | single1date = July 26, 2004 (UK)
 | single2     = [[Oh What a World (song)|Oh What a World]]
 | single2date = November 8, 2004 (UK)
}}
}}

'''''Want One''''' is the third studio album by the [[Canadian-American]] singer-songwriter [[Rufus Wainwright]], released through [[DreamWorks Records]] on September 23, 2003.<ref name=Allmusic/> The album was produced by [[Marius de Vries]] and [[Audio mixing (recorded music)|mixed]] by Andy Bradfield, with [[Lenny Waronker]] as the [[executive producer|executive in charge of production]]. ''Want One'' spawned two [[Single (music)|singles]]: "[[I Don't Know What It Is]]", which peaked at number 74 on the [[UK Singles Chart]],<ref name=IDKWII>{{cite web|access-date=May 10, 2009|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/search/singles/Loneliness|title=I Don't Know What It Is|publisher=[[Official Charts Company]]|archive-date=March 20, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150320173335/http://www.officialcharts.com/Search/Singles/LONELINESS/|url-status=live}}</ref> and "[[Oh What a World (song)|Oh What a World]]". The album charted in three countries, reaching number 60 on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]], number 130 in France, and number 77 in the Netherlands.<ref name=Billboard200>{{cite magazine|access-date=May 10, 2009|url={{BillboardURLbyName|artist=rufus wainwright|chart=all}}|title=Rufus Wainwright American Charting – Billboard 200|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|publisher=[[Nielsen Company|Nielsen Business Media, Inc]]}}</ref><ref name=France>{{cite web|access-date=May 10, 2009|url=http://lescharts.com/search.asp?cat=a&search=Rufus+Wainwright|title=French Charts|publisher=LesCharts.com|language=fr|archive-date=February 14, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090214084638/http://lescharts.com/search.asp?cat=a&search=Rufus+Wainwright|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=Netherlands>{{cite web|access-date=May 10, 2009|url=http://dutchcharts.nl/search.asp?cat=a&cat2=s&search=Rufus+Wainwright|title=Dutch Charts|publisher=DutchCharts.nl|language=nl|archive-date=February 13, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090213222811/http://dutchcharts.nl/search.asp?cat=a&cat2=s&search=Rufus+Wainwright|url-status=live}}</ref>

''Want One'' features guest vocals from [[Martha Wainwright]], [[Joan Wasser]], [[Teddy Thompson]] and [[Linda Thompson (singer)|Linda Thompson]], as well as a [[banjo]] solo on "14th Street" by Wainwright's mother [[Kate McGarrigle]].<ref name=CDinsert>{{cite AV media notes|title=Want One|others=Rufus Wainwright|year=2003|type=CD insert|publisher=[[DreamWorks Records|DreamWorks]]}}</ref> For the album, Wainwright won the award for Outstanding Music Artist at the [[15th GLAAD Media Awards]], won Best New Recording and received a nomination for Best Songwriter at the OutMusic Awards, and was nominated for the 2004 [[Shortlist Music Prize]].<ref name=GLAAD/><ref name=OutMusic/><ref name=QueerMusic/><ref name=Shortlist/>

It was the first part of what was intended to be a double album called ''Want''. The second part, ''[[Want Two]]'', was released the following year. ''Want One'' was later repackaged along with ''Want Two'' as a two-disc set titled ''[[Want (Rufus Wainwright album)|Want]]'' and was released on November 28, 2005 in the UK to coincide with Wainwright's tour.

==Promotion==
===Singles===
''Want One''<nowiki/>'s first single was "[[I Don't Know What It Is]]", released in a [[Slim-line cases#Slimline jewel case|slim-line jewel case]] on July 26, 2004 in the UK.<ref>{{cite web|access-date=May 10, 2009|url=http://rufuswainwright.com/discography/detail.aspx?pid=1252|title=Single – I Don't Know What It Is|publisher=rufuswainwright.com|archive-date=April 29, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090429051444/http://www.rufuswainwright.com/discography/detail.aspx?pid=1252|url-status=live}}</ref> It included two [[A-side and B-side|B-sides]]: "L'absence" (a French aria from [[Hector Berlioz]]'s ''[[Les nuits d'été|Les nuits d'été, op. 7]]'') and "14th Street", both of which were recorded live at [[The Fillmore]] in San Francisco in March 2004.<ref name=IDKWIIinsert>{{cite AV media notes|title=I Don't Know What It Is|others=Rufus Wainwright|year=2004|type=CD insert|publisher=DreamWorks}}</ref> "I Don't Know What It Is" appeared on the [[UK Singles Chart]] for one week, entering on August 7, 2004 and reaching its peak position at number 74.<ref name=IDKWII/> "[[Oh What a World (song)|Oh What a World]]" was the second single from the album, released digitally via [[iTunes]] and [[7digital]] in the UK on November 8, 2004.<ref>{{cite web|access-date=May 10, 2009|url=http://www.7digital.com/artists/rufus-wainwright/oh-what-a-world/|publisher=7digital.com|title=Oh What a World|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090218180244/http://www.7digital.com/artists/rufus-wainwright/oh-what-a-world/|archive-date=February 18, 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref> Promotional copies were distributed to radio stations.

===Other forms of promotion===
The album was released as a double vinyl promo, retaining the original artwork. Vinyl was never pressed for commercial outlets at the time of release and these promo copies sell for over $75 US in the secondary market.<ref>{{Cite web|url = https://www.discogs.com/Rufus-Wainwright-Want-One/release/2653564|title = Rufus Wainwright – Want One (2003, Vinyl)|website = [[Discogs]]|access-date = October 24, 2019|archive-date = October 30, 2019|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20191030190910/https://www.discogs.com/Rufus-Wainwright-Want-One/release/2653564|url-status = live}}</ref> While no official music videos were produced to promote the album, live videos of "Beautiful Child" and "Vibrate" were made available for download on iTunes. A thirty-second commercial which contained audio samples of "Oh What a World" and "I Don't Know What It Is" aired on television just prior to the album's release. "Vibrate" and "Natasha" featured in season two of ''[[Nip/Tuck]]''.

Wainwright made several television appearances in 2003, including the ''[[Late Show with David Letterman]]'' on June 27 ("Dinner at Eight"), ''[[The Sharon Osbourne Show]]'' on November 4 ("Vibrate"), [[David Letterman|Letterman]]'s show again on October 6 ("I Don't Know What It Is"), ''[[The Late Late Show (CBS TV series)|The Late Late Show]]'' on November 11 ("Vibrate"), and ''[[Breakfast with the Arts]]'' on December 21 ("Dinner at Eight" and "Spotlight on Christmas"). 2004 television appearances included ''[[Jimmy Kimmel Live!]]'' on March 3 ("[[Gay Messiah]]"), ''[[Vicki Gabereau|The Vicki Gabereau Show]]'' on April 9 ("Dinner at Eight"), ''[[Later... with Jools Holland]]'' on May 14 ("Vibrate"), and ''[[The Frank Skinner Show]]'' on November 4 ("Oh What a World"). Wainwright also appeared on ''[[Play (TV series)|Play]]'', [[CNN]]'s "[[HLN (TV network)|Headline News]]" and a local airing of [[Central Park SummerStage]] to promote ''Want One''. ''[[Want Two#Live at the Fillmore DVD|Live at the Fillmore]]'', which contained songs from ''Want One'' and later accompanied the release of ''Want Two'', originally aired as a special on the cable television network [[Trio (TV network)|Trio]] in May 2004.

==Songs==
The album's opener, "Oh What a World", has been described as a, "choir of harmonies building to a full orchestra that finds Wainwright leading what can only be described as a masterpiece of horns, harmonies and hope".<ref name=Slant>{{cite web|access-date=May 12, 2009|url=http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/music_review.asp?ID=328|first=Sal|last=Cinquemani|title=Rufus Wainwright – Want One|website=[[Slant Magazine]]|date=September 16, 2003|archive-date=June 12, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080612110308/http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/music_review.asp?ID=328|url-status=live}}</ref> "I Don't Know What It Is", the album's first single, "climbs to a soaring [[The Beatles|Beatles]]-esque climax of train rides".<ref name=Slant/> Wainwright revealed the source and meaning of the song:

{{Quote|When I first came up with the lines, ''I don't know what it is, but you got to do it/ I don't know where to go but you got to be there'', I was at this party for [[The Strokes]] in New York. There was this prevailing sense of, 'We're not quite sure what's happening or what is cool, but we know that it's somewhere around here, in this room.' It was this vague confusion, with everybody kind of sniffing for blood. It wasn't that it was a bad party, or that I don't like The Strokes; I just think there's a lot of confusion right now in the music business. Then, later on, I realized the song was really personal. I didn't know where I was, and I didn't know I was actually lost. It wasn't about the party at all; it's about searching but not knowing what you're searching for. There's the train motif, being on this train heading for either oblivion or salvation – and just holding on for dear life. That song came down from some mountain somewhere, because it was right after I wrote it that I sort of packed it in.<ref name="facebook.com">{{cite web |url=https://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=376772359546 |title=Want One Bio |publisher=Facebook |access-date=2012-03-13 |archive-date=January 7, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160107143754/https://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=376772359546 |url-status=live }}</ref>}}

"Vicious World", which features "soft, [[Björk]]ian keyboards and twinkling electronic sounds" and "sounds like it's got about 350 multi-tracked vocals", has been characterized by Wainwright as "one of those happy/sad songs", referring to the song's joyous sound but negative lyrics.<ref name=WantOneBio>{{cite web|access-date=May 12, 2009|url=http://www.rufuswainwright.com/news/default.aspx?&in=0|title=Want One Bio|date=September 23, 2003|publisher=rufuswainwright.com|archive-date=April 13, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090413054132/http://www.rufuswainwright.com/news/default.aspx?&in=0|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=Uncut>{{cite web|access-date=May 12, 2009|url=http://www.uncut.co.uk/music/rufus_wainwright/reviews/6483|title=Rufus Wainwright – Want One|work=[[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut]]|publisher=[[IPC Media]]|archive-date=May 17, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517161218/http://www.uncut.co.uk/music/rufus_wainwright/reviews/6483|url-status=live}}</ref> Wainwright said the following of "Movies of Myself", with its "straight-ahead bounce, drum-led clip, and aberrant guitar crunch":<ref name=Pitchfork/>

{{Quote|The song is about knowing the end result of every situation you're in, and being able to play it out in your mind and see it before it happens. It's about addiction, really, about knowing how it's all going to end up. In that sense, you're watching a movie of yourself all the time – and then you want out of that movie.<ref name="facebook.com"/>}}

''[[Slant Magazine]]'''s Sal Cinquemani described "Go or Go Ahead" as a "multi-tiered, emotionally-charged epic that could pass for a paranoid [[Radiohead]] song".<ref name=Slant/>

"[[Dinner at Eight (song)|Dinner at Eight]]" is one of many songs from the Wainwright family about inter-familial strife.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Windolf|first1=Jim|title=Songs in the Key of Lacerating|url=http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2007/05/wainwright200705|website=Vanity Fair Magazine|date=May 22, 2007|access-date=March 8, 2017|archive-date=November 17, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161117135242/http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2007/05/wainwright200705|url-status=live}}</ref> It was composed in response to a fight with Rufus's father, acclaimed singer-songwriter [[Loudon Wainwright III]]. The two had recently finished a photo shoot for [[Rolling Stone]] and were eating together when Rufus joked that his success had gotten his father back into the magazine. This escalated into a very heated exchange. Rufus composed the song later that night; its title refers to the meal and makes reference to the fight in the lyrics. It also recounts his father leaving the family when Rufus was young.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Adams|first1=Tim|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2005/feb/20/popandrock.rufuswainwright|website=The Guardian|title=Crystal Clear|date=February 20, 2005|access-date=March 8, 2017|archive-date=March 12, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312074017/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2005/feb/20/popandrock.rufuswainwright|url-status=live}}</ref> Though unreleased as a single in the U.S., Rufus performed the song on ''[[Late Show with David Letterman]]'' on October 6, 2013.<ref>{{cite web|title=IMDB page|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0628482/?ref_=nm_flmg_slf_17|website=IMDB|date=October 6, 2003|access-date=March 8, 2017|archive-date=March 12, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312032731/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0628482/?ref_=nm_flmg_slf_17|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Album references==
The title of the first track comes from ''[[The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)|The Wizard of Oz]]'', in which the [[Wicked Witch of the West]] screams "Oh, what a world! What a world!" as she is melting away. [[Maurice Ravel]]'s ''[[Boléro]]'' is musically referenced throughout the track.<ref name=Independent>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-rufus-wainwright-87607.html|title=Album: Rufus Wainwright|date=September 19, 2003|access-date=June 14, 2019|work=[[The Independent]]|last=Gill|first=Andy|archive-date=July 6, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220706142816/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-rufus-wainwright-87607.html|url-status=live}}</ref>  "[[I Don't Know What It Is]]" contains several allusions to the American sitcom ''[[Three's Company]]'', specifically the opening theme song, with phrases such as "Take a step that is new", "...thinks Three's Company", and "So I knock on the door". The lyrics "Taking the Santa Fe and the Atchison, Topeka" is a reference to [[Judy Garland]]'s 1946 [[musical film]] ''[[The Harvey Girls]]'', which itself contains a reference to the [[Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway]] with the song "[[On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe]]". "I Don't Know What It Is" also mentions several geographic locations, including [[Calais]], [[Dover]], [[Poland]], [[Limbo]], and [[Lower Manhattan]].

The flute arrangement in "Vicious World" is a reference to [[Richard Wagner]]'s opera ''[[Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg]]''. "Movies of Myself" mentions a ''[[The Saturday Evening Post|Saturday Evening Post]]'' edition by Jesus as well as "an old piece of bacon never eaten by Elvis", referring to a story that Wainwright heard about someone who purchased a framed piece of bacon on [[eBay]] that at one time belonged to musician [[Elvis Presley]]. "Go or Go Ahead" contains celestial and [[Mythology|mythological]] references, from [[angel]]s, [[star]]s, [[planet]]s, and [[Mars]] to [[vampire]]s and [[Medusa]] (along with the phrase "Look in her eyes"), a female [[chthonic]] monster that turns onlookers to stone.

"Vibrate" references pop star [[Britney Spears]] and [[fairy tale]] character [[Pinocchio]], while "14th Street" refers to the [[nursery rhyme]] about [[Little Bo Peep]]. The latter also has the phrase "And there'll be rainbows", referring to Judy Garland's classic ballad "[[Over the Rainbow]]" from ''The Wizard of Oz''. "Natasha" was written for and about Wainwright's friend, actress [[Natasha Lyonne]], who has had public struggles with [[substance abuse]] and health problems.

The album's title track, "Want", alludes to Wainwright's parents [[Loudon Wainwright III]] and [[Kate McGarrigle]], and mentions musicians [[John Lennon]] and [[Leonard Cohen]] as well as ''[[3rd Rock from the Sun]]'' cast members [[John Lithgow]] and [[Jane Curtin]]. In "11:11", "Put away your posies, I'm gonna have a drink before we ring around the rosies" refers to the nursery rhyme "[[Ring Around the Rosie]]", which is commonly said to be about the [[black plague]]. The last verse, which mentions "something burning" in Manhattan, alludes to the [[September 11 attacks]] and the collapse of the [[World Trade Center (1973–2001)|World Trade Center]] towers. "Dinner at Eight" was written about a disagreement Wainwright and his father had at a photo shoot for ''[[Rolling Stone]]''. The song contains an allusion to the [[Bible|Biblical]] story of [[David]] and [[Goliath]] with the phrase "I'm gonna take you down with one little stone".<ref name=Independent/>

==Critical reception==
{{Album ratings
| MC = 72/100<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.metacritic.com/music/want-one/rufus-wainwright|title=Reviews for Want One by Rufus Wainwright|website=[[Metacritic]]|access-date=December 2, 2016|archive-date=May 9, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170509085910/http://www.metacritic.com/music/want-one/rufus-wainwright|url-status=live}}</ref>
| rev1 = [[AllMusic]]
| rev1Score = {{Rating|2.5|5}}<ref name=Allmusic>{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/want-one-mw0000692592|title=Want One – Rufus Wainwright|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=May 8, 2009|last=Johnson|first=Zac|archive-date=August 26, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120826130641/http://www.allmusic.com/album/want-one-mw0000692592|url-status=live}}</ref>
| rev2 = ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]''
| rev2Score = A−<ref name=EntertainmentWeekly>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.ew.com/article/2003/09/26/want-one|title=Want One|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|date=September 26, 2003|access-date=December 2, 2016|last=Weingarten|first=Marc|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170212172408/http://ew.com/article/2003/09/26/want-one/|archive-date=February 12, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| rev3 = ''[[The Independent]]''
| rev3Score = {{Rating|3|5}}<ref name=Independent/>
| rev4 = ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''
| rev4Score = {{Rating|4|4}}<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-oct-05-ca-rack5-story.html|title=Rufus Wainwright regains his style|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=October 5, 2003|access-date=December 2, 2016|last=Hilburn|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Hilburn|archive-date=October 1, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151001184228/http://articles.latimes.com/2003/oct/05/entertainment/ca-rack5|url-status=live}}</ref>
| rev5 = ''[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]]''
| rev5Score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{cite journal|title=Rufus Wainwright: Want One|journal=[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]]|issue=119|date=October 2003|page=120}}</ref>
| rev6 = ''[[NME]]''
| rev6Score = 7/10<ref>{{cite journal|title=Rufus Wainwright: Want One|journal=[[NME]]|date=September 27, 2003|last=Thornton|first=Anthony}}</ref>
| rev7 = ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]''
| rev7Score = 6.9/10<ref name=Pitchfork>{{cite web|url=http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/8558-want-one/|title=Rufus Wainwright: Want One|work=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]|date=November 20, 2003|access-date=December 2, 2016|last=Morris|first=William|archive-date=December 2, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161202233800/http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/8558-want-one/|url-status=live}}</ref>
| rev8 = ''[[Q (magazine)|Q]]''
| rev8Score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{cite journal|title=Rufus Wainwright: Want One|journal=[[Q (magazine)|Q]]|issue=221|date=December 2003|page=139}}</ref>
| rev9 = ''[[Rolling Stone]]''
| rev9Score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref name=RollingStone>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/290601/review/5945564/wantone|title=Want One: Rufus Wainwright|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|date=October 16, 2003|access-date=December 2, 2016|last=Fricke|first=David|author-link=David Fricke|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090529022240/http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/290601/review/5945564/wantone|archive-date=May 29, 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| rev10 = ''[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]''
| rev10Score = C−<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JZ4ej5RmWFUC&pg=PA117|title=Breakdown|journal=[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]|volume=19|issue=11|date=November 2003|access-date=December 2, 2016|page=117}}</ref>
}}
Overall, reception of the album was positive. [[AllMusic]]'s Zac Johnson described the album as "another set of obscenely lush and opulent pop operettas... meticulously layered and richly textured, with full orchestral passages and many-throated harmonies". After praising the album, Johnson concluded that Wainwright "could be singing lists of names out of the phone book and it would still be more exciting and inventive than 99 percent of the other albums out there".<ref name=Allmusic/> Wainwright's style caused Sal Cinquemani of ''Slant'' to draw comparisons to a giant peacock's kaleidoscopic tail, and he insisted that producer Marius de Vries "[kept] the singer's opulent poperas and lush ballads in check while bringing them to a new level of lovely pageantry". Cinquemani also asserted that ''Want One'' had a "balanced mix of rollicking rock operas" and "quiet piano ballads".<ref name=Slant/>

''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'''s Marc Weingarten characterized the album as a "gorgeous meditation on emotional displacement", with "clever, gently ironic wordplay".<ref name=EntertainmentWeekly/> In his review for ''[[Rolling Stone]]'', David Fricke called the album a record of "breathtaking, eccentric opulence" and a "loving nod to the vocal and poetic gifts he inherited from his parents", [[folk music]]ians [[Loudon Wainwright III]] and [[Kate McGarrigle]]. Fricke concluded: "With the sumptuous honesty of ''Want One'', their son is now his own man".<ref name=RollingStone/>

However, the album did receive some criticism, mostly pertaining to its lavish and decadent style. ''[[Blender (magazine)|Blender]]'''s RJ Smith called Wainwright's "carnival-esque piano playing... so thick, the music all but drowns in pretty surfaces".<ref name=Blender>{{cite journal|url=http://www.blender.com/guide/reviews.aspx?id=1554|title=Rufus Wainwright: Want One|journal=[[Blender (magazine)|Blender]]|issue=20|date=October 2003|access-date=December 2, 2016|last=Smith|first=RJ|page=129|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060527155846/http://www.blender.com/guide/reviews.aspx?id=1554|archive-date=May 27, 2006}}</ref> ''[[The Independent]]'' mostly complimented ''Want One'', though its review revealed a preference for the simpler tracks like "Want" and "Dinner at Eight", "when it's just him and his piano". The review also criticized "Movies of Myself", describing the song as having "plaintive vocals [that] jar against stadium-rock guitars and dubious Eighties keyboards".<ref name=Independent/> Contrastingly, ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]''{{'}}s review singles out "Vibrate", "Natasha", "Pretty Things", and "Want" for being "simply too sparse to offer any real substance".<ref name=Pitchfork/>

"Dinner at Eight" in particular has received two other prominent raves. In 2010, while promoting the release of a live double album, David Bowie praised "Dinner at Eight" as "the best" father/son song he knew, calling Rufus "simply one of the great writers."<ref>{{Cite web|url = https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2010/jan/24/david-bowie-on-his-ipod|title = What's on David Bowie's iPod? &#124; Music|website = [[TheGuardian.com]]|date = January 24, 2010|access-date = March 8, 2017|archive-date = July 29, 2018|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180729013142/https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2010/jan/24/david-bowie-on-his-ipod|url-status = live}}</ref> In 2011, in ''Planet Word'', author and BBC producer [[John-Paul Davidson]], in a discussion of poetry and song, called ''Dinner at Eight''  "no finer expression of an argument between a son and a father who abandoned him."<ref>{{cite book|last1=Davidson|first1=John Paul|title=Planet Word|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OqfUJI3a5q4C&q=dinner+&pg=PT380|date=September 15, 2011|publisher=Penguin Books|isbn=9780141968933|access-date=March 8, 2017|archive-date=April 5, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405003159/https://books.google.com/books?id=OqfUJI3a5q4C&q=dinner+&pg=PT380|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Legacy==
The album was included in the book ''[[1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die]]''.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Robert Dimery|author2=Michael Lydon|title=1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition|date=March 23, 2010|publisher=Universe|isbn=978-0-7893-2074-2}}</ref>

==Track listing==
All songs on the album written by Wainwright:

#"[[Oh What a World (song)|Oh What a World]]" – 4:23
#"[[I Don't Know What It Is]]" – 4:51
#"Vicious World" – 2:50
#"Movies of Myself" – 4:31
#"Pretty Things" – 2:40
#"Go or Go Ahead" – 6:39
#"Vibrate" – 2:44
#"14th Street" – 4:44
#"Natasha" – 3:29
#"Harvester of Hearts" – 3:35
#"Beautiful Child" – 4:16
#"Want" – 5:11
#"11:11" – 4:27
#"[[Dinner at Eight (song)|Dinner at Eight]]" – 4:33

;Bonus tracks
#<li value=15>"Es Muß Sein" (UK and Japan releases) – 2:19
#"Velvet Curtain Rag" (UK release) – 4:31

;Bonus disc
''The Black Session, No. 199'' is a limited edition bonus disc that was included with the first pressing of the French release of ''Want One''. It was recorded live on October 9, 2003.

#"Want" (live)
#"Leaving For Paris" (live)
#"Dinner at Eight" (live)
#"Coeur de Parisienne" (live)

==Personnel==
{{Div col}}
* [[Rufus Wainwright]] – voice (1–14), piano (2,5,8,10,14), fender [[rhodes piano]] (3), [[recorder (musical instrument)|recorder]]s (3), acoustic guitar (4,6,11–13), keyboards (9), orchestral arrangements (1,2,7,9,14), choral arrangements (7)
* [[Sterling Campbell]] – drums (2–4,13)
* Simon C. Clarke – [[alto sax]] (1,8,11), [[baritone sax]] (1,8,10–11), flute (1,2,14), [[alto flute]] (1), [[piccolo]] (1)
* [[Marius de Vries]] – piano (1,7–8,12–13), programming (1–4,6–14), [[vibraphone]] (10,12), orchestral arrangements (1–2,7,14), choral arrangements (7)
* Chris Elliott – orchestral arrangements (1–2,7,9,14)
* Isobel Griffiths – orchestra contractor (1–2,7,14)
* Adrian Hallowell – [[Bass trombone#Bass trombone|bass trombone]] (8,11)
* [[Levon Helm]] – drums (8)
* Jeff Hill – [[Double bass|bass]] (2,4,6,8,11–13)
* Nick Hitchens – [[tuba]] (1)
* Matt Johnson – drums (6,9,11–12)
* Alexandra Knoll – [[oboe]] (2)
* Gerry Leonard – guitar (2,8), electric guitar (4,6,11–13), [[mandolin]] (13)
* The London Oratory Choir – [[choir]] (7)
* Roddy Lorimer – trumpet (1,2,8,10–11), [[flugelhorn]] (10)
* [[Kate McGarrigle]] – [[banjo]] (8), [[accordion]] (14)
* John Holbrook, Bob Ebeling, Andy Bradfield, Marius de Vries – [[Audio engineering|engineer]]
* Jack McKeever – [[Audio Engineering Assistance to Marius de Vries, Maids Room]]
* Struan Oglanby, Ian Dowling, Bill Synan, Sean Gould and Tom Gloady – [[Assistant Audio Engineer]]
* Maxim Moston – [[concertmaster]] (9), orchestral arrangements (1–2,7,9,14)
* Jenni Muldaur – additional vocals (8,12)
* Bernard O'Neill – Double bass (3,9–10)
* Tim Sanders – [[tenor sax]] (1,8,10–11)
* David Sapadin – [[clarinet]] (2)
* [[Charlie Sexton]] – guitar (2,8), electric guitar (4,6,11–12)
* Daniel Shelly – [[bassoon]] (2)
* Alexis Smith – programming (1–4,6–14)
* Joy Smith – [[harp]] (1–2,13–14)
* Paul Spong – trumpet (1–2,8,11)
* Dave Stewart – bass trombone (1–2,11)
* [[Linda Thompson (singer)|Linda Thompson]] – additional vocals (10)
* [[Teddy Thompson]] – additional vocals (10)
* [[Martha Wainwright]] – additional vocals (8,12)
* [[Annie Whitehead]] – [[trombone]] (1–2,8,10–11)
* Gavyn Wright – orchestra leader (1–2,7,14)
* Jimmy Zhivago – guitar (2), electric guitar (4), piano (8)
{{Div col end}}

==Charts==
''Want One'' debuted at No. 60 on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]], Wainwright's highest position on the chart until the release of his fifth studio album, ''[[Release the Stars]]'' (2007).<ref name=Billboard200/> The album reached peak positions of No. 130 in France and No. 77 in the Netherlands.<ref name=France/><ref name=Netherlands/> ''Want One'' won Wainwright the award for Outstanding Music Artist at the [[15th GLAAD Media Awards]], an awards ceremony created by the [[Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation]] to recognize and honor the [[Mass media|mainstream media]] for their fair representations of the [[gay community]].<ref name=GLAAD>{{cite web|access-date=October 1, 2008 |url=http://www.glaad.org/media/release_detail.php?id=3636& |title=List of Winners: 15th Annual GLAAD Media Awards |publisher=[[Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation]] |date=March 28, 2004 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080527190703/http://www.glaad.org/media/release_detail.php?id=3636&PHPSESSID=826fd0e9817c282a172fc466db52a139 |archive-date=May 27, 2008 }}</ref> The album also won the award for Best New Recording and earned Wainwright a nomination for Best Songwriter at the OutMusic Awards.<ref name=OutMusic>{{cite web|access-date=May 10, 2009|url=http://www.outmusic.com/oma2004/nominees.html|title=OutMusic Awards: 2004 Nominees|publisher=OutMusic|archive-date=March 21, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090321184511/http://www.outmusic.com/oma2004/nominees.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=QueerMusic>{{cite web|access-date=May 10, 2009|url=http://www.queermusicheritage.us/awards3.html|publisher=Queer Music Heritage (KPFT)|first=JD|last=Doyle|author-link=JD Doyle|title=The OutMusic Awards|archive-date=June 21, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090621054800/http://www.queermusicheritage.us/awards3.html|url-status=live}}</ref> ''Want One'' was nominated for the 2004 [[Shortlist Music Prize]].<ref name=Shortlist>{{cite web|access-date=May 10, 2009|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1490520/20040824/franz_ferdinand.jhtml|title=Franz Ferdinand, Killers, Wilco, Ghostface Make First Round Of Shortlist Prize|publisher=MTV|date=August 24, 2004|first=Alyssa|last=Rashbaum|archive-date=August 27, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090827052534/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1490520/20040824/franz_ferdinand.jhtml|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 2006, both ''Want One'' and ''Want Two'' were included in Robert Dimery's book ''[[1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die]]'',<ref>{{cite news|access-date=May 10, 2009|url=http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/books/story.html?id=bd6593d0-ffd4-4cb2-aa9e-628dea4b7827|newspaper=[[The Vancouver Sun]]|date=February 25, 2006|title=They rolled over Beethoven|first=Kerry|last=Gold|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121106024515/http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/books/story.html?id=bd6593d0-ffd4-4cb2-aa9e-628dea4b7827|archive-date=November 6, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Dimery|first=Robert|title=1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die|publisher=Tristan de Lancey; Universe Publishing|year=2006|isbn=0-7893-1371-5}}</ref> and two years later ''[[Out (magazine)|Out]]'' ranked ''[[Poses (album)|Poses]]'' No. 50 and ''Want One'' No. 80 on their "100 Greatest, Gayest Albums" list.<ref>{{cite magazine|access-date=May 10, 2009|url=http://www.out.com/detail.asp?id=24095|title=The 100 Greatest, Gayest Albums (41–50)|magazine=[[Out (magazine)|Out]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|access-date=November 6, 2008|url=http://www.out.com/detail.asp?id=24098|title=The 100 Greatest, Gayest Albums (71–80)|publisher=Out|archive-date=October 21, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081021154805/http://www.out.com/detail.asp?id=24098|url-status=live}}</ref> "Want" is featured in [[Toby Creswell]]'s 2006 book, ''[[1001 Songs]]: The Great Songs of All Time and the Artists, Stories and Secrets Behind Them''.<ref>{{cite book|access-date=May 20, 2009|first=Toby|last=Creswell|author-link=Toby Creswell|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A_xtSKdVGpQC&q=Rufus+Wainwright&pg=PA263|title=1001 Songs: The Great Songs of All Time and the Artists, Stories and Secrets Behind Them|year=2006|publisher=Thunder's Mouth Press|pages=263–264|isbn=9781560259152|archive-date=April 6, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230406145607/https://books.google.com/books?id=A_xtSKdVGpQC&q=Rufus+Wainwright&pg=PA263|url-status=live}}</ref> The album was recognized as one of the "50 best albums of the decade" by ''Paste'' in 2009, appearing as No. 16 on the list.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2009/11/the-best-albums-of-the-decade.html?awesm=fbshare.me_CKdd&p=4|title=The 50 Best Albums of the Decade (2000–2009)|page=4|work=[[Paste (magazine)|Paste]]|publisher=Paste Media Group|date=November 2, 2009|access-date=November 4, 2009|archive-date=October 16, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121016114936/http://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2009/11/the-best-albums-of-the-decade.html?awesm=fbshare.me_CKdd&p=4|url-status=live}}</ref>

{|class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Chart
!Peak<br>position
|-
| French Album Chart
| style="text-align:center;"|130
|-
| Netherlands Album Chart
| style="text-align:center;"|77
|-
| U.S. [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]]
| style="text-align:center;"|60
|-
{{album chart|Scotland|97|date=20040606|access-date=April 29, 2024}}
|}

The following table displays some of the 2003 "End of Year" list placements by various publications.

{|class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Publication
! Country
! Accolade
! Rank
|-
| ''Gaffa''
| Denmark
| Top 20 Foreign Albums<ref>{{cite web|access-date=May 20, 2009|language=da|url=http://gaffa.dk/nyhed/3598|title=Blur og Mew lavede årets bedste album ifølge GAFFA|work=Gaffa|date=January 8, 2004|archive-date=September 3, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090903081748/http://www.gaffa.dk/nyhed/3598|url-status=live}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|7
|-
| ''[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]]''
| UK
| Albums of the Year{{Citation needed|date=May 2009}}
| style="text-align:center;"|21
|-
| ''[[Paste (magazine)|Paste]]''
| US
| Albums of the Year{{Citation needed|date=May 2009}}
| style="text-align:center;"|1
|-
| ''[[Rolling Stone]]''
| US
| Albums of the Year{{Citation needed|date=May 2009}}
| style="text-align:center;"|5
|-
| ''[[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut]]''
| UK
| Uncut Albums of the Year{{Citation needed|date=May 2009}}
| style="text-align:center;"|37
|-
| ''[[VH1]]''
| US
| The Best Albums of 2003<ref>{{cite web|access-date=May 20, 2009|url=http://www.vh1.com/music/songlists/best_albums_2003/|title=The Best Albums of 2003|publisher=[[VH1]]|archive-date=March 9, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090309064021/http://www.vh1.com/music/songlists/best_albums_2003/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|1
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Rufus Wainwright}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:2003 albums]]
[[Category:Albums produced by Marius de Vries]]
[[Category:DreamWorks Records albums]]
[[Category:Rufus Wainwright albums]]